Ademola Lookman was Atalanta’s hat-trick hero on the club’s greatest-ever night in Dublin as German champions Bayer Leverkusen were vanquished 3-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
Leverkusen arrived in the Irish capital unbeaten in 51 games this season and on course for a remarkable treble. But it was Atalanta’s rise under Gian Piero Gasperini that finally found its ultimate reward.
Lookman may be an unlikely figure to score the first hat-trick in a European final since 1975.
However, the Nigerian is a prime example of the savvy recruitment and excellent coaching from Gasperini that has allowed a provincial club to step out from the shadow of nearby giants AC and Inter Milan.
Born in England and a product of the Charlton Athletic youth academy, Lookman’s first big break came with a move to Everton before joining RB Leipzig.
But he struggled for first-team opportunities at both clubs and ended up in the lower reaches of the Premier League in loan spells at Fulham and Leicester.
Lookman only ended up in Bergamo due to the influence of Atalanta’s former head of sport Lee Congerton, who had previously worked at Leicester. Now he will forever be fondly remembered in northern Italy as the architect of the finest victory in Atalanta’s 116-year history.
