Gasperini on Atalanta’s ‘football fairy-tale’ and hat-trick hero Lookman: ‘Tonight he achieved something that will remain in the annals of footballing history – a stunning hat-trick’

Ademola Lookman's hat-trick helped the Italian side lift a European trophy for the very first time

Ademola Lookman's hat-trick helped the Italian side lift a European trophy for the very first time Credit: David Ribeiro and Conor Ryan

Macdara Ferris reports from Lansdowne Road

Atalanta broke a quarter century drought for Italian sides in the Europa League on Wednesday night in Dublin. Teams from Serie A dominated the old format UEFA Cup in the 1990s – winning it seven times in that decade – but the win for Parma in 1999 was the last time an Italian team lifted the famous 15kg trophy that was crafted in the Bertoni workshop in Milan.

Gian Piero Gasperini was the creator of this famous win for La Dea – the club’s first ever European success – with the master craftsman on the pitch being hat-trick hero Ademola Lookman as they inflicted the first defeat of the season on Bayer Leverkusen.

“I’m hugely proud for all of Italy as it was a cursed trophy in last 25 years,”  said Gasperini in the post-match press conference. “Having won it with Atalanta, it is one of those footballing fairy-tales that rarely crops up. 

"It gives scope for meritocracy: there is still scope for ideas and it doesn’t have to come down to cold, hard money."

The coach was delighted with the performance on the pitch but also the manner that the club has built a squad for success in a sustainable manner over his six years in charge.

“We’ve done it while balancing the books or turning a profit. The clubs who win struggle to keep costs down but we have won by being financially stable.”

“We produced a wonderful performance and we needed to do that against such a top side (in Bayer Leverkusen). We scored three splendid goals.” 

Bergamo was hit particularly badly by covid at the start of the pandemic and the 66-year-old manager noted that with this result “it is hard to erase certain scars after those tough painful months and while we won’t be able to do away with all that pain we put a smile on the Bergamasco faces.” 

 



Towards the end of the manager’s press conference, player of the match Ademola Lookman came in to sit beside his manager. The English born Nigerian international created history by becoming the first player to score a Europa League Final hat-trick.

It is some turnaround for a player who previously plied his trade with Charlton Athletic, Everton (where he scored one goal in 36 appearances) and had loan spells at RB Leipzig, Fulham and most recently at Leicester City.

“Nobody imagined that he would make this much progress,” said Gasperini when asked about the 26-year-old forward.

“He wasn’t overly prolific in England. I played him in a more attacking role. This season he has had a great year. Tonight he achieved something that will remain in the annals of footballing history – a stunning hat-trick.”

For the player himself, he praised his manager for developing his own game.



“He has an intensity," said Lookman about his manager. "My first few conversation made me look at football a lot different. He made it simpler. It allowed me to look at my game in a different light. I am very grateful to him for what he has done for my game and the club.”

Lookman had lost a final earlier in the year – with his Nigeria team losing 2-1 to Ivory Coast – but he wasn’t to be denied a winners medal on Wednesday.

“We played a fantastic game tonight. From first minute we showed our intent. In second half we didn’t rest on our laurels. We kept pushing.”

That attacking impetus paid off with Lookman completing his hat-trick in the 75th minute.

What a night for the man from Wandsworth.

About Macdara Ferris

Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile