Only five players had ever scored a hat-trick in a European final. The last of those was German legend Jupp Heynckes, playing for Borussia Monchengladbach in the UEFA Cup, way back in 1975. And a quick look down the odds offered up by the online sports betting sites revealed that particular outcome in the Europa League final that was set to be played in Dublin’s Lansdowne Road on 22nd May.
And if you had fancied a wager on a player hitting the back of the net three times, the most likely candidates would have been perhaps Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface with 21 goals in all competitions in 2023/24. Or perhaps Florian Wirtz with 19. Or even Atalanta’s own Gianluca Scamacca, with the same strike rate. Despite the success of the two teams across the season (in Leverkusen’s case, the team hadn’t tasted defeat in almost an entire calendar year), it had been a case of sharing the scoring load evenly around talented squads, with multiple players chipping in with goals rather than leaning heavily on the scoring prowess of one particular player. In short, and as mentioned, the odds on a player stepping up and taking home the match ball were low to say the least.
Step forward London-born Ademola Lookman for La Dea. The Nigeria winger had had a stellar campaign up until then, notching 14 times across all competitions and adding a couple more for his national team. But this was already by far the 26-year-old’s most prolific season to date in a slightly nomadic career that has taken the player from Charlton to Everton, then on Germany for Red Bull Leipzig and back to England courtesy of Fulham and then Leicester. Indeed, Lookman had never reached double figures in a campaign before the 2023/24 season.
Despite all of that evidence, Lookman himself said he wasn’t surprised by his glorious hat-trick in the historic win for Atalanta in the final. “I’ve always had the confidence in my ability,” the player said after the win. “In the past two years I’ve been able to take my game to a new level and show it on a more consistent basis. Maybe it could have come earlier but it’s come now. I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made but this is just the beginning. I hope for more nights like this.”
If Lookman continues to play like this, further nights will surely follow, and fans of Atalanta will hope they come in the blue and black. Lookman will get plenty of attention, but he seems settled in Bergamo, and the club has given him a chance that he has taken with both hands. “I feel the support from the fans from the first minute I was in Bergamo,” Lookman said in a press conference after the game. “The city of Bergamo gives me a sense of calmness. It’s a very calm, relaxed city and that has helped me a lot with my living style. I’m focused on the important things.”
And it’s not just the city that has helped develop Lookman into a dynamic and more consistent attacking threat. La Dea coach Gian Piero Gasperini must take much of the credit too, evolving Lookman’s position to a more attacking role and helping to simplify the game for the forward. It is an approach that has reaped stunning rewards, not least for a club that, in securing victory over Leverkusen in Dublin, claimed only the second trophy of the club’s 116-year history. That previous success was in the Coppa Italia of 1963. And it’s even more remarkable considering it comes at a time when clubs with mega budgets dominate. Italy had not won this trophy since 1999. Gasperini noted the achievement in light of the barriers. “Typically the clubs who are winning things struggle to keep costs down. Atalanta have managed to win things while being a financially sustainable club. That’s extraordinary,” the likeable coach added in the aftermath of that night of glory in Ireland capital.
Indeed, Atalanta’s success has been built on taking risks on players such as Lookman, the hero of the Dublin final. Other players such as Scamacca and Charles De Ketelaere have stepped up superbly after being snapped up from the doldrums at their previous clubs. Honed by the experience of Gasperini, it is a squad that is deserving of the glory it has achieved.
As for Lookman, well the final word on his feat must go to the man who played such a pivotal role in developing the player into the attacking threat he now is. Gasperini said immediately after the game, “Tonight he (Lookman) achieved something which will remain in the annals of football history – a stunning hat-trick.” It was a performance and result that will long be remembered.
