Fresh from receiving his latest award and accolade in neighboring West Africa country, Ghana, Nigeria international and Atalanta of Italy striker Ademola Lookman says he always had confidence in his ability to make an impact in at the highest level, though many don’t give him the credits he deserved.
Addressing an array of top African football icons in Accra, venue of Monday’s award ceremony by organizers of Ghana Football Awards, after he was named Africa’s Best Player, he said, he was elated by the recognition and award.
“It is an honour to receive this award and it gladdens my heart. Indeed, I don’t know how to thank you.
“What I have achieved this year is not for me alone but for the whole of my team from the manager to the backroom staffs and my colleagues on the field.
“I know what I can do and I have not stopped believing in myself. It has not been easy and I have suffered rejection before but I did not give up on myself. I also thank all those who did not give up on me.”
Lookman’s historic hat-trick in the Europa League final may have been largely responsible for the accolade, and more that will follow, but he said, his confidence was built by the games, and goals in Italy.
Truly, the journeyman has had his ups and downs-mostly downs-till now.
Lookman arrived in Ireland-venue of the Europa League grand showpiece-having lost the AFCON final with Nigeria and the Coppa Italia final with Atalanta already in 2024.
“They always say third time lucky,” he said with a grin and the match ball-tucked under his right arm after a career-defining night as Xabi Alonso’s all-conquering Bayer Leverkusen were outplayed and upstaged in Ireland.
Atalanta – nicknamed La Dea [The Goddess] – have their crowning moment and only a second trophy in their 116-year history – six decades on from lifting the Coppa Italia in 1963.
Lookman’s hat-trick was the sixth to be scored in a major UEFA final
Alonso had no response to the suffocating press.
His forlorn defender Edmond Tapsoba will have sleepless nights all summer long, exposed by the pace of Lookman, who was hoisted into the air by his team-mates two years to the day since his final Premier League appearance for Leicester against Southampton.
Defender Sead Kolasinac said: “Before the game, I went into [Berat] Djimsiti’s room, and we both had the feeling he could decide the game tonight. We know all about his quality.
“I don’t know how many times after the game I told him, ‘thank you’ because he gave us the trophy with his hat-trick. We’re super happy to have him in our team.”
The Nearly Man
In England, he had been classed as the nearly man, bouncing around loan spells.
It was a nomadic existence.
But on one night in Dublin, Lookman scored three times as many goals as he managed in three Premier League seasons with Everton.
That solitary strike came in his debut against Manchester City – a memorable 4-0 win to inflict the biggest defeat, still, in Pep Guardiola’s managerial career.
His is a tale of sporting perseverance.
Deprived background
Lookman admitted that he came from a deprived area of U.K, learning the game in the cage. There is no doubt that his environment and cage football toughen him.
Growing up on his Wandsworth estate and having gone to school in Peckham, he has carried those memories of hardship with him.
In a documentary ‘South of the River’, he told of how he would eat at his friends’ houses after playing football, knowing there was no food on the table at home.
The struggles of his mother gave him “added fuel in the fire” burning inside him to make it as a professional footballer.
In a period of complete chaos at the Addicks a decade ago, it was the club’s former striker Jason Euell who made sure Lookman was brought from his humble origins to the Valley.
Euell oversaw his journey from U18s to U23s and onto Charlton’s first team and had a huge influence on his development.
Many have played a role in Lookman’s route to stardom from playing on the streets and in the cages of South London and the man himself admit it has been a difficult journey.
Having struggled to shine at Everton and RB Leipzig after leaving Charlton, he had loan spells at Fulham and Leicester before finding consistency in Italy under Gasperini.
Lookman has scored 30 goals in two seasons at Atalanta, but Manager Gian Peiro Gasparini admitted he has been surprised by the player’s development in Bergamo.
He said: “We had a senior manager at Atalanta who had worked at Leicester and saw that we had the opportunity to bring him in.
“We thought he was a possible useful player for us, but no-one ever imagined that he could really make this much progress.
“He wasn’t overly-prolific in England but I changed his position a little bit and played him in a slightly more attacking role – and now he has achieved something that will remain in the annals of football history.”
Lookman said perseverance and hard work has brought him this far.
“The past few years I’ve been able to take my game to a new level on a more consistent basis. Maybe it would have come earlier.
“But it’s come now and I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made. This is just the beginning and I hope for more nights like this and to get better and better. That’s the key.”
One of his former youth coaches spoke in moving terms to TNT Sports at full-time, saying: “We’ve been dreaming about this for a long time since he was a kid at Waterloo.
“I’m so pleased for Ade. He’s a quiet lad who works hard. Sometimes, he’s misunderstood because of his quietness but he always wants to learn, get better and to reach the top.”
To cap it all, Lookman is The Player of the Month for May-June and he has also been just crowned Player of the Season, and the new poster boy for the closing issue on the four Nerazzurri scorers.
In terms of goal contribution, the 2023/24 season has been a two-tier campaign as it enshrined both the confirmation and the consecration of the black-and-blue forward.
“This is just the beginning for me. I’m eager to do more and I’m encouraged to give myself more for my fans and for the club and all those have kept faith in me. I can’t let them down. I can’t let myself down,” added the quiet, soft spoken player whose on field statistics speak loud and clear.
