In Palosco, a small town on the outskirts of Bergamo, a birth notice was displayed on one of the street signs the day after Atalanta beat Marseille 3-0 in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final.
“City Hall welcomes little Lookman,” the announcement said.
At a nearby hospital, several Atalanta fans were holding newborn babies in their arms, basking in the joy of becoming parents and naming their babies after one of their goalscorers as the team reached its first-ever European final.
The giant Ademola caused a lot of noise by scoring the opening goal against Marseille that night. Little did Ademola know, he deftly dribbled to the edge of the penalty area and fired a shot into the top corner, leaving the supporters in a lot of trouble.
What a wonderful time to be alive.
For 14 years, red-haired president Antonio Percassi, who played for the club in his youth, has been sending Atalanta baby gloves to every newborn in the area.
It’s your birthright to support this club, but it’s not expected of you. Bergamo is only an hour’s drive from Milan. In Milan, soccer giants Internazionale and AC Milan have traditionally had a strong presence, having won the European Cup/Champions League a combined 10 times. For fans who grew up nearby, rooting for either side was a temptation.
Except for Bergamo, that’s really out of the question.
Lookman after scoring a hat-trick in the Europa League final (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Atalanta always arrived early at the little Lookman’s Cradle to the Aviva Stadium.
This generation of fans has never been happier.
Older fans remember the last time the club won. In 1963, Angelo Domenghini’s hat-trick helped them defeat Torino in the Coppa Italia final. Over the next few decades, Atalanta bounced back and forth between the first and second divisions, with promotion and retention being the measure of success. Until this season, the furthest Atalanta had gone in Europe was in 1988 when they reached the semi-finals of the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup as a Serie B team.
Glenn Stromberg was a legend on that team. “Let the suffering begin,” he posted on X before Wednesday’s Europa League final.
But Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini seemed totally unfazed by it.
Denim in Dublin — he coached the match in jeans. In contrast to the tension and nervousness of the 8,000 Atalanta fans at the ground, his team looked even more relaxed, playing as if they were wearing slippers. They won 3-0 against a Bayer Leverkusen team that hadn’t lost a competitive game all season, like they did at Anfield in the quarter-final and against Marseille on the night little Lookman came into the world. “Today we put in a great, memorable performance,” Gasperini said.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was still a surprise.
Atalanta had lost to a mocked Juventus in the Coppa Italia final a week earlier, and to make matters worse, they had lost Marten de Roon to injury in that game.
The Dutchman has been at the club for eight years under Gasperini and is one of the team’s smiling totems. He was moved to tears the other day when the Ultras placed a banner outside their practice field. In blue and black spray paint it read, “Dedication, sacrifice, and a sweat-soaked shirt. De Roon, you’ve already won the trophy.”
Gasperini also didn’t feel like he needed anything tangible to feel fulfilled. When asked if that was the case, he replied: I feel as good as a coach right now, just like I did this afternoon. ”
Ending Leverkusen’s 51-game unbeaten run is a remarkable feat in itself, but nothing has changed for him. His approach was just YOLO. Gasperini aimed for it.
Even after losing every final in his career, he did not abandon his principles. He doubled down, with Gianluca Scamacca, Charles de Quetelaere and Lookman starting in attack.
As a general display, what followed felt like a light version of Milan’s 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League final in 1994. On an individual level, Lookman not only became this generation’s Domenghini, but also emulated the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Pierino Prati and Jupp Heynckes, all of whom scored hat-tricks in European finals.
The 26-year-old London-born Nigerian international, who has played for Charlton Athletic, Everton, Fulham, Leicester and German side RB Leipzig, has already come very close to winning the title this season. He reached the African Cup of Nations final in February and then the Coppa Italia final, but was eliminated both times. But just like the club Atalanta, he too should have won trophies.
“They say the third time’s a charm, and that’s exactly what they say,” Lookman said. “I’m at a loss for words.”
Going deeper
Ademola Lookman: My Game in My Words
Gasperini celebrates with Atalanta president Antonio Percassi (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
As the gold and silver ticker tape glitters on the pitch, Percassi and his son Luca, the club’s chief executive, walk to the edge of the stadium where Atalanta fans gather, and Bergamaschi can be seen looking on, ecstatic. I saw it.
Perkasis deserves a lot of praise.
They built the club into a less star-studded, more sustainable version of the Parma of the 1990s, and it’s fitting that Atalanta became the first Italian team since Parma famously 25 years earlier to lift the trophy that was then known as the UEFA Cup.
They stood by Gasperini when he lost four of his first five games in 2016 and were rewarded with four cup finals and four Champions League appearances. The success of the academy and player-trading model has re-emerged the club on and off the pitch and attracted Steve Pagliuca as new majority owner, and his Boston Celtics could win their first NBA championship since 2008 next month. Gewiss Stadium is undergoing a comprehensive renovation that is nearly complete.
In many ways, it is the house Gasperini built.
He has already been handed the keys to Bergamo. What should he accomplish there? “If there’s ever an opportunity to go out, it’s this moment as a winner,” he told RAI.
Last season’s Serie A champions Napoli are targeting Gasperini, as they have done in the past. Gasperini and Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis famously had dinner together in 2011, during which they signed a memorandum of understanding on a napkin. “Do you have a copy?” Gasperini asked. De Laurentiis did not have a copy and Gasperini became Inter’s manager instead. This brief experience (he was fired after just five games) proved to be of great significance to Gasperini. Atalanta, who wear Inter’s blue and black kit and had the same main sponsor as Inter in last night’s final, were Gasperini’s revenge destination.
“Going in without debt is a great way to win,” he said rather emphatically, on the same day that Inter’s owners lost control of the club after failing to repay a €395 million loan.
When Atalanta returned to Bergamo early Thursday morning, they had a newborn baby with them.
Weighing 7.5 kg (16 pounds 8 ounces), it was no mere lookman. It was the Europa League trophy. Their Bergamasca “Bambina”.
(Top photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
