Those fans will never forget the name of Ademola Lookman - Ex-England striker hails Super Eagles history maker

Ademola Lookman praised for his journey afte a sensational UEL final performance for Atalanta || Imago

FOOTBALL Those fans will never forget the name of Ademola Lookman - Ex-England striker hails Super Eagles history maker

Those fans will never forget the name of Ademola Lookman - Ex-England striker hails Super Eagles history maker

Izuchukwu Akawor • Izuchukwu Akawor • 05:48 - 23.05.2024

Ademola Lookman wrote his name in history books for Atalanta with a man-of-the-match performance against Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final.

Former England and Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has paid tribute to Ademola Lookman's winding career path after the Super Eagles forward announced himself on the big stage with a hat-trick to fire Atalanta to Europa League glory against Bayer Leverkusen.

For Crouch, Lookman's fairytale journey from the obscurity of non-league football to European hero made his virtuoso display all the more remarkable.

Super Eagles’ Lookman praised

The 26-year-old forward lived out every footballer's dream in Dublin, his historic treble securing a 3-0 win and shattering Leverkusen's dreams of an unbeaten season.

Speaking in a video on social media platform, X, formerly Twitter, Crouch could hardly control his admiration for the Atalanta hero, describing what he had seen against Bayer Leverkusen as ‘amazing’ and ‘sensational’.

Ademola Lookman celebrates after winning the Europa League final for Atalanta
Ademola Lookman celebrates after winning the Europa League final for Atalanta | IMAGO Ademola Lookman celebrates after winning the Europa League final for Atalanta

"Honestly, this is why you play football. Someone like Lookman who's been around, a footballing nomad at times, been in Sunday league, Charlton, Fulham on loan, Leicester, Leipzig," the former England striker told TNT Sport.

"You know, he's gone around the houses to get to the moment where he stands at home today and scored a hat-trick in the European final,"

The historic man, Ademola Lookman with his man of the match award against Bayer Leverkusen
The historic man, Ademola Lookman with his man of the match award against Bayer Leverkusen. The historic man, Ademola Lookman with his man of the match award against Bayer Leverkusen

"It's an amazing story and those fans will never forget the name of Ademola Lookman. It's absolutely sensational," he added.

Lookman's long road to the biggest stage included loan spells at Fulham and Leicester, as well as an ill-fated stint with RB Leipzig where he struggled for game time.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

But having found a home at Atalanta, the Nigerian's potential has finally been unlocked, with his 15 goals across all competitions playing a crucial role in their surprise Europa run.

His explosive hat-trick heroics against Bayer Leverkusen will live long in the memory after taking down one of Europe's form sides who were bidding for immortality.

From Sunday league obscurity to breaking German hearts, Lookman has certainly travelled the long road to soccer stardom according to Crouch.

And the name of the Super Eagles man will forever be imprinted into Atalanta history as the match-winner who delivered their first European trophy.

Related content

Tags:
Ademola Lookman Atalanta