PORTRAIT – Born in London, Ademola Lookman struggled before breaking through to the top level and becoming the hero of Atalanta Bergamo on Wednesday against Leverkusen in the Europa League final (3-0).
The first player to score a hat-trick in a major European final since 1975
An irregular player since the start of his career, Ademola Lookman certainly did not think he would write his name in the history books. However, this Wednesday evening, he became the fifth player in history to score a hat-trick in the European Cup final (C1 or C3) with Atalanta Bergamo against Leverkusen (3-0). Before him, Ferenc Puskas had achieved it twice in 1960 and 1962. Alfredo Di Stéfano had also done it in 1960. Pierino Prati (AC Milan, 1969) and Jupp Heynckes (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1975) are the last two to do so. ‘be illustrated in this way. “One of the happiest days of my career, yes, I hope there will be others. I played my football, my game. Everything was clear in my head, the team helped me a lot,” he declared at the end of the match on Canal +.
A difficult childhood in south-east London
“There were nights when I didn’t have the best food. I also didn’t have certain things when I was younger. It was a real struggle for my mother. She did her best and I managed to be happy, but as you get older you realize how difficult it must have been for her.told Ademola Lookman to Guardian, in 2021. Born in the south suburbs of London, Ademola lived far from his father and one of his two sisters, who remained in Nigeria, to live alone with his mother and his other sibling. Despite the difficulties, like many young people from the London suburbs – known for seeing talent on the ball – he escapes from his daily life by playing football and discovers competition. “Football gave me a new sense of energy and enthusiasm. We were playing in different locations in South East London and it was important to beat teams from certain areas. I grew up around Peckham and Camberwell, where there were a lot of buildings. he described.
Professional footballer thanks to a combination of circumstances
Not spotted by football academies, the young Anglo-Nigerian does not fall into the traps of the London suburbs. “Even when you are a child, you must make decisions that do not put your family or yourself in danger. I was able to tell the difference between good and bad. Lookman obtains his GCSE, seen as the general certificate of leaving secondary studies in England (equivalent to the college certificate in France), but is worried about his future. While keeping an eye on his college applications, he still hopes to have a career and destiny will smile on him. Selected with a team bringing together the best players from London County, to face the youngsters from the Charlton academy, Lookman started on the bench, but took advantage of a teammate’s injury to come into play and show himself. The Nigerian international impressed, so much so that the Charlton club offered him to join the training center with a scholarship. “My mom was shocked, because she thought I was definitely going to go to college,” he remembered, in 2021.
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A difficult start to his career at Everton, Leicester or even RB Leipzig
Ademola Lookman, in 2019, with Leipzig. TEAM2 / Imago / Panoramic
Before becoming one of the darlings of the Bergamo stands, Ademola Lookman struggled a lot. After Charlton, his training club, where he alternated between the Championship (English D2) then League One (English D3), the young Lookman impressed and continued his career in the Premier League, at Everton, in January 2017. He played twenty-five matches, scored only four goals and went, one later to RB Leipzig, on loan for six months, before returning to England.
The mayonnaise doesn’t really take off, but the German club believes in him and buys him for 18 million euros. New failure. A return to England followed, on loan to Fulham first, then to Leicester. Lookman did not break the score, but seduced Atalanta Bergamo, who convinced him to join Serie A. A successful marriage also thanks to the boy’s new maturity. “I started eating a lot of simple foods (white pasta, fish with some vegetables) and less sauce. Sleep is also very important to me, I try to get eight hours a day. After the matches, I’ll do some recovery in the cryogenic chamber, do some upper body work, some stretching. As long as I do everything in my power to become better.”he said to Times in 2023.
His first professional inspiration was… Dele Alli
Dele Alli, in 2017, with Tottenham in the Champions League. Shaun Brooks / Action Plus / Panoramic
Arriving at Charlton in 2013, the Wandsworth native progressed and made his professional debut in November 2015, during a Championship match against MK Dons, then coached by Karl Robinson. The latter then joined him at Charlton in 2016. Believing in the potential of his young foal, the new manager of Addicks takes him to Wembley to watch Dele Alli in the Champions League. Robinson’s former player at MK Dons a few years earlier, he gave him the confidence to flourish with now a new model to follow. “I think he saw a lot of similarities in our situations and he wanted me to be able to see Dele at the highest level. He taught me to believe in myself and to give myself no limits. Seeing him, everything became very concrete and I just knew what I had to do.”
Also read: Drugs, touching, adoption… The touching confessions of footballer Dele Alli about his painful childhood
