Ademola Lookman was the hero of Atalanta's hat-trick on Wednesday's 3-0 defeat of German champions Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final on the club's biggest night in Dublin.
Leverkusen arrive in the Irish capital unbeaten in 51 games this season and on track to win an impressive treble.
But Atalanta's rise under manager Gian Piero Gasperini ultimately paid dividends.
Lookman is unlikely to score a hat-trick in a European final for the first time since 1975.
But the Nigerian is a perfect example of Gasperini's skillful recruitment and excellent coaching, which has helped the local club step out of the shadow of neighboring giants AC Milan and Inter Milan. .
Born in England and a product of Charlton Athletic's youth academy, Lookman's first big break came with a move to Everton before joining RB Leipzig.
However, he struggled to gain first-team opportunities at both clubs and ended up staying at the bottom of the Premier League during loan spells with Fulham and Leicester.
Lookman's move to Bergamo was influenced by former Atalanta sporting director Lee Congerton, who had previously worked at Leicester.
Now, he will forever be fondly remembered in northern Italy as the architect behind the greatest victory in Atalanta's 116-year history.
“No one could have imagined that he would make this much progress,” Gasperini said.
“He did something that will go down in history. He's a great player and a game-winner.”
Lookman's three goals take his tally to 30 in his two seasons with the club.
He helped Nigeria reach the final of this year's African Cup of Nations and believes his career is ready to explode at 26 years old.
“I've always had confidence in my abilities,” Lookman said.
“Over the last few years I’ve been able to take my game to a new level and show it more consistently.
“I'm happy with my progress, but this is just the beginning and I hope there will be many more nights like this.”
– Diamond in the rough –
Lookman is not the only diamond in the rough that Gasperini has polished to transform Atalanta into a Serie A and continental powerhouse.
He formed a formidable front three this season alongside Charles de Quetelaere and Gianluca Scamacca, who struggled at AC Milan and West Ham respectively.
“My first few conversations with him made me look at football in a different way,” Lookman added.
“He made my thinking simpler and made me look at my game in a different light.”
Gasperini reiterated his belief that he does not need trophies to validate the great job he has done over the past eight years.
“I never thought that one trophy would change our journey. The journey we have taken is worth more than a piece of silverware,” the 66-year-old said.
“Tonight's game is the culmination of the journey we've had so far.”
But Gasperini acknowledged that Atlanta's first major trophy in 61 years, and the first of his coaching career, was a rare win for an underdog in a sport usually dominated by the richest clubs.
“Winning with Atalanta is probably one of the fairy tales in football where there is little room for meritocracy,” Gasperini said.
“It doesn’t always translate into hard numbers or Super League, but it shows that teams without huge budgets can still achieve big things.”
Casey A
