Atalanta winger Ademola Lookman celebrated what he described as “one of the best nights of his life” on Wednesday night with his mum in Dublin.
The 26-year-old scored a hat-trick against unbeaten Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, delivering Atalanta her first piece of silverware since 1963.
At the final whistle, Lookman’s mother shared the happy moment with him, hugging him tightly at the sold-out Aviva Stadium.
His father was also on ground to celebrate with him.
Asked by a journalist about how he felt just after full time, Lookman said, “One of the best nights of my life. Amazing performance from the team, we did it. Got to celebrate, we made history tonight.”
Speaking further with journalists at the media area, he said, “We played a fantastic game. We showed our intent. We played a fantastic first half and then in the second half we didn’t rest on our oars we kept pushing, we got opportunities and won the game today.”
On the support he gets from Nigeria, Lookman said, “It’s incredible. The unwavering support and love I get back home from my people is unbelievable. It gives me the motivation to try to inspire myself and evolve in different areas, not just in my game but me as a person also. I think that has taken me to a new level. We competed in AFCON this January unfortunately we lost the final but the whole tournament catapulted us as the Super Eagles back again and we had the support from back home. That’s incredible.”
The former Leicester City player spoke about his family also. He said, “My family is a big part of my success and my story because growing up they helped me to become the man that I am today, to grow and to have the morals that I have, to have the outlook on life that I have and to want to improve in every single area that I can whether it is football or out of football. Their support is unwavering and I owe them a lot.”
