As the row between Nigeria international forward Ademola Lookman and that of his coach at Atalanta Gian Piero Gasperini continues, the president of the club has given his opinion on the saga, which came about after Lookman missed a penalty in their 1-3 loss at home to Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League.
Gasperini blamed Lookman for not allowing the designated spot kick taker to take it at the post match conference following the defeat, Lookman responded with a statement saying the designated taker told him to take it.
Lookman who scored their lone goal in the defeat made his return from injury in that game, and showed his usefulness to the team again at the weekend with a brace and an assist in the 4-2 win over Empoli in the league.
Despite that the dispute between the duo is still unresolved as seen when they avoided each other when Lookman was subbed off , and subsequently the Nigerian declined to comment on his relationship with the coach when he was asked during the post match conference.
Weighing into the dispute, co president of Atalanta Stephen Pagliuca told Italian publication Gazzetta that the 65 year old coach made a mistake by singling out the Nigerian after the defeat.
“We want to put this situation behind us, and I think we have, considering the 5-0 victory [against Empoli],” Pagliuca told Gazzetta.
“These matches are always intense. We love the passion with which they are played. We have a great coach, very passionate. He made a mistake by speaking about an individual. At Atalanta, with the Percassi family, we have a policy: if things go wrong, we take responsibility. We look at ourselves and how to improve.
“The players are having an extraordinary season, we wouldn’t be where we are now without the contributions of Lookman, De Ketelaere, and the whole team. I should name them all. We faced Brugge without five key players, all injured. Gasperini’s reaction was emotional and unfortunate, and it was a mistake that went against our policy, something we are not proud of. But I repeat, Gasp remains a great coach.”
Ade Emmanuel
