Ademola Lookman has been crowned the African Player of the Year, following a stellar year at Atalanta in which he bagged a hat-trick in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen.
Prior to excelling at Atalanta, though, Lookman had to overcome some difficulties – especially during a 2020/21 season-long loan at Fulham from RB Leipzig.
Stepping up to take a penalty in the 98th minute of a Premier League game against West Ham at the London Stadium, Lookman knew that he needed to score to level the scores and earn Fulham a point.
Ademola Lookman recalls Panenka penalty miss
But, instead of sticking his laces through the ball or placing it high into one of the corners, the Nigerian international decided to attempt a Panenka. Lukasz Fabianski had already dived, but had enough time to get back to his feet and catch the tame effort.
“Yes, they were not very happy with me, but, you know, they gave me a lot of love and support after especially the coach, Scott Parker,” Lookman told Flashscore.
“He helped me a lot to overcome that time but like I said on the stage it’s about turning your pain into power.
“I’ve managed to do that over the past couple of years and continue to do so. To the kids out there aspiring to improve and achieve in life: life may knock you down, and it may not deal you the best cards.”
But while Fulham were relegated at the end of that campaign, Lookman’s miss fortunately didn’t have too much of a bearing on their final standings. Nine points adrift of Burnley in 17th, one point gained against West Ham still wouldn’t have been enough for the Cottagers to survive.
Lookman, meanwhile, returned to the Premier League the following season on another loan, this time with Leicester City. He fared a little better there, scoring six goals in the top flight before earning a permanent move to Atalanta at the end of the campaign.