By Korede James
Legendary former Italy forward Alessandro Del Piero has given his support to Ademola Lookman over the Super Eagles forward’s reaction after being singled out for criticism by Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini for missing a penalty.
Del Piero, a 2006 FIFA World Cup winner, posited that he would have been very upset at being targeted the same way.
After being out with a knee injury and with Atalanta 3-0 down in Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League play-off second leg clash with Club Brugge, Lookman came on before the start of the second half and scored seconds later to make it 3-1.
He, however, missed a penalty on 61 minutes as he saw his effort saved by Simon Mignolet and the Belgian champions advanced into the round of 16 5-2 on aggregate.
In his press conference, Gasperini reacted furiously, describing Lookman as one of the worst penalty takers he had ever seen.
Lookman responded to Gasperini’s criticism on social media, noting he found the comments ‘deeply disrespectful’.
Asked about the incident, Italy and Juventus great Del Piero told Sky Sport Italia: “It is human to make mistakes, including from the penalty spot.
“Aside from the internal dynamics of that team, I would have been very upset by Gasperini’s words in the press conference. I am therefore not entirely surprised that Lookman responded that way, as he is right to do so.
“He is having an extraordinary campaign and has been put on the chopping block, which risks damaging the rest of the season. We’ll see how the team reacts.”
African Player of the Year Lookman is Atalanta’s second top scorer in Serie A this season with 10 goals in 19 matches, behind Italy forward Mateo Retegui who has scored 20 goals in 23 appearances.
