Still basking in the euphoria of his successful outing at the 2024 CAF Awards where he was feted as the Men’s Player of the Year, Super Eagles and Atlanta forward, Ademola Lookman, has admitted past difficult moments in his budding football career actually served as the impetus to arrive at the zenith of African football.
On Monday in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, Lookman was named the 2024 CAF African Player of the Year after a remarkable year for club and country.
He was the star for Atalanta with a stunning hat-trick as the Italian Serie A side clinched the Europa League title for the first time at the expense of Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen.
He was also named in the Europa League Team of the Year, contributing 27 goals and 12 assists between club and country in 2024 and deservedly made short-list for the 2024 Ballon d’Or award where he finished 14th .
But at the Palais des Congrès in Marrakech, he took away the biggest prize ahead of four other challengers including home boy, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi to become the seventh Nigerian to win the CAF Men’s Player of the Year awards.
The 27-year-old follows in the footsteps of compatriot Victor Osimhen, who claimed the award in 2023 as they became the first back-to-back Nigerian winners since Nwankwo Kanu (1996) and Victor Ikpeba (1997).
“It is an incredible achievement and an incredible moment,” Lookman told event organisers, CAF. “It is special to join a list of many great players who have achieved a lot in the game. They are legends.
“There are a lot of special moments that happened this year, I can speak about a lot of good moments. But also the bad moments, when you don’t want to do gym, but you end up doing that session and that gives you more strength. The difficult moments have given me that extra strength.”
“For us to be able to give inspiration to the young kids who want to be like us is the most important thing. If we can set a good example, they have good footsteps to follow.”
Lookman had a special message for the fans, who he thanked for their support.
“I am very appreciative of your love and care, and kind words in the bad moments also, not just the good moments. The people who show you love in the difficult moments are the people who you are most grateful too.”
Lookman has been in the form of his life in 2024, helping turn his Italian Serie A side Atalanta into title contenders and taking them to a UEFA Europa League trophy win, a first major piece of silverware for the club in 61 years.
He scored a hat-trick in the decider as Atalanta became the only team in the 2023-24 campaign to inflict a defeat on German Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen as the forward provided one of the great final displays in European football history.
Lookman also helped Nigeria to the final of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023, where they lost to the hosts. His displays, and three goals, did not go unnoticed as he was named in the Team of the Tournament
