“He’s a great coach” – Atalanta co-owner defends Gasperini after Lookman’s penalty saga

Atalanta BC co-owner Stephen Pagliuca has admitted that Gian Piero Gasperini’s recent harsh comment on Ademola Lookman was a mistake, also showing support for the gaffer, Soccernet.ng reports. 

Gasperini had publicly slammed Lookman after the Nigerian forward missed a penalty in Atalanta’s 5-2 aggregate defeat to Club Brugge in the UEFA Europa League.

Following a missed penalty, the Italian coach labelled Lookman a bad penalty taker, which sparked mixed reactions in the Nigerian football community.

READ MORE: “The worst penalty taker I’ve ever seen”- Atalanta coach Gasperini blasts Ademola Lookman after Club Brugge loss

However, Lookman responded in the best possible way, scoring two goals in Atalanta’s 5-0 thrashing of Empoli to prove his worth to the team.

Following the incident, Pagliuca acknowledged Gasperini’s comments were regrettable and against the club’s philosophy.

“Gasperini's reaction was emotional, regrettable, a mistake that went against our policy and something we are not proud of. But I repeat, Gasp remains a great coach,” Pagliuca said, as quoted by EuroFoot via Gazzetta_it.

Atalanta co-owner Stephen Pagliuca says Gasperini's comments about Lookman was a ‘mistake' ❌

“Gasperini's reaction was emotional, regrettable, a mistake that went against our policy and something we are not proud of. But I repeat, Gasp remains a great coach.”

“We want to… pic.twitter.com/8uYNfkId3o

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) February 26, 2025

Speaking further, he revealed that Atalanta operates with a team-first mentality, where collective responsibility is prioritised over blaming individual players.

“He made a mistake by talking about an individual player. We have a policy at Atalanta that if things go wrong, we take the blame.”

Pagliuca also stressed that the club is eager to move forward from the contentious issue, with their dominant win over Empoli serving as a statement.

“We want to put this story behind us and I think we did that with the 5-0 win in Empoli. We have a great coach, very passionate.”

“He made a mistake by talking about an individual player. We have a policy at Atalanta that if things go wrong, we take the blame.” he added.

Lookman has been instrumental for Atalanta this season, scoring 17 goals and providing seven assists across all competitions.

His performances continue to attract attention, with speculation linking him to a possible move to England in the summer transfer window.