The owners of Atalanta the Percassi family will later today hold a meeting with coach of the team Gian Piero Gasperini and star striker Ademola Lookman after their public row following their exit from the UEFA Champions League, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Atalanta were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Belgium side Club Brugge, who secured a shock 3-1 win over the reigning Europa League holders.

Lookman pulled a goal back for Atalanta upon his introduction as a second half substitute, and they were later awarded a penalty and a chance to further reduce the deficit. Lookman picked up the ball and delivered a poor penalty which was comfortably saved by Simon Mignolet.

Gasperini speaking after the game said Lookman shouldn’t have taken the spot kick, and went further to say the Nigerian is the worst penalty taker he has seeing in his life.

“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” the Italian manager told a post-match press conference.

The reigning Africa player of the year replied the coach in a statement by saying he opt to take the spot kick after the designated takers asked him to take it. He lamented the manager’s harsh words which he said were disrespectful.

According to Sky Sport Italia, both President Antonio Percassi and his son, CEO Luca Percassi, will be at the training ground in Bergamo on Thursday for a face to face meeting.

They hope to calm the split that erupted between the star player and his coach following the Champions League play-off exit to Club Brugge.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Legendary Italian forward Allesandro Del Piero has backed Nigeria international forward Ademola Lookman following criticism by his manager Gian Piero Gasperini in the aftermath of their elimination from the UEFA Champions League.

Gasperini said Lookman shouldn’t have taken the spot kick they were awarded in the 1-3 loss to Club Brugge, which saw them get eliminated from the UEFA Champions League.

The Nigerian was introduced in the second half as he marks his return from injury after almost a month out , and he immediately showed his importance by pulling a goal back to bring scores to 3-1.

Atalanta were later awarded a penalty and a chance to further reduce the deficit. Lookman picked up the ball and delivered a poor penalty which was comfortably saved by Simon Mignolet.

His decision to take the spot kick didn’t leave Gasperini happy in anyway and he reacted to the miss in the post match conference branding the reigning Africa Player of the Year as one of the worst penalty takers he has seen in his life.

“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” the Italian manager told a post-match press conference.

The coach said one of the duo of Mateo Retegui or Charles De Ketelaere should have taken the kick rather than Lookman, and voiced his unhappiness with Lookman.

“He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them. Retegui and De Ketelaere were there, but Lookman in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring decided to take the ball and that was a gesture I did not appreciate at all.”

Lookman in a statement replied the coach by saying he took the spot kick because the designated taker asked him to do it.

He voiced his unhappiness over being singled out by the coach terming it as disrespect, and World Cup 2006 winner with Italy Alessandro Del Piero agrees he has all right to be angry and disappointed in the words of the coach.

“It is human to make mistakes, including from the penalty spot,” replied the 2006 World Cup winner.

“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.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of Atalanta Gian Piero Gasperini said Lookman shouldn’t have taken the spot kick they were awarded in the 1-3 loss to Club Brugge, which saw them get eliminated from the UEFA Champions League.

The Nigerian was introduced in the second half as he marks his return from injury after almost a month out , and he immediately showed his importance by pulling a goal back to bring scores to 3-1.

Atalanta were later awarded a penalty and a chance to further reduce the deficit. Lookman picked up the ball and delivered a poor penalty which was comfortably saved by Simon Mignolet.

His decision to take the spot kick didn’t leave Gasperini happy in anyway and he reacted to the miss in the post match conference branding the reigning Africa Player of the Year as one of the worst penalty takers he has seen in his life.

“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” the Italian manager told a post-match press conference.

The coach said one of the duo of Mateo Retegui or Charles De Ketelaere should have taken the kick rather than Lookman, and voiced his unhappiness with Lookman.

“He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them. Retegui and De Ketelaere were there, but Lookman in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring decided to take the ball and that was a gesture I did not appreciate at all.”

Lookman in a statement replied the coach by saying he took the spot kick because the designated taker asked him to do it. Below is his statement.

It saddens me on a day like this to have to write this statement – most of all because of what we have achieved together as a team and as a city.

Being singled out in the manner I have been not only hurts but feels deeply disrespectful, not least because of the immense hard work and commitment I have always put in each and every day to help bring success to this club and to the incredible fans of Bergamo.

In truth, I have dealt with many difficult moments during my time here – the majority of which I have never spoken about because in my opinion the team must always be protected and must come first. This makes what happened last night even more hurtful.

Along with our incredible fans, we as a team are hurting too with last night’s result. During the match the designated penalty taker instructed me to take the penalty; and to support the team I took responsibility in the moment to do so.

Life’s about challenges and turning pain into power which I’ll continue to do.

LaLiga side Osasuna posted a message of congratulation to 21 year old Nigerian striker Sixtus Ogbuehi after his nomination in the team of the week for his performance for their B team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Sixtus is on loan to the B team of the LaLiga side in the third division from second division side Eldense. The club have an option of making the deal permanent at the end of the season.

Last weekend, the lanky forward who have already trained with the first team did his chances of bagging a permanent deal, a whole lot of good with a brace and also two assists in their 4-2 win over Gimnástica Segoviana CF.

It took his goal contribution for the team to six as he previously had two other assists. It also marks a return to the form that saw him earn the move to Eldense in the summer with his tally of 18 goals for AD Cueta.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The fans forum of Italian Serie A side Atalanta have issued a statement on the criticism of Ademola Lookman by the coach of the team after his penalty miss in their 1-3 loss to Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Head coach of Atalanta Gian Piero Gasperini said Lookman shouldn’t have taken the spot kick they were awarded in the 1-3 loss to Club Brugge, which saw them get eliminated from the UEFA Champions League.

The Nigerian was introduced in the second half as he marks his return from injury after almost a month out , and he immediately showed his importance by pulling a goal back to bring scores to 3-1.

Atalanta were later awarded a penalty and a chance to further reduce the deficit. Lookman picked up the ball and delivered a poor penalty which was comfortably saved by Simon Mignolet.

His decision to take the spot kick didn’t leave Gasperini happy in anyway and he reacted to the miss in the post match conference branding the reigning Africa Player of the Year as one of the worst penalty takers he has seen in his life.

“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” the Italian manager told a post-match press conference.

The coach said one of the duo of Mateo Retegui or Charles De Ketelaere should have taken the kick rather than Lookman, and voiced his unhappiness with Lookman.

“He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them. Retegui and De Ketelaere were there, but Lookman in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring decided to take the ball and that was a gesture I did not appreciate at all.”

Responding to his open criticism of Lookman, the fans forum lament the choice of words by the coach and wondered why he didn’t take the same route or used the same words when Mateo Retegui missed a penalty against Arsenal in the same tournament.

They called on the coach to apologize to the Nigerian, who is their best player and handed them their first major European title with his hattrick in the Europa League final 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen last year.

Gasperini has been told to make the apology public in his next press conference else the fans will mobilize for him to be booed in all of their games till the end of the season.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The viral report of the interest of the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle in luring players born abroad to commit to the senior national team of Nigeria has been explained by a chieftain of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Chelle who will take charge of the team for the first time in March when they take on Rwanda and Zimbabwe respectively in the world cup qualifiers is reportedly keen on adding six players born abroad to his team.

Arsenal’s youngster Ethan Nwaneri, on loan Chelsea duo Carney Chukwuemeka and Lesley Ugochukwu, Monaco’s George Ilenikhena, newly signed Rennes winger Kazeem Olaigbe and Newcastle United winger Jacob Murphy.

Reacting to the news a chieftain of the NFF said none of the above listed players will be in the list of players for the games in March, but as it’s customary in a world cup year some players will make themselves available if the team makes it to the tournament next year.

” None of the players will be in the team for the March games, but we can look forward to subsequent games for those who are interested in playing for Super Eagles, but it’s a world cup year so you expect eligible players to make themselves available for selection especially if we qualify. That has been the practice for a while now”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive chat.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of Atalanta Gian Piero Gasperini says Nigeria international forward Ademola Lookman shouldn’t have taken the spot kick they were awarded in the 1-3 loss to Club Brugge, which saw them get eliminated from the UEFA Champions League.

The Nigerian was introduced in the second half as he marks his return from injury after almost a month out , and he immediately showed his importance by pulling a goal back to bring scores to 3-1.

Atalanta were later awarded a penalty and a chance to further reduce the deficit. Lookman picked up the ball and delivered a poor penalty which was comfortably saved by Simon Mignolet.

His decision to take the spot kick didn’t leave Gasperini happy in anyway and he reacted to the miss in the post match conference branding the reigning Africa Player of the Year as one of the worst penalty takers he has seen in his life.

“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” the Italian manager told a post-match press conference.

The coach said one of the duo of Mateo Retegui or Charles De Ketelaere should have taken the kick rather than Lookman, and voiced his unhappiness with Lookman.

“He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them. Retegui and De Ketelaere were there, but Lookman in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring decided to take the ball and that was a gesture I did not appreciate at all.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Gent of Belgium defender Jordan Torunarigha has reached out to the new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle on giving him another chance with the team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Torunarigha who represented Germany at various youth levels from U15 to U23 totalling 28 caps before deciding to switch to Nigeria in 2023, after initially rejecting their overtures in 2018 under former coach Gernot Rohr.

Since his decision to switch to Nigeria, the 27 year old has been capped once and it came in the 3-2 win over Mozambique in a friendly game. He hasn’t been considered in any of the team’s engagements since that game.

Torn between signing an extension with Gent or leaving on a free in the summer when his contract would have expired, he is the son of former Nigeria youth international Ojokojo Torunarigha. His desire now is to be a part of the team under new coach Eric Chelle.

” When you play regularly, a national team call up is usually at the back to your mind and it’s the same for Jordan going into the next international break. He is really itching for another chance to cement his spot in the team”, his representative told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive chat.

Ade Emmanuel

Nigeria international defender Leon Balogun says he is open to the idea of being an ambassador to the team in helping players born abroad to switch nationality when his career winds up, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria have been very active in recruiting players born abroad to play for the senior national team with around seven of them, including those who represented other countries at youth levels presently a part of the team.

New coach of the Nigerian team Eric Chelle is reportedly keen on getting the best players available regardless of where they are born, and Balogun has put himself up in helping out.

Balogun who opt for the senior national team of Nigeria despite being born in Germany laments the fact that Nigeria have lost out on some prospects, who would have helped the team by increasing the options available.

“There’s so much potential, so many players. Look at David Alaba, Manuel Akanji, Michael Olise — players we missed out on — Eze, Saka, and so many others. Still more to come, there’s one guy now at Werder Bremen Felix Agu, so obviously it’s about sending the right messages, making the national team attractive”, he told Ayo Ibidapo in an interview.

“I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who felt at the time I got called up to the national team that this is home, this is my other half calling me to come home, find out who you are. Until that point, I wasn’t in touch too much with my Nigerian identity and I’m still learning now because it has been two years I started actually to learn Yoruba with a teacher which is not easy.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman