Ademola Lookman played a starring role for Atalanta Thursday night, as they put Olympique Marseille to the sword at home in Bergamo, scoring a brilliant opening goal and assisting teammate Matteo Ruggeri for a second to set La Dea on their way to a 3-0 milestone victory. It was a star performance, one that earned him the official accolade of Europa League Player of the Week.
That result, following a stalemate in the first leg, took the Italian side past the penultimate stage of continental inter-club competition for the very first time, pitting them against the seemingly unstoppable force of Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the UEFA Europa League that takes place less than a fortnight from now in Dublin, the Irish capital.
Lookman, though, is not the first Nigerian to score in a European semi-final. Quite a few have done so before him — albeit some more memorable than others — and, below, we revisit previous instances of such a significant occurrence, from oldest to most recent.
Finidi George (Ajax vs Bayern Munich, 19 April 1995)
Ajax welcomed the German giants to the Olympisch Stadion for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League clash. The previous fixture had ended in a goalless draw in Germany.
In the Dutch capital, Ajax once again showcased their attacking prowess as Litmanen broke the deadlock with an 11th-minute header, marking his fifth goal of the competition.
Bayern Midfielder Marcel Witeczek leveled the scoreline in the 36th minute, rising above Danny Blind and Frank Rijkaard, the only members of the home side over 25, to nod the ball past Edwin van der Sar in the Ajax goal.
The equaliser came unexpectedly as Ajax had been dominating proceedings. Nevertheless, undeterred by Bayern's goal, Van Gaal's team quickly regained the lead just five minutes later.
Super Eagles winger Finidi George's powerful strike amplified the atmosphere among the 45,000 fans at Ajax's home, the Olympisch Stadion.
The excitement reached a fever pitch for the home fans when Ronald de Boer extended Ajax's lead to 3-1 just before the halftime whistle.
Ronald de Boer, Litmanen, and Marc Overmars found the net once more to secure Ajax a resounding 5-2 victory. Mehmet Scholl was the lone scorer for the Bavarians on the night.
With this impressive win, Ajax advanced to the finals, where they clinched the title with a 1-0 victory over AC Milan.
Victor Ikpeba (Monaco vs Inter Milan, April 8 1997 & April 22 1997)
The Prince of Monaco never quite replicated the success he achieved during his time in Ligue 1, particularly in the remarkable year of 1997 when he was crowned African Footballer of the Year.
While Brazilian striker Sonny Anderson led the charge for Monaco in the domestic league with 19 goals, the diminutive West African played a pivotal role for the French club, contributing 13 goals in their championship-winning campaign and almost single-handedly guiding them to the UEFA Cup final.
Ikpeba ended the 1996/97 competition with seven goals, just one shy of Inter Milan's Maurizio Ganz, as Monaco bowed out in the semi-finals with a narrow 3-2 aggregate defeat to the Italian side.
As expected, the Nigerian forward was the lone scorer for Monaco, netting both goals against the eventual champions from Italy.
Johnathan Akpoborie (VFB Stuttgart vs Lokomotiv Moscow, 2 April 1998)
Akpoborie's Stuttgart hosted Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow in the first leg of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion.
The away side took the lead in the 22nd minute through Janashia, but Johnathan Akpoborie equalised for the hosts in the 42nd minute before Fredi Bobic scored the winner for the Germans in the 90th minute.
In the second leg, the German side secured a 1-0 victory thanks to Bobic's goal, only to ultimately lose to English side Chelsea in the final.
Nwanko Kanu (Arsenal vs RC Lens, 20 April 2000)
Like Ademola Lookman, two-time African Footballer of the Year Nwankwo Kanu got his moment against French opposition. The lanky centre-forward came off the bench to score the match-winning goal for Arsenal in the 86th minute, securing a 2-1 victory over Lens at Stade Bollaert- Delelis.
Thierry Henry had given the Gunners the lead in the 43rd minute but his strike was cancelled out by Pascal Nouma in the 73rd minute.
Arsenal had won the first leg 1-0 at Highbury courtesy of Dennis Bergkamp. They advanced to the final of the UEFA Cup only to lose to Turkish giants Galatasaray.
Obafemi Martins (Inter Milan vs AC Milan, 13 May 2003
In striking similarity to Ademola Lookman, Obafemi Martins' historic moment also came in the blue and white colours of an Italian side.
At the time an exciting youngster, Martins did not establish himself as a regular member of the first-team squad until the 2002–03 season.
It was during this season that manager Héctor Cúper handed him his debut appearance in the UEFA Champions League, as a substitute against his future club, Newcastle United, at St James' Park.
His first Champions League goal came in a crucial match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, securing Inter's spot in the quarter-finals.
His celebratory somersaults after scoring were even used by UEFA to promote the following season's competition.
Martins found the net once again in the semi-final clash against Inter's arch-rivals Milan, although his efforts couldn't prevent Inter from being eliminated on away goals by the eventual champions of the competition.
He scored in the 83rd minute to cancel out Andriy Shevchenko's earlier strike for the Rossoneri.
Victor Moses ( Cheslea vs FC Basel, 2 May 2013)
Victor Moses was among the scorers as Chelsea defeated Swiss outfit FC Basel in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-finals.
Fernando Torres and David Luiz were the other scorers for the Blues as they secured a 3-1 victory over Basel.
Mohamed Salah scored a consolation goal for the away side as Chelsea advanced to the finals with a 5-2 aggregate scoreline, having won the reverse fixture 2-1.
Although he was an unused substitute in the 2013 Europa League final between Chelsea and Benfica, Moses played a pivotal role in the Blues' journey to the final, scoring in four consecutive matches during Chelsea's Europa League triumph. Ademola Lookman will hope to play a more central role in this year's final, which is slated for Irish capital Dublin.
Ademola Lookman: Further history beckons
Of the six Nigerians listed, four advanced to the finals of the competitions in question, but only two – Finidi and Moses – would go on to win the big prize at the end. In netting against Marseille, Ademola Lookman has already made history; if Atalanta go on to lift the Europa League trophy over Bayer Leverkusen, the former Charlton and Everton man will join an exclusive club indeed, along with Moses and current Super Eagles coach Finidi George.
