There are nights when history can be made.
In days where dominance and dynasties became more common, there are only a few chances to add new names to the list.
From the start, it seemed that the 2024 Europa League final would bring us these missing things.
The Dublin Arena, usually known as the Aviva Stadium, hosted two teams that don’t know what it feels like to win a European title.
Bayer Leverkusen won the UEFA Cup once, in 1988, but since then have known nothing but failure in Europe.
Their last European final, in the Champions League in 2002, has become a distant memory.
Their opponents, Atalanta, are playing their first European final.
Until this season, they have played only once in a European semi - also in 1988 - doing so in the Cup Winners’ Cup.
Their manager, Gian Piero Gasperini, was still an active player for Pescara at the time.
In recent seasons they have reached the quarter-finals in both the Champions League and the Europa League, but have never gone further than that.
To make new records, sometimes you need new players.
In the case of Ademola Lookman, he is not a new name, but he is a renovated one.
Until this season, Lookman had scored only twice in 19 European games.
Two years ago, when he left Leicester, Gaspeini changed his role from a winger to a striker, and since then he hasn’t been able to stop scoring.
Last season he scored 13 league goals, the first double-digit tally of his career.
This year he continued his decent record, with nine goals and six assists in the Serie A, but he failed to do the same in the Europa League - another one who would go on to change their destiny in Dublin.
Their opponents, Bayer Leverkusen, have changed their entire character this season.
No longer the eternal loser, but the new invincibles.
With 51 consecutive unbeaten matches, Leverkusen were aiming for the treble - and winning the Europa League is a must win game in that journey.
Back to the game, and in the early stages it was clear that Atalanta was focused on their mission - to stop Bayer Leverkusen, no matter what it takes.
The Germans failed to create any real chances, while Atalanta pushed forward.
Ademola Lookman was looking like his side’s key player, and in the 12th minute, he was in the right spot to score first.
And then, halfway through the first half, he scored his second.
Bayer Leverkusen have managed to recover from such a situation multiple times this season.
Games that were on the verge of defeat ended with a last minute victory - here they had 45 minutes to do so.
Thankfully, they also had Xabi Alonso on the sidelines.
He has experienced a comeback in a European final - with Liverpool against Milan in 2005. On that day he also scored a vital goal for his side.
But history did not repeat itself on Wednesday night.
Bayer Leverkusen added more attacking players to the pitch, desperately trying to score another goal, but it wasn’t enough.
In the 75th minute, Lookman scored his third, making it 3-0 to Atalanta.
With this goal, Lookman became the first player to score a hat-trick in this tournament’s final since Jupp Heynckes did, for Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1975.
In addition, he is the first Nigerian to play in the final, and win the tournament, since Chidi Odiah for CSKA Moscow in 2005.
John Obi Mikel also won the title with Chelsea in 2013, but was an unused substitute in the final.
The final whistle concluded another long wait.
Italian clubs were historically some of the most dominant sides in the UEFA Cup back in the 90s.
In the 25 years since Parma last won a title in 1999, Italian teams have rarely made it to the final.
It has happened only twice since - Inter in 2000 and Roma last season.
Atalanta is a new kid on the block, but step-by-step the club is becoming bigger.
Even before the final, Atalanta had already secured their spot in the Champions League next season.
Gasperini’s changes have made his vision become a reality. The club has its own depth, both as a football team, but also as part of a community.
Gasperini was asked about the time that he spent in Bergamo since the first Covid outbreak in the city in 2020.
“It’s hard to remove these scars,” he said in the post-match press conference.
“We are here to be for our community. We can’t erase the pain, but I hope that we brought a smile for the Bergamo people,” he said.
As another Europa League season comes to an end, Atalanta can be proud of their journey to their first European title.
In just a few months time, we’ll be starting to see what new names the new Europa League format will bring us.
Photo by Alex Pantling - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images