Bundesliga vs Serie A: Ademola Lookman breaks down why one is tougher
Retold by Oddsrama · 14 July 2026
Ademola Lookman has laid bare the tactical contrasts between Germany's Bundesliga and Italy's Serie A, explaining why success in one league doesn't automatically translate to the other. The Super Eagles star, now at Atletico Madrid, spent four and a half years lighting up Italian football with Atalanta before his recent move, giving him prime insight into how these elite leagues operate.
Lookman's time in Serie A yielded an impressive 55 goals and 23 assists across 137 appearances, including a hat-trick in the 2024 Europa League final that helped Atalanta lift their first major silverware. Yet he's candid about the learning curve. Italian football, he explains, is built on a foundation of defensive solidity—defences are organised, compact, and notoriously difficult to break down. The Bundesliga, by contrast, offers space and attacking opportunities in abundance. "In Germany, it's a bit more open, you get a lot of chances," Lookman told BBC Sport, highlighting why the leagues demand different skillsets. His first month in Italy proved crucial; an early goal helped him settle, and a run of six consecutive games with the ball in the net accelerated his adaptation.
Other Nigerian players echo this sentiment. Ola Aina, who spent years at Torino before joining Nottingham Forest, described his Italian spell as invaluable for defensive discipline and tactical nous. For bettors, this matters: players excelling in one of Europe's big five don't always replicate that form elsewhere. Lookman's nine goals in 24 games for Atletico suggests he's adapted once more, but his own words remind us that league difficulty isn't about which is "harder"—it's about what each demands.
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