It’s Laki time: Samardžić claims the Snai Sport GOTM for August!
Voted by Nerazzurri fans on our social channels
As the old saying goes, some stories have a habit of repeating themselves. And the one linking Lazar Samardžić, Bologna and the Goal of the Month certainly seems to be one of them. With 53% of the vote, the Nerazzurri number 10 claims the Snai Sport GOTM for August, turning the 96th-minute left-footed strike that decided the clash at the New Balance Arena into the first gem in the 2026/27 roll of honour.
And it is Bologna who once again set in motion the cycle of history repeating itself that has followed Laki since the opening chapters of his Nerazzurri story. We have to go back to 28 September 2024, when, at the Dall’Ara, the Serbian playmaker scored his first goal in Atalanta colours against the Rossoblù in the 89th minute and 20 seconds. A late left-footed strike that, just a few weeks later, would also earn him his first Nerazzurri GOTM. Fast-forward to August 2026 and Bergamo: the setting changes and the clock ticks even further, but everything else seems to have stayed firmly in place — Bologna on the other side, the ball on Laki’s left foot and the award for the month’s best goal waiting for him at the finish line.
From his first individual accolade in Nerazzurri colours to the first one handed out in the new season, the circle therefore closes exactly where it began. Behind Samardžić, Federico Steffanoni takes the runner-up spot with 20% of the vote, while Andrea Bonanomi and Giacomo Raspadori finish level on 13%.
As always, here are the “exit polls” before we dive into the play-by-play of our four finalists:
Winner: Lazar Samardžić, Atalanta 1-0 Bologna, Serie A Enilive MD2 (53%);
Runner-up: Federico Steffanoni, Cittadella 6-5 Atalanta U23s (a.p.), Coppa Italia Serie C First Round (21%);
3rd place: Giacomo Raspadori, Atalanta 2-1 Sassuolo, Serie A Enilive MD1 (13%);
4th place: Andrea Bonanomi, Cittadella 6-5 Atalanta U23s (a.p.), Coppa Italia Serie C First Round (13%).
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4th place: Andrea Bonanomi, Cittadella 6-5 Atalanta U23s (a.p.), Coppa Italia Serie C First Round
The wooden spoon is a two-way affair this time around, with Andrea Bonanomi taking the first share. With 13% of the vote, the Nerazzurri number 10 kicks off the U23s’ double representation, as coach Beati’s side place two of their enfants terribles in the inaugural GOTM quartet of 2026/27.
Just like the other U23 nomination, Bonanomi’s ticket to the shortlist was punched at the Tombolato: played in by Manzoni, he sets the ball onto his left foot and curls his finish into the far corner to make it 2-0 to the Nerazzurri at the time.
3rd place: Giacomo Raspadori, Atalanta 2-1 Sassuolo, Serie A Enilive MD1
From the tail end of last season to the opening salvo of the new one, the thread leads straight to Giacomo Raspadori, who takes the third step on the podium with 13% of the vote. Jack, the last player to get his hands on the GOTM in 2025/26, needs just six minutes to throw his hat back into the ring and, in doing so, invokes one of football’s oldest unwritten laws: the law of the ex. Played in by Gaetano, Raspadori takes the ball in his stride before drilling a right-footed finish across goal and into the far corner: his strike opens the Nerazzurri’s scoring account for 2026/27 and, at the same time, earns him an immediate return to the season’s first GOTM shortlist.
Runner-up: Federico Steffanoni, Cittadella 6-5 Atalanta U23s (a.p.), Coppa Italia Serie C First Round
From a maiden nomination to 21% of the vote: the U23s’ exploits bear above all the name of Federico Steffanoni, who climbs straight to the runner-up spot on his very first GOTM appearance. A debut in the race that goes hand in hand with an even more significant first: his maiden goal in professional football.
As we move one step up the standings, the clock at the Tombolato instead winds back exactly five minutes, taking us to the prelude to Bonanomi’s nomination. And to claim the season’s first silver medal, the 2008-born midfielder chooses a calling card that is anything but ordinary: picking up the ball on the edge of the box, taking aim and rifling a right-footed strike into the top corner to open his account in professional football.
Winner: Lazar Samardžić, Atalanta 1-0 Bologna, Serie A Enilive MD2
And after climbing the podium through debuts, comebacks and clocks turned backwards, to crown the season’s first SnaISport GOTM winner we instead have to push the hands all the way to the opposite end of the dial: the 96th minute, where Lazar Samardžić’s left foot awaits.
A goal scored when Atalanta-Bologna seemed destined to end goalless and which, in fact, became the final image of the Nerazzurri’s first month of competitive action. The last goal to join the field of contenders ultimately finishes ahead of them all, taking Laki to the top step of the contest. From his first GOTM in Nerazzurri colours to the first of the new season, Samardžić thus brings the hands of the clock right back to where they started. History repeating itself, indeed.