Victor Osimhen Needs to do More!

Victor Osimhen, Napoli FC of Italy and the Super Eagles of Nigeria super striker and current African Footballer of the Year, affirmed his passion for winning the ongoing Confederation of African Football Nations Cup Competition (AFCON), with the statement below, in an interview at Abidjan. This bundle of talent remains Nigeria’s most treasured talent at the moment and his football achievements within a decade has begun to rival that of Nigeria’s best footballers in history.

“I have done that with Napoli, I have made history, but no matter what I do, no matter how many goals I have scored, to be able to win the AFCON, I would go a long way in my life but probably when I do that I am done,” 

Osimhen launched himself into the global stage by helping Nigeria’s U-17 team, win the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2015. He finished the tournament as the Golden Boot and Silver Ball winner. Before then, he had won the Golden Boot award for the African U-17 tournament and also won the African Best Youth Player award.

Within the past year, he helped Napoli FC to win their first league title after thirty-three years, won the CAF African Best Player award, and got an honorable mention amongst the best shortlist in the Balloon D’or.

See: Victor Osimhen’s individual honors to date

Osimhen can never be counted amongst the average footballers who plied their trade, just to make a living. He stands tall amongst the Gen-Z footballers who have achieved much but like fellow African football star, George Opong Weah, he can go further to win multiple laurels in different leagues and aspire for other awards to entrench his football legacy.

As realistic as Osimhen’s recent ambition might be about winning the AFCON with Nigeria, at 25 years of age, he still has more to offer to football and stands to achieve more laurels with consistent form and focus. He recently acknowledged his interest in playing outside the Italian league and rejected an enormous offer to the Saudi Roshn League in the summer, this shows his passion remains strong and the expectation is that apart from winning trophies in other leagues, he could also aspire for the European Champions League and the Balloon D’or.

With his young age and current form as one of the World’s most lethal strikers, Osimhen would easily get into a bigger club in Europe to make his chances of winning bigger laurels possible. That dream is achievable and should be his current focus.

The evolution of sports and other professions is founded upon the inspirational contributions of various personalities. Personalities such as Albert Einstein(Science), Bill Gates(Technology), Nelson Mandela(Leadership), Edson Arantes de Nascimento(Football), Johan Cruyff(Modern football Coaching), Mohammed Ali(Boxing), among so many others, were leading lights in their endeavors and their contributions remain the factors upon which Victor Osimhen’s passion for football is founded. Growing to become another world great is an achievable dream and like is often said, that by aspiring to hit the moon, even if he ends up in the sky, his contributions would be more valuable than his current status. Whatever decision he chooses, Osimhen is already a world great but can achieve more!

 

CAF 2023 Awards: Congratulations Osimhen, Oshoala, Nnadozie!!

The winners of the Confederation for African Football (CAF) Awards, 2023 were announced this evening and it was an entire clean sweep for Nigeria in the most important individual categories.

 

WORTHY WINNERS

Asisat Oshoala of the Barcelona FC Women's team won the best African Female Footballer trophy, Victor Osimhen of Napoli FC, Italy, won the male category, whilst Chiamaka Nnadozie of Paris FC (W) won the best African Female goalkeeper award. For these Nigerians, it is a culmination of several years of hard work and consistent exploits. This year’s title was the sixth for Oshoala. Victor Osimhen won the Best African Young Player award seven years ago and today’s award affirms his legendary status. Osimhen performed the herculean task of helping his club, Napoli FC win the Italian Scudetto, after over thirty years since world soccer legend, Diego Maradona, helped them achieve this feat. For Oshoala, she was an extremely important figure in helping her team win the Women's UEFA Champions League, last season, and her exploits in the Women's World Cup were, very remarkable.

 

                                       The last Nigerian footballer to win the male African Footballer of the Year award was Kanu Nwankwo, the former Ajax, Arsenal, and Inter Milan FC Player. He won it in 1996 and 1999 whilst in Arsenal and Inter Milan FC respectively. Osimhen’s success marked the first time in twenty-four, years for a Nigerian to win this trophy. He did not win this award on a platter of gold, as he was able to ward off the competition from Egyptian legend Mo Salah, Liverpool FC, and Achref Hackimi, PSG France.

Chiamaka Nnadozie’s award is another worthy recognition for a player who has consistently made his country and club proud with her consistent performances and has made pundits suggest her invitation to help solve the goalkeeping quagmire in the male team. Her goalkeeping skill and agility are beyond doubt and like the other two players; they stand a chance of furthering their victories since age is on their side! Like Oshoala, Chiamaka Nnadozie’s performances in the last Women's World Cup Competition cannot go unnoticed, as she virtually carried the Nigerian team.

 

THE RESILIENT NIGERIAN SPIRIT

The life journeys of these players are like a Netflix-scripted grass-to-grace film story that would continue to inspire several other young African youths to be dedicated and focused in whatever good work their hands find to do! Osimhen is attributed to have hawked the streets of Lagos selling sachet water for road users and lost his parents at a very tender age. This story is not far from Oshoala’s whose success has brought her family from the throes of darkness and poverty.

These individual awards for this trio are a testament to the benefits of focus and dedication that can positively transform the life of anyone. Whilst they revel in this euphoria, their awards are not complimentary to the despicable state of this sport in Nigeria. It only serves as an inspiration to their admirers about developing a resilient spirit, especially in the situation the Nigerian state finds itself and the attendant suffering of the citizenry!

 

 

 

More Honours for Napoli FC's Victor Osimhen

Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen, of Italy's Napoli FC, is gradually working himself into legendary status, and provided his form remains consistent he would be renowned in World football folklore. His grass to grace story about how he transformed from a young child hawking to survive in Nigeria to getting selected into the Nigerian U-17 team, even without being involved with any big Nigerian club side, is known to virtually everyone who has followed his career.

 

THE EMERGENCE OF VICTOR OSIMHEN

Since he emerged as the leading scorer in the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which Nigeria won, Victor Osimhen has continued to improve his quality. First was his move to Belgium, then to Lille FC, France, where he won the  2020 Prix Marc-Vivien Foé, a prize awarded to the best African player in the French championship. Then his transfer to Napoli FC, with whom he won last year's Scudetto, more than 30 years after the great Diego Armando Maradona, helped them achieve this feat.  He also won the League's highest goal scorer and has been a source of rumor-mongering over his next move. Two months ago, he helped the Nigerian Super Eagles, qualify for the 2024 CAF African Nations Cup.  

It is evident that so far, he’s proven his worth in virtually every league, he’s plied his trade. Very few laurels remain to win to enable him run shoulders with the highest legends of world football. He still has age on his side and so much could still be achieved for club and country.

 

TRANSFER RUMORS ABOUT VICTOR OSIMHEN

Since about six weeks ago when he missed a penalty in their league match against Bologna FC, which created some unfortunate events with his club, there have been serious speculations about his possible move in the January 2024 transfer window, though he's publicly pledged his allegiance to Napoli FC.

Last month, he was named amongst the world's best ten players on the Balloon D'or list and nominated for the African best footballer 2023. These recognitions are a reflection of the consistency he has maintained over a very long period. For a striker with his kind of physicality, it is an immense achievement and his relevance in World football would continue, provided he's able to remain fit and lethal in front of goal.

 

Victor Osimhen currently attracts the attention and relevance given to the new generation of World strikers such as Erdin Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, lately and Jude Bellingham, etc. His capability to remain focused on football, shying from the razzmatazz of his celebrity status is another positive that would see him continue to rise. It would be no surprise if he wins the African Footballer of the Year title this year!

 

With the few very lethal strikers in world football tied down by other big and rich club sides, his continued stay in Napoli FC would definitely be short. He would definitely command a huge transfer fee, with his young age and immense quality. The 2024 CAF African Nations Cup commences in a few months and apart from the Scudetto, this competition would be an immense opportunity to further show his worth, provided his club doesn’t prevent his participation like they did subtly during the last tournament.