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!

 

AFCON2023: A DAY OF RECKONING FOR NIGERIA’s SUPER EAGLES

AFCON2023 started yesterday 23rd January 2023 at the Alassane Quattara Stadium with so much pomp and pageantry. There was an astounding display of the African spirit and culture. Nigerian musician Yemi Alade brought her exhilarating artistry of song and dance to the stage and dazzled the crowd. The first match between hosts Cote D’Ivoire and Guinea Bissau lived up to its billing. Cote D’Ivoire won and has set the right frame towards qualification for the next round.

WHO WINS NIGERIA vs EQUATORIAL GUINEA

This afternoon, Nigeria would lock horns with Equatorial Guinea. It stands to be an exciting match though on paper, Nigeria is expected to win the match. Since 2008, both teams have met three times, with Nigeria, winning always. The Super Eagles have won the AFCON thrice, namely in 1980, 1994, and 2013. They are currently the highest placed on the AFCON medals table, considering the cumulative silver and bronze medals they have won in the competition. Unlike Equatorial Guinea, the Super Eagles are blessed with several established players, plying their trade in the big leagues of Europe. They include the current African footballer of the year, Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC, Italy), Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan FC, Italy), Ademola Lukeman (Atalanta FC, Italy), Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest FC, England), Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi (Fulham FC, England amongst several others. They have also lost several other players such as Victor Boniface, Bayer Leverkusen FC, Germany, Sadiq Umar, Real Sociedad FC, Spain et al.

THE EXPECTATIONS FROM BOTH SIDES

As always, there’s a huge expectation from the Super Eagles to perform very well and that immense pressure would remain the biggest battle for the Ahmed Musa-led Super Eagles, to overcome. Despite qualification for the AFCON2023, Coach Jose Peseiro has not been able to build a formidable team comparable to the quality of players available to the team. Their cumulative win-to-loss ratio since his assumption, has been abysmal, whilst there has been an unending clamor for him to improve the entire defence, especially the goalkeeping department.

Compared to the Super Eagles, Equatorial Guinea remains a team searching for recognition both in African and World football. They have participated in the AFCON three times, namely in 2012, 2015 and 2021. They got to the semi-final in 2015, and this remains their highest achievement. Despite having players in the European leagues, they still remain underachievers and have not achieved anything worth comparing with Nigeria’s long list of football successes. As the first match for both teams, the expectation is that both teams would do their utmost to ensure that they get a good result to enhance their quest for qualification to the next round. Despite bookmakers’ expectations for the Super Eagles’ victory, it does not deny Equatorial Guinea’s capacity to cause an upset in today’s match and until the final whistle is blown they’d remain a threat. At the AFCON2021, in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea surprised then defending champions, Algeria, 1-0 and this victory got them to the quarter final phase. They would want to achieve same heroics and the Super Eagles must beware!

CAF ANC2023: FIREWORKS BEGIN IN COTE D’IVOIRE

 

Today, the  13^th of January 2024, twenty-four African national teams are converged in Cote D’Ivoire for the commencement of the African Nations Football Cup tournament. It’s a culmination of over a year of rigorous planning and organization to highlight the best of African Football players to the global audience.

Two years ago, five nations (Morocco, Ghana, Algeria, Senegal, and Cameroon, represented Africa in the FIFA World Cup Competition in Qatar. Morocco surprised the world by becoming the first African nation to qualify for the semi-final stage, since the beginning of the FIFA World Cup. Over the years, the number of participating teams has increased, and so has the prize money for the participating teams and winners. The Confederation for African Football (CAF), has also signed bigger broadcast rights to further enhance the development of African football and as the competition kicks off today, planning and organization, will move from the board rooms to the football fields at the six-stadia accredited for this competition.

 

THE OPENING MATCH: COTE D’IVOIRE VS GUINEA BISSAU

This evening, Group A partners, and hosts, Cote D’Ivoire would lock horns with Guinea Bissau, at the Alassane Quattara Stadium, Abidjan, to start off the 34^th African Nations Cup Competition. Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea are the other teams in group A and they’d play the second match of the competition tomorrow afternoon. On paper, this group has strong teams with each having a fair chance of qualification. Cote D’Ivoire, looks like a team in transition, but could also ride on an overwhelming home support to progress to the next stage. They have won the competition in the past(1992, 2015) and once boasted of players such as Didier Drogba, Kolo Toure, Yaya Toure, Emmanuel Eboue, Salomon Kalou, et al. Presently, the team is short of such a caliber of stars. Their opponents, Guinea Bissau can be rightly categorized as one of Africa’s rising football nations enjoying the liberalization of international transfers through the Bosman Ruling. They have most of their players in the Portuguese league and have sprung some surprises in the recent past. It’s not their first participation at the African Nations Cup Competition.

The current dynamics of football make it difficult to predict a lesser opportunity for qualification for Guinea Bissau or any other team. A considerable amount of players participating in the competition ply their trade in the European leagues and the margins of their exposure and experience are very little. The beauty of this competition is its capability to showcase several hidden African football talents and inspire others in various local leagues across Africa. Football has become a veritable profession that has rescued several poor families in Africa from hunger, poverty, and the ineptitude of diverse African governments whose focus on building a workable social structure to support the people, has been underwhelming.

Beyond the razmatazzz of the sounds of vuvuzelas, the screaming of football fans, the dancing of supporters, and other excitements the football brings, the time has come for African football leagues to begin to make deliberate efforts towards attracting players from other continents and/or even their own kith and kin leaving Europe to develop their local leagues. The beauty of the African geographical landscape, its fauna, and flora must be used to attract others to build stronger football leagues in different African states. It is difficult but possible!

 

CONTENDERS AND PRETENDERS FOR THE CAF ANC 2023

 

The stage is set for the commencement of the ANC 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire. Twenty-four of Africa's best national football teams, including the defending champions, the Taranga Lions of Senegal, and all the teams that represented Africa in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, would be competing for this title. Matches would be played in six stadia and five towns, in Cote d’Ivoire.

 

List of Qualifiers:

Group A – Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau.

Group B – Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, and Mozambique.

Group C – Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, and the Gambia.

Group D – Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola.

Group E – Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, and Namibia.

Group F – Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia, and Tanzania

 

THE GATHERING OF AFRICAN FOOTBALL STARS

This competition draws African footballers playing for clubs in different parts of the world and the quest for getting the best players has made several Nations very meticulous in their player selection. African Players from the European leagues form the greatest bulk of footballers participating in this competition. With the current form of these teams, especially judging from the heroics of Morocco at the Qatar World Cup, every team would expect their best players to take them to stardom. The Moroccans would likely try to prove that their performance at the last FIFA World Cup was not a fluke. Egypt, who narrowly lost out to Senegal for the World Cup ticket, would expect the brilliance of Mohamed Salah to wipe away the pains of their painful loss to Senegal at the final of the last tournament in Cameroon, whilst Senegal would hope that their mercurial stars, Saido Mane, Koulibaly and others would help them retain the title. The Nigerian national team led by current African best footballer, Victor Osimhen would hope that he'd be able to inspire his colleagues to help Nigeria restore her pride in the current ANC.

 

 

PERMUTATIONS

Such permutations remain the basis of people's expectations in determining how the winner of this competition would emerge. The quality of players, their current form, team cohesion, and their past records are important factors. Just like the contenders, several underdogs abound who have not done much on the African and world stage to speculate their capacity to win the CAF ANC2023. Unlike in the past, the margins between teams are hugely thin and upsets would come in the same way as major contenders would meet bookmakers’ predictions.

On paper, teams such as Senegal, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, Cameroon, Algeria, and Ghana appear the main contenders but hypothetical predictions sometimes fail, as they did during the last competition.  Then title holders, Algeria, exited at the group stage, just like Nigeria (2nd round). Within three days to the start-off of the competition, Nigeria had lost three very important players, whilst Cameroon wouldn't be having the services of their popular goalkeeper, Andre Onana. These are outcomes of the competition being held during the tick of the ongoing leagues across most continents. The best team would emerge from whosoever can perfectly manage their results with their best available resources.

 

JUDE BELLINGHAM IS WORTH THE RAVE!

He moves with speed and poise. He’s a creative midfielder with good ball control and balance. Some years ago, during COVID-19, he was barely known outside his hometown. Today, Jude Bellingham rubs shoulders with World greats, Modric, Kroos, Nacho, Rudiger, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Rudiger, Courtois, et al at Real Madrid.

 

THE MAKING OF A STAR

Twenty-year-old Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid FC of Spain started on a goal run, scoring 8 consecutive goals in nine matches; most of them, in spectacular fashion. Several times he's rescued Real Madrid FC from defeat and currently leads the La Liga goal-scorers chat with 13 goals. Though he’s yet to complete a full season with his new club but has captivated the Real Madrid supporters with his brilliance.

He’s always shown signs of greatness very early in his career. Bellingham got into the first team of Birmingham City, at 16 and became the youngest first-team player in their history.  At Borussia Dortmund FC, he scored on his debut to become their youngest goal scorer. He joined Birmingham City FC as a child and by 2020 sealed a transfer to Borussia Dortmund FC in Germany. He snubbed Manchester United, Liverpool amongst others to join Dortmund; a club with good tradition for youth development. Even with the humble beginning of his club football, Borussia Dortmund coughed about 25 million British pounds, plus some add-ons for his transfer. He believed that like Jordan Sancho, he’d grow at Dortmund. Truly, he excelled with them, before his move to Madrid. He captained the team and won the German FA Cup 2020-21 with them and they had a second-place finish in the league. He also won the Bundesliga Player of the Season.
Bellingham has represented England in all age grades, including the senior national team. He's played 18 times already for the senior team and registered his name on the score sheets. He achieved this feat against Iran at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

 

Speaking about his move to Madrid, Jude said thus; 

"I'd always been aware of the interest from England so that was pretty normal,"

"It was a bit of a surprise when my dad sat me down and said: 'You've had a bit of interest from Real Madrid.'

"I think that was maybe about 12-15 months ago. When he said that I had goosebumps, and my heart was close to stopping. It's something you don't expect growing up - being able to play for a team like this."

THE STAR BOY OF WORLD FOOTBALL

As overwhelmed as he was, Bellingham settled immediately and has become an important player for them. With his outstanding performance, his £113m, six-year transfer fee looks to be worth it. He joins Steve Macmanaman and David Beckham, two English players who dazzled at Real Madrid. Jude has had a great time showcasing his skill and looks ready to compete with the Vinicus Juniors, Mbappes, and Haaland, as the new star boy of World football.

His value continues to increase by the day. His coach Carlo Ancelotti, rates him currently as the World’s best player. His early integration into Real Madrid FC has been astounding and despite his role as a midfielder, Bellingham’s capacity to decide games in his team’s favor continues to make him invaluable. He’s not likely to stop soon because his best is yet to come!

 

 

Note:

This article was edited and republished. Some parts were earlier published in https://worldinsport.com/     

CAN BARCELONA FC OVERCOME THEIR STRUGGLES?

 

For a team known for the fluidity and flair of their possession football, Barcelona FC has witnessed an undulating campaign so far in the 2023/23 football season. Their successes have made them stand out so much that a little setback draws immediate attention and scrutiny from both fans and foes!

Playing their week 19 match against Las Palmas FC at the Gran Canaria Stadium, Barcelona FC had a torrid time overcoming the stubborn resistance of their hosts. They won 1-2, through a penalty scored by Iker Gundogan, in the 93rd minute of extra time.  Such has been their situation this season.  Almostthe same scenario occurred with Almeria FC in week 18 and against this season's surprise team, Girona FC.  They lost 4-2; it was never so in the past. They appear to be losing the aura that the presence of such greats as Lionel Messi, Neymar, Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, and many others brought to the team. Also,the daily struggles of overcoming their huge debts and the Financial FairplayRegulations Rules remain daunting enough to affect their on-field activities but they still survive.

 

WHY IS BARCELONA FC STUTTERING SO HARD?

They currently stand in the third position, with 41 points, and are 7 points below joint leaders, Real Madrid and Girona FC, yet, criticisms continue to grow about the current form of Barcelona FC. It is such high standards they have set for themselves in the past seasons and Coach Xavi Hernandez has received so much scrutiny about what the issues are with his team.  Truly they've dropped points in matches that ordinarily they would win. Injuries and loss of form to their important players such as star striker, Robert Lewandowski, goalkeeper Andre Ter Stegen, Pedri, Joao Felix, et al have affected their fortunes.  Lewandowski has scored just 3 goals since September 2023 and going by his standards, it is very underwhelming. Keeper Marc Andre Ten Stegen has been out with injury for some time and his stabilizing presence in the team cannot be ignored.  In everything, Xavi Hernandez has received the unalloyed support of club President Joan Laporta, despite the extreme criticism by the press!

 

 

 

 THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR BARCELONA FC

Against Las Palmas FC, theirnew striker, the Brazilian whiz kid Victor Roque was introduced and showed flashes of his skill, and the expectation is that he'd integrate fast to help the stuttering Lewandowski, Joao Felix, and others. Coach Xavi though has promised not to put him under pressure to allow him to settle.

 

With their current form and the consistency of Real Madrid and Girona FC, it would be difficult for Barcelona to retain the La Liga title. They're enjoying an interesting transition though, with several young and enterprising players establishing themselves and Barcelona's future looks very bright provided they're able to keep these players in good form.  Players such as Ferran Torres, Gavi, Pedri, Victor Roque, Yamal, and Araujo are very young but have huge experience and the current glitch looks surmountable once they maintain their good form.