Victor Osimhen has been backed by former Super Eagles of Nigeria player Emmanuel Amuneke to become one of the best in the world.
What happened to Victor Osimhen?
The Nigerian red-hot striker was included in the just-concluded Ballon d’Or ranking where he finished 8th on the list behind Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland.
The former LOSC Lille striker was the first African player to reach the stage since 1956, following his outstanding performance during the 2022/2023 campaign in which he scored 26 goals in Serie A and led Napoli to their first Italian title in 33 years.
The 24-year-old also became the highest scorer from Africa in Serie A history, breaking the last history made by 1995 Ballon d’Or winner George Weah (now president of Liberia).
Victor Osimhen is also the top goal scorer in qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with 10 goals, and he is widely expected to contend for the 2023 Confederation of African Football (CAF) men’s Player of the Year award.
The former Lille frontman is on the 30-man shortlist for the said award, including Egypt and Liverpool striker Mo Salah, Cameroon and Man United shot-stopper Andre Onana, alongside Achraf Hakimi of Morocco who also represents Paris Saint Germain in the French Ligue 1.
The winner will be declared openly in December at a ceremony in Marrakech, Morocco, and fans could see Osimhen become the first Nigeria player to snatch the award since former Arsenal and Ajax striker Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.
Speaking to reporters about Osimhen, Amuneke said; “There is no doubt about his character, in terms of his desire and zeal to achieve something, succeed and win”.
Despite not participating in the FIFA World Cup held in Qatar in November 2022, Osimhen has been able to solidify himself as a worthy contender.
Emmanuel Amuneke who was Osimhen’s former instructor during the player’s Under-17 days, added; “We hope he wins the Caf award with what he has done for his club and the national team”.
Emmanuel Amuneke recounts how Osimhen nearly missed the U-17 World Cup in 2015
Emmanuel Amuneke, who was a teammate with Man City head coach Pep Guardiola at Barcelona said 24-year-old Osimhen nearly missed out on making Nigeria’s team for the Under-17 World Cup in 2015.
However, the Napoli striker was ultimately assigned to travel to Chile and made a record by scoring 10 goals as he led the Golden Eaglets to win the title for the fifth time.
The 52-year-old said; “We actually had a lot of strikers during the screening”.
“I paired each of the players in groups and his set played badly. I already ignored Victor with other players in his set but my backroom staff drew my attention to him.
He added; “I gave him another chance and he proved himself to make the squad.”
Emmanuel Amuneke Believes Nigeria can win Afcon next year
The legendary player who is now based in Spain, thinks Osimhen and the Super Eagles have the characteristics to win the 2023 African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast next year.
Nigeria have been the tournament champions three times, with their most recent victory coming under the leadership of the late Stephen Keshi in 2013 in South Africa.
He said; “We are blessed with a crop of talented players, but we can’t go to the tournament merely thinking we can win because we have good players”.
“Winning Afcon is not about players – there’s a whole lot to be planned and implemented.”
