In 2015, a relatively unknown Victor James Osimhen warmed his way into the hearts of football loving Nigerians and the world in general with his exploits at the FIFA U-17 World Championship in Chile which the Golden Eaglets won for their fifth title.
At that tournament, Osimhen won the Golden Boot after scoring 10 goals and having 2 assists to set a new U-17 World Cup goalscoring record.
Osimhen has capacity to absorb Napoli pressure – Lawal
Osimhen grabs back-to-back hattrick for Napoli
He became the first player to have scored in every match he played in the history of the 35 year-old competition.
His exploits opened a vista of football opportunities for him which he never envisaged considering his background.
Osimhen, the last of seven children suffered the hardships that come with coming from a poor background and as related by his elder brother Andrew Osimhen, Victor faced the cruelty of the Lagos sun as a baby when strapped to their late mother’s back while selling sachets water in traffic to help the family make ends meet.
Like almost every footballer, football was seen as an escape route from poverty and Osimhen began to hone his skills on the streets playing football at the Ultimate Strikers Academy, based in Lagos.
It was gathered that a close friend of Victor, Mayowa Olorunfemi revealed that Osimhen wanted to try his hands probably legs in other professions when football wasn’t ‘working’ for him but his coach Chinedu Ogbonna managed to convince him to remain steadfast.
Osimhen’s rise to stardom wasn’t a smooth ride as he was rejected by the coaches of the Lagos State football team when he tried out for the National Sports Festival.
He was told ‘he was not good enough.’
Osimhen’s breakthrough came when he won the heart of Golden Eaglets coach, Emmanuel Amuneke when he went for the open screening that was held in Lagos.
At the screening, he scored in about ten minutes of stepping on the pitch.
After the tournament in Chile, he was snapped up by VfL Wolfsburg on 5 January 2017, Osimhen officially signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the club, which was to last till June 2020.
In two years he stayed with the club, he made just 12 league appearances without scoring a single goal.
His ‘failure’ in Germany prompted a loan move to Charleroi in Belgium where his career picked up as he scored 20 goals in 36 games.
Charleroi activated their option to acquire Osimhen following his satisfactory performances while on loan and was there till 2019.
His exploits reached France where he was snapped up again by Lille in 2019 where he scored 18 goals across competitions for Lille in 2019-20.
Subsequently, he was named Player of the Season by Lille fans.
He was also named Africa’s best player in Ligue 1 in the same season.
On 31 July 2020, Serie A club Napoli announced Osimhen’s move to Italy after an intriguing and one of the most protracted transfers in recent years.
Napoli who needed a vibrant attacker splashed a club-record fee of €70 million potentially rising to €80 million with add-ons.
Osimhen has since repaid the faith with two hat-tricks in a row in the pre-season, against L’Aquila and Teramo.
His official sojourn in the Italian league which is famed for its tight and mean defence begins tomorrow against AC Parma at the Ennio Tardini Stadium.
His ability to manoeuvre his way and score enough goals will be called to action tomorrow when he kicks off another phase of his career in Naples.
A former international, Garba Lawal told Trust Sports that he has no iota of doubt about Osimhen’s abilities to score goals for his club.
“Osimhen is a very good striker who is playing for a top club in Italy.
“His job as a striker is to score goals and I know he will score the goals regardless of how tight the Italian defence is.
“I believe in his abilities, though as a human being, he will not score in all the games but he will do very well in the Italian league.
“I have no doubt about that,” he opined.
Chelsea and Napoli legend, Gianfranco Zola said Osimhen has important qualities with which he can help Napoli to succeed this new season.
“Napoli with Gattuso has found equilibrium.
“It will be an open game. Napoli has grown a lot with Gattuso.
“He will be among the protagonists if Osimhen also enters immediately, he has important qualities that were lacking in the squad especially in the counterattack.
“He plays very well on the offensive,” he said to Radio Kiss Kiss, an Italian commercial radio station.
Also, the son of Argentine football legend, Diego Maradona, Diego Maradona Junior, has labelled Osimhen, as a 30-goal striker.
Maradona, who was born in Naples, Italy and nurtured in the SSC Napoli academy, believes Osimhen will shine in the Italian Serie A, having already netted two hat-tricks in preseason friendlies.
Maradona told Gonfialarete: “He is a forward with a great prospect, with room for improvement.
“If put in the right conditions, he can become a 30 goal striker.
“He’s just 21.
“I have expressed some doubts about his construction phase when it comes to tying up the game.
“He doesn’t have to do it too much, it doesn’t have to be his first goal.
“He is good at attacking depth and if he has space in front it hurts,” he added.
Former Nigerian goalkeeper and coach, Joe Erico said he can’t wait to watch him kick start his career in Italy.
“Osimhen is a very determined and fast player and that’s what I love about him.
“We all know that Italy has a rugged defence and this will be very good for him, if he is able to overcome them.
“He has long strides and plays almost like Ronaldo.
“From what I know about him, he will score goals and if he has been given a goal target, he can achieve that because he is very good and I can’t wait to watch him play,” he said.
