Top scorer in Serie A with 21 goals in 23 matches (5 assists), Victor Osimhen symbolizes, almost alone, the exceptional season achieved by Napoli. Leader of the championship with 19 lengths ahead of Lazio, the club trained by Luciano Spalletti impresses, like this new success gleaned on the lawn of Lecce at the start of the 29th day. Hit in the left adductor since the international break, the former Lille and VfL Wolfsburg striker is waiting for his time to strike again.
While waiting for his return, hoped against AC Milan for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the Super Eagles international (23 caps, 15 goals) spoke at length to France Football. The opportunity for the Partenopei serial scorer to return to a course as tortuous as it is inspiring. Originally from Lagos, the second largest city on the African continent after Kinshasa, Victor Osimhen returned in particular to the difficult conditions in which he grew up: “I am very happy to have been born in this environment and to have gone through such difficult stages. (He insists.) Without it, I wouldn’t have left school, the place where I grew up, to pursue my dreams..
Many early failures!
Admitting a heartbreak when leaving his land, the center forward of Napoli was not long in finally being spotted during a qualifying tournament for the World Cup, in Niger, against a dozen African teams. Top scorer on this occasion, Osimhen then chose to join VfL Wolfsburg to launch his experience in Enrope. A painful first experience. “When I arrived, I was accompanied by several members of my family and my two former agents. They were the ones who carried out all the formalities, signatures, etc. Gradually, they left. When my brother, the last to have packed his bags, closed the door, there was something like a void. I was coming back from training and I found myself alone in this huge house. I was alone all the time and it was… traumatic, actually. I believe that all the young players who have been there know what I want to talk about.confided in particular the person concerned.
Injured in the meniscus, calf, shoulder and operated on several times, the 24-year-old striker finally left Germany before suffering a wave of refusals… “I had just gone from top scorer in the U17 World Cup, which all the agents are fighting over, to the guy whose phone no longer rings. I told them not to worry, it was football. But I admit that it became demoralizing”. Very close to joining Zulte-Waregem but finally rebuffed after contracting malaria, Osimhen saw the doors of Club Brugge closing in the process. Before bouncing back to Charleroi. “It was the third time I was told that a Belgian club wanted me to sign! But, without this call from Mehdi Bayat, two days before the end of the transfer window, I would not have become who I am. That’s what football is about!”
Victor Osimhen impresses in the colors of Napoli!
Author of 20 goals in 36 matches in all competitions during the 2018-2019 season, Victor Osimhen was finally launched. After a very convincing stint on the side of Lille, the Super Eagle finally joined Napoli for 75 million euros. “I am grateful because the passage to Charleroi allowed me to swallow their criticisms to those who, one day, doubted me. Charleroi gave me exposure, Lille a little more, but arriving here is like changing worlds. Fans, I had never seen that. (He insists.) They live for this club. It has to do with the body, the heart. When I arrived at the airport, I was impressed. In the locker room, I asked Dries (Mertens) and (Kalidou) Koulibaly if what I had just experienced was real. They replied in unison that I hadn’t seen anything yet..
Under the spell of the energy conveyed by the Neapolitan fans, the one who sees his contract run until June 2025 confided, finally, having had to face the many criticisms when he arrived at Napoli. “People wrote that I wouldn’t score more than five goals in Serie A; others thought I would be loaned out to Serie B after a year. I read it. But I’m not the kind of player that critics reach for. Whatever people say, I will continue to give my all for my team, to tear myself away. I take this opportunity to wink at the president (Aurelio De Laurentiis) and our sports director (Cristiano Giuntoli). They were patient with me. Gennaro Gattuso (his coach during his first season), too». With 25 achievements in all competitions since the start of the season, Victor Osimhen is walking on water and detractors are now rare…
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the confessions of Victor Osimhen on his incredible rise! 24hfootnews.
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