Victor Osimhen: Napoli idol finally becomes African king

Thirty-three years after emulating the great Diego Armando Maradona to take the Italian Serie A title back to Napoli, Victor James Osimhen finally returned to the African continent to take his rightful place alongside continental strikers of global repute including Abedi Pele, George Weah and our own Rashidi Yekini.

Donning a Tuxedo but not losing his gold-dyed hairstyle, Osimhen was finally handed the CAF Men’s Best Player of the Year award that has eluded a Nigerian since 1999. This was 24 years of hurt for Nigerians, a snub that claimed Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, arguably Nigeria’s biggest export on the global stage, wiped away by the goalscoring prowess and tenacity of Osimhen.

The award was a culmination of international applause in the form of being named the eighth best player in the world in the recent Ballon d’Or awards, and honour in Italy as the Italian Footballers’ Association player of the year award winner for the 2022/23 season. The 25-year-old also spearheaded the attack for the season’s best XI selected by his colleagues in the tough-tackling league.

This homecoming has not been without its travails though, with the Serie A not crowning Osimhen the league’s best player despite claiming the highest goalscorer award with 25 goals, but he can take compensation in the fact that he became the first African player to net 25 goals in the highly tactical Italian league.

A very passionate footballer who likes to rally the crowd, his route to becoming the African king crowned at the Palais des Congrès, Movenpick, Marrakech, Morocco, on Monday night would not be complete without mentioning his international sojourn.

Osimhen repeated his 10-goal trick that won Nigeria the under-17 FIFA World Cup in 2015 in the recently concluded AFCON qualifiers, reaching the tally in only five matches.

His golden boot propelled Nigeria to Ivory Coast 2024 qualification where he is expected to be one of the stars of the tournament. And as Nigeria wobbles in the World Cup qualifiers, this masked hero with a cape- and also a crown- is expected to lead Nigeria to the global stage.

Already idolised in Naples, and adored by Nigerians, Osimhen is a worthy King of Africa. Like Queen Asisat Oshoala, long may he reign.