- Victor Osimhen plays the striker position for the Nigeria National team where he started in the U17 category before rising to the senior team.
- He worked his way to the top through hard work, talent and determination despite coming from a poor background.
- The 25 years old striker plays for Serie A Side, Napoli while representing the national team in the Afcon 2021 games in Cameroon
Victor Osimhen is a Nigerian professional football player with Serie A team Napoli and the Nigeria national team, Super Eagles. The athlete plays the striker position for both teams. Ever since he began his football journey, the striker has steadily risen to the top despite coming from a poor background.
The striker holds the record for the most expensive transfer in Africa. His success story from the street to the cheering fans in the stadiums of Europe and Nigeria was filled with challenges that he overcame.
Who Is Victor Osimhen?
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He is a professional football player with Napoli and the Nigeria super Eagles. His rise to the top came at the cost of hard work, dedication, and talent.
Born Victor James Osimhen on December 29th, 1998 in Lagos to parents from Edo state Nigeria. His father, Elder Patrick was a police constable, and together with his late mother, they struggled to make ends meet for their family of six children. As the youngest child of the family, the future was not so bright for him looking at the situation of his family.
How Victor Osimhen Rose to the Top
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Osimhen is a goal scorer rated among the best in the world. His rise to the top fascinates many fans. There was a time he was so broke that he supported himself by sweeping the gutters in return for a payment of 20 naira. He also fetched water for neighbors to be paid 80 naira at the end of the day.
Other members of his family were not left out as everyone was up and doing to make sure the family moved forward. His brother sold newspapers while his sisters hawked oranges on the streets of Lagos. Osimhem augmented the payment from his cleaning job by hawking water in the traffic.
Despite these challenges, Osimhen was determined to turn his life and be successful at a childhood of dream of becoming a great footballer. His big break came after he participated in an open camp for the under 17 national team under coach Emmanuel Amuneke.
His spot on the team was confirmed when he netted 10 goals for the team in the U17 FIFA world cup in Chile. It placed the U17 national team on the fifth-place title for the tournament.
The stellar performance at the U17 world cup showcased the talents of the young player to the rest of the world. It was not long after that a German club, VFL Wolfsburg grabbed the talented player. At first, he was on a pre-contract before they signed him to a contract of three and half years when he reached 18 years.
After years of playing for different teams, Osimhen is playing for series A side, Napoli.
Fascinating Facts You Never knew About Victor Osimhen
1. What Does Osimhen Mean?
The life he was born into may not have registered the goodness of God but his later life proved this to be true. ‘Osimhen’, Victor’s surname in the Esan dialect means ‘God is Good’.
The loss of his mother at a young age dealt a heavy blow to the growing player. He used the pain of losing his mother to push forward.
2. Victor Osimhen Spent his early life in Lagos
Though his parents were from a different part of the country, they made the decision to move to Lagos before Victor was born. It is understandable that they chose Lagos in search of greener pasture as it is known as the economic capital of Nigeria.
Osimhen grew up in Olusosun, a poor neighborhood of Lagos. His interest in football was ignited by his older brother. The young Osimhen tagged along to go watch his brother play.
He participated in both his high school and neighborhood football games before he made his breakthrough. Local scouts noticed his skills and invited him for tryouts. He had his first successful tryout at the Ultimate Strikers Academy in Lagos.
3. The Super striker lost his father while trying to Set His foot Down
His stint with Wolfburg was uneventful as he suffered injuries and lack of game time. In the midst of all these, Royal Charleroi offered him a lifeline. He defended his joining the club with a good performance in the 2018/2019 season.
Victor attracted the attention of Ligue 1 side, Lille OSC. He signed with Les Dogues in 2019.
His rising career had shadows when he lost his father within the period that his career regained a focus.
4. His older Brother Dropped Out of School to support His Siblings
Victor’s oldest brother, Andrew sacrificed a lot for him and his siblings. At first, Andrew was the football star in the community and he was an influence on the young striker.
After Andrew realized that his brother had more skills, he abandoned his education and concentrated on his newspaper business to support his family.
5. Osimhen almost Didn’t Make It to the Under 17 National Team
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At the time he arrived in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital for Coach Emmanuel’s open camp try-outs, he met many other young men from different parts of the country. Osimhen did not make an impression on the coach despite scoring a goal in the organized game.
Before he was booted out, a coaching assistant who was quite impressed with the young striker put in a word for him with the head coach, Emmanuel Amunike.
6. He is one of The Most Expensive Players in Africa
His contract to join Napoli places him on the top chart of the richest African players. The club signed him for 70 million Euro. Others that make the list for the richest players include Pepe, Riyad Mahrez, Aubameyang, Keita and many others.
7. Injuries put a Set back on His Scoring Streak
After scoring five goals out of 11 for Napoli in 2021, his scoring streak came to a stop due to an injury. The Napoli and Nigerian player suffered a broken cheekbone while playing for the club in a match against Inter Milan after clashing heads with Milan’s Skrinier.
His next injury was back home in Nigeria. The athlete injured his shoulder in an Afcon qualifying match on November 20th, 2020. The club gave him permission to spend a break in Nigeria while he recovers.
Before returning, he also tested positive for Covid 19. Allegedly, he contacted Covid 19 during the celebration. His return to the field was further complicated with that development till 29th January 2021. Osimhen apologized to Napoli fans after he returned from the injury.
8. He is on the Fast Lane to winning the African Player of the year
After joining the Lille, he gave the fans more reasons to turn out for games. He scored a brace in a 2-1 win against Nantes. He earned the title of Ligue 1 player of the month in September 2019.
Other performances have attracted the attention of football enthusiasts to his fast claim as a bidder for the title of African Footballer of the year at the rate he is going. Other winners of the prestigious award include Sadio Mane of Senegal, Samuel Etoo, Yaya Toure among others.
9. Victor Osimhen was Named to the National team Squad for Afcon 2021
His name made the list for Afcon 2021 but Osimhen later sent an official to the Super Eagles head coach to state his inability to represent the national team. He had been out for injuries coupled with Covid 19. Interestingly, he later made it to the team squad. He is on the current 28 man Squad representing Nigeria at the Afcon games in Cameroon.
Alongside other strikers like the team captain and Fatih Karagumruk player, Ahmed Musa, he is playing forward in their bid to secure the fourth tournament championship for Nigeria.
10. Victor Osimhen has won Some Awards
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The Napoli striker is a force to reckon with on the field as his awards and recognition have proven. He has won both club and international awards so far and these include:
International Awards and honor
- Won Golden Boot, FIFA U17 World Cup 2015
- Won Silver Ball, FIFA U17 World Cup 2015
- CAF Youth Player of the Year 2015
- Afcon with the National team, 2019
Clubside
- Ligue 1 Player of the Month, 2019
- Prix Marc-Vivien Foe, 2020
- Lille Player of the Season 2019/20
Complete profile of Victor Osimhen
| Victor Osimhen | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Victor James Osimhen |
| Date of Birth | 29 December 1998 |
| Age | 25 years old |
| Zodiac sign | Capricorn |
| Place of Birth | Lagos, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Ethnicity | Edo State descent(Esan dialect) |
| Education | NA |
| Career | Professional Football player |
| Playing Position | Striker |
| Clubs | Ultimate Strikers Academy 2017–2019 VfL Wolfsburg 2018–2019 → Charleroi (loan) 2019–2020 Lille 2020– Napoli 2015 Nigeria U17 2015–2019 Nigeria U23 2017– Nigeria |
| Father | Elder Patrick Osimhen |
| Mother | NA |
| Siblings | 5 |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Spouse | NA |
| Girlfriend | NA |
| Children | NA |
| Religion | NA |
| Net Worth | NA |
| Source of Income | Football career |
| Height | 6feet 1inches(1.85m) |
| Weight | 77 kg |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Black |
| Social Media | Twitter |
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