By Damola Emmanuel
From the congress hall of the magnificent Movenpick Hotel in Marrakech, Morocco, Nigeria’s super striker, Victor Osimhen, brought ethereal joy to millions of his compatriots, at home and in the diaspora, when he won the CAF 2023 Men’s Player of The Year award.
The 24-year-old Napoli goal poacher warded off challenges from Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, Senegal’s Sadio Mane, and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, among others, to pick the laurel in what can be aptly dubbed a night of a thousand stars.
Osimhen, who stands at 1.85meters, was shoulder above his peers, Monday, as he wrote his name in gold in Nigeria’s sporting history as the man who ended a 24-year drought for the diadem which Super Eagles legend, Kanu Nwankwo, won for Fatherland at the onset of this democracy in 1999.
Victor Osimhen, who makes goal-scoring looking so easy as running a hot knife through butter, had early in December (precisely, Monday, December 4, 2023) scored another thunderous first as he was crowned the Italian footballers’ association player of the year for his sterling performances at his club, Napoli, last season.
The Super Eagles star earned the prestigious award after helping his club win their first league title in 33 years since after the era of the magical Argentinian legend, Diego Maradona.
Osimhen had banged in 26 Serie A superb goals in the 2022-2season to shatter George Weah’s record as the highest-scoring African in the Italian top flight league.
The former Lille and Wolfsburg striker thus became the first African ever to win the AIC award, joining soccer greats like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andrea Pirlo, Cristiano Ronaldo and last year’s winner Rafael Leao, as recipients of the prize.
The Nigerian striker would later win the Italian league’s best striker prize and got included in the Serie A Team of the Year, booking a conspicuous place for him in the hearts of soccer-crazy Napoli fans.
The Crest recalls that Osimhen, who made his debut for the Super Eagles in June 2017, has banged in 20 goals from his 27 appearances for the national team.
And, though injury has knocked him out of the ongoing campaign for the 34th edition of Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, holding between January 13 and February 11, 2024, the newly crowned King of African football has chalked up 10 goals in the tournament. He scored seven of the ten goals against São Tomé and Principe.
