LAGOS, NIGERIA (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen has revealed the key moment that changed his football career.
The Napoli forward asserted that winning the CAF 2023 Men’s Player of The Year award was the major turning point for him.
Osimhen had the best run of his career during the 2022-2023 season in which he scored 26 league goals and provided 5 assists in 32 games.
These beautiful stats helped Napoli to win their first Scudetto in 33 years and also earned Osimhen 8th place finish in the 2023 Ballon d’Or ranking.
To crown it all, Osimhen won the African Player of the Year award, the most prestigious football award in Africa which is often organized by CAF yearly.
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The 25-year-old saw off competition from Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah last December to help Nigeria reclaim the honour, 24 years after Kanu Nwankwo last won it in 1999.
“I can’t lie, it was a childhood dream come true,” Osimhen told Tutto Napoli.
“Every young African who aspires to become a footballer dreams of one day playing in the Champions League, the World Cup, the Nations Cup, winning the African player of the year, just like I did. Where I come from clearly it was a dream, it was something we said with my friends, because most of my friends are footballers. We all started together as children and we said, ‘Maybe one day we can win the Ballon d’Or’ or one day we will win best African Player of The Year.’
“When I was nominated, for me it was already a victory because where I come from I couldn’t think that Victor Osimhen would come in the top three or win and I won’t lie it was the best moment or at least one of the most important moments of my career to date and I’m very proud of how far I’ve come. And winning the African Player of the Year award was a great achievement for me.”