Victor Osimhen, Super Eagles striker has hailed former Golden Eaglets coach, Emmanuel Amuneke for shaping his career into becoming a top-class footballer he is today.
Osimhen, in an interview on the Super Eagles YouTube page, said Amuneke taught him discipline as a footballer.
“I would rewind to when I joined the U-17 and when I first went to the camp. In my own mentality, I felt the coach didn’t like me. Every time, he would speak to me and yell at me on the pitch. For me, I thought maybe he was making me to suffer,” Osimhen said.
“There was a time I wanted to leave the camp, I spoke to the coordinator and he told me to be calm that the coach knew what he was doing.
“For me, I think when you have chosen this path, you have to be disciplined, discipline is the first thing, whether you have a coach or you don’t have a coach guiding you, I think discipline is the first thing. And I am really happy I went through coach Emmanuel Amuneke.
“Everything I am today, everything I would be in the future, I attribute almost half of my success to him. Whatever I have achieved, he really set my path, he made me to understand life isn’t all about talent, you have to work hard, you have to be disciplined and listen to the coach’s instructions either on or off the pitch. I think other players that played under him can also testify, not just me.
“So, I think whatever path you choose, be it football or music or any other thing, you have to be disciplined and know what you are doing and what you want.
Amuneke coached the Eaglets to the U-17 World Cup in Chile in 2015, where they won their fifth title.
Osimhen emerged the tournament’s top scorer, scoring 10 goals.
The Eagles star also disclosed why he chose the No. 7 jersey at Lille, after joining for €15m from Sporting Charleroi last August.
“When they (Lille) first presented the numbers that they had, I went for the No. 7, because the player who wore the jersey before (Rafael Leao) was a very good one, and he had a lot of luck and he has a lot of talent also.
“They asked me why I chose the number, and I told them I really wanted it and that was what my my chose. When I picked the number, I also presented it to God and of course, you can see that everything is going on well.
“After my debut, Rafael Leao messaged me on Instagram and we had a little chat about everything and about the club and we both wished ourselves well,” he added.
Credit: punchng.com
