Nigeria international, Victor Osimhen says winning the CAF 2023 Men’s Player of The Year award is the best moment of his career.
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.
Osimhen also helped Napoli to their first league title in three decades but the Nigerian relishes winning the CAF award.
“I can’t lie, it was a childhood dream come true,” Osimhen said in an interview with 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.”
Osimhen was in devastating form in the 2022/23 season scoring 26 goals in 32 Serie A games and 31 goals across all competitions to help Napoli claim the league title for the first time in 33 years.
He also became the first African to win the top scorer award in Serie A. He later won the Italian league’s best striker prize and was included in Serie A’s Team of The Year, earning him a place in the hearts of Neapolitans.
He was also named the Italian Footballers’ Association Serie A Player of The Year for the 2022/23 season.
For the national team, Osimhen helped Nigeria qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast and finished the qualification series as top scorer with 10 goals.
In an astonishing year for the former Lille striker, he became the first Nigerian player in history to be named in the Top 10 of the Ballon d’Or with an eighth-place finish.
Credit: punchng.com
