Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen has revealed why he decided to wear jersey number seven at French Ligue 1 club, Lille, reports Completesports.com.
Osimhen linked up with Lille from Belgian outfit, Sporting Charleroi last summer.
“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 too,”Osimhen stated in an interview on the Super Eagles You Tube page.
“They asked me why I chose the number, and I told them I really wanted it and that was my choice. 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.”
Also Read: Super Sub Oshoala Bags Brace In Barcelona Ladies’ Away Win
Osimhen also heaped plaudits on coach Emmanuel Amuneke for helping mould his career to become a top-class footballer he is today.
Amuneke was in charge when Osimhen and a group of Nigerian young lads won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile in 2015.
“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 added.
“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.
Also Read: NPFL: Akwa United Win 1-0 At Jigawa Stars To Extend Winning Streak
“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 with what i went through with 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.”
11 Comments
we need our ex internals in our verious national teams, under 15.17.20.23. we dont need all this coaches who dosent play the game to hightest level. someone like finidi Geodge. Mutiu Adepkoju. Nduka ugbade. name them all. and our ex internationals should take over Nff because pinik and his friends dont know the game.
@daniwl, you have made a very good point……
I cant wait to have amunike as super eagles coach. The reason why nigeria is still in her mess is becos the good people are always afraid to challenge the bad ones
Good talk Osemhen. I hope our NFF are reading this. I don’t know why but my mind is telling me if they give Amunike a chance to be a Super Eagles coach, by God’s grace, he will deliver.
A coach that believes in youth and raw talents. Amunike is the man. God bless Nigeria!!!
just go hide your face abeg which good coach
You think I didn’t know what I’m saying? The man that discovered Osimhen and Chukwueze?
Ah, Coach Amunike deserves some class from us all.
Let’s join hands together to make Nigeria to the higher level. God bless Nigeria!!!
Amunike will make a good Coach. Moreso that no nation can win the world cup with a foreign coach. It’s always a local Coach that wins the world cup. Let’s give him a chance and relieve Rohr of his duties. That’s all
Just after reading this article i came to the comment section just to be sure this guy will be here praising himself over his thought over Amuneke. So sad, i’m in no way convinced this Amuneke is ready for eagle’s job by this. Of course, may be in the future.
Without a doubt, I think Amuneke can do a good job as SE coach. However, the SE currently have a coach who is also doing quite well, GERNOT ROHR. In addition to Amuneke, there are of course, other ex internationals whom I think would make good coaches. Some have been there before and done well e.g. Eguavoen, Siasia, Amokachi. Oliseh also did ok, although his exit was not ideal, and he seemed to have a problem with man management. Finidi is another guy whom I think could do really well. And of course there are others out there. On the female side, names like Florence Omagbemi, Ann Agumanu-Chiejine, Mercy Akide, Perpetua Nkwocha, etc can be encouraged to go into coaching if they show interest. The NFF can invest in people like this by sending them out on refresher courses. These people can then come back home to work in our local leagues, or work abroad. The end game is that we should have a pool of capable, savvy Nigerian coaches that can be assigned to the various national teams.
Also, we can partner with the folks at Barcelona, and establish a football academy in Nigeria modeled after LA MASIA, with locations in as many states as possible. That way, talented young boys and girls have a place to go to for secular and football education.
Sorry – MERCY AKIDE UDOH. Apologies to Colin.
so good to read this from player who has played under the tutuledge of coach Emmanuel Amunike and he is putting all he has learnt to work and he is doing well. more wins for you victor Oshimen,more wins to coach Emmanuel Amunike and more wins to Nigeria as a football Nation