Victor Osimhen’s agent Roberto Calenda has come to the defence of his client after the striker was criticised for breaching coronavirus protocols during the christmas holiday in Nigeria, reports Completesports.com.
Osimhen attended a birthday party without using a protective mask and later tested positive for coronavirus.
The 22-year-old, who is expected to be sactioned by Napoli for his action has apologised to manager Gennaro Gattuso, the club and fans .
“He should not be accused of a family party. naivety, you also need to know the context to get a complete picture of the issue,” Calenda told ilmattino.it.
“We are talking about a 22-year-old boy who has been through a very difficult period in recent months.
Read Also: Gattuso: Osimhen Will Pay For Breaching Covid-19 Protocol
” He has been alone for a long time, he has lost his father and with this injury, things got even worse.
“He hadn’t seen his family for months and when he got home they threw a surprise party for him.
“So it’s okay to judge his mistake but let’s not consider it as if he had gone to Ibiza to the disco. He was wrong and apologized to everyone “.
Osimhen is currently recuperating of the shoulder injury he sustained while on international duty with Nigeria last November.
He has scored twice in nine league appearances for Napoli this season.
By Adeboye Amosu
11 Comments
That is a great manager for u,dont mind some fool’s that is wishing him to fail,may God bless you osimgoal
Amen. His agent said some good things.
Where those wey dey condemn, where arw the enemies of progress that full the country. Una done rush to judge when them post bad news, now them don post this news, una don run
They are criticising him out of love guys, no need for your post above. No bonafide Nigerian will wish Osimgoal bad at this moment or ever, we all want him so much success in club and country colours, it only pains us to see many talents before him getting destroyed due to sheer indiscipline. Even though they threw a surprise birthday party in his honour, he should know better to wear a mask at least at this time of 2nd wave covid-19 surge.
Osimhen…………am sure you know that all Nigerians home and abroad do love you very dearly, please be responsible and focus on your career progress, there’s still plenty years ahead to enjoy my brother
Did you read the article before this on osimhen mr man? Some people where already camparing him to isaac success. And if you say love was the reason for that, then love must be used wisely, am sure if you have been being delegent and suddenly you make a single mistake, your parents wouldn’t just start suggesting that you would end up being a failure, or maybe i am wrong.
Did you read the article before this on osimhen mr man? Some people where already camparing him to isaac success. And if you say love was the reason for that, then love must be used wisely, am sure if you have been being delegent and suddenly you make a single mistake, your parents wouldn’t just start suggesting that you would end up being a failure, or maybe i am wrong…
Can Osimhen bounce back?
Super Eagles young first choice centre forward Victor Osimhen has definitely seen better days in a football career that had seen much highs up till now.
Having played 0 part in Nigeria’s 2019 Afcon expedition safe for the 3rd place consolation encounter against Tunisia, Osimhen wasted no time in making the number 9 position for the national team his personal property post-Afcon. His boots rained goals incessantly.
But such a position comes with huge weight of responsibility and perhaps the most visible spot in the spotlight for players.
Apart from being Nigeria’s top marksman, he is also the most expensive African striker following a big money move to Napoli at the end of last season.
The Super Eagles need goals and plenty of them if Nigerian flag is to be flown at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup later on in the same year.
For that to happen, the arrow head of the team has to be fully focused mentally in order to rise up to the challenges ahead.
Victor Osimhen can do without the distractions brought about by recent events. His November shoulder injury during national assignments and reported allegations between Napoli and Super Eagles officials of poor medical protocols dominated media space instead of his convalescence reports.
With Napoli needing his goals to gain grounds in the Italia Serie A, Osimhen’s unfortunate injury came at the worst possible time.
In the immediate six matches before Osimhen’s unfortunate shoulder injury, Napoli won 5 and lost 1. Six matches since his injury, Gli Azzurri (as Napoli are also known) have won 3 and narrowly lost 3 games.
Osimhen has been missed.
And just as he was going to make his return, he contracts the much dreaded Covid-19 after clips of him having a mini-party was circulated on social media.
Ouch!
He has now been slapped with a fine by Napoli ‘for not respecting the club’s regulations’.
Fans’ optimism had greeted Osimhen’s move to move to Napoli where it was hoped that he would paint the league green with goals. The goals had trickled in – 2 in 8 games – but many including Osimhen himself wanted a flood.
The storm clouds had been gathering as he found the back of the net on his last game against Bologna on 8 November before reporting for national duties against Sierra Leone.
Now, the grounds of Italy will have to wait that bit longer before rain of goals from Osimhen’s boots.
He is a likeable gentleman. Most if not all Super Eagles fans have taken to Osimhen and have no qualms in him leading the lines for Nigeria.
But, if he should lose his concentration too long, the likes of Taiwo Awoniyi and Sadiq Umar are waiting to wrestle the number 9 shirt off him. These are strikers hugging headlines for all the right reasons.
Distractions and injuries are a potent mix currently derailing the national team career of goalkeeper Francis Uzoho.
Osimhen should be mindful. He is currently Nigeria’s most high profile player. He has got football skills, acumen and intellect at a very superior level. He needs a concentration level to match and even exceed these. And he will be able to build on what is already a hugely promising and remarkable career to this point.
Injuries, nobody can do anything about, but concentration, this variable is 100% in the hands of a footballer.
Another key variable is the ability to bounce back from setbacks.
This is something observers will be looking at in the coming months to see whether Osimhen can put recent events behind him and do what he does best: rain goals!
@deo, once again am highly impressed with your write up in CSN. Concerning osimhen i hope he understand how important he is to the napoleans. and most importantly to the super eagles of Nigeria. Due to their recent outing in the seria A it clearly shows how relevant he is to the team, and how his presence on the pitch turns things around for them, i believe this is just a minor setback for osimhen, am so optimistic that he (osimhen) will bounce back stronger, when he is fully fit to play football again, after he has recorvered from the dreaded corona virus a.k.a (Covid-19).
Thanks Anthony.
For those supporting the noneaense errors of oshimen, they should begin to pray for him immediately. 2 goals in six matches was bad before the injuries. Now we are talking about the errors that are totally avoidable. Let’s pray for him or it may just be a pointer to something we don’t want to happen. I still remember the case of Victor Aghali.
Nigerian players should understand that europe will not give them a lot of opportunities and second chances like their own children. So they need to be disciplined to achieve maximally.
You have a point.