How Nigeria's Victor Osimhen became Africa's best footballer

Five years ago, Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen was let go after failing to impress at Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, but on Monday night, he won the most prominent individual men's prize in African football, the CAF Footballer of the Year award.

"It's a dream come true for me," Osimhen said after beating out Egypt's Mohamed Salah and Morocco's Achraf Hakimi to the golden ball at a lavish ceremony in Marrakesh, Morocco. 

"I appreciate Nigerians for their support. I appreciate Africa for putting me on the map, encouraging me and defending me, regardless of my shortcomings."

But the story could have been very different.

Osimhen grew up in poverty in Olusosun, a run-down neighborhood in Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos. The pungent smell of the nearby landfill was a constant in the life of the young footballer, whose mother died when he was a young boy. As the youngest child, he was raised by his father and supported by his oldest brother, Andrew, who sold newspapers to help him achieve his dreams of playing football.

His first pair of football boots were picked up from the Olusosun dumpsite, and he dreamed of playing among the elite like his idol, the Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba. He sold bags of water and snacks in Lagos traffic and worked as a laborer carrying mixed concrete on his head at a construction site near his home. Poverty toughened him up.

"The place where I came from, nothing is promised," Osimhen said in a recent interview. "I am so happy about my breakthrough because nobody gave me a chance of making it out of the trenches. Not just me but my whole family. For me to work my way up, I have shown the kids there that when you work hard and you're focused, anything is possible with God."

Breakout year

Coach Emmanuel Amuneke was one of the first to spot his talents, selecting him for Nigeria at the FIFA U17 World Cup 2015 in Chile. The lanky striker took his chance and scored ten goals in seven matches to lead Nigeria to their fifth title, but his family was so poor that they had to go to a neighbor's house to watch the live matches.

Amuneke remembered how Osimhen stood out from hundreds of other players. "I think for Victor, probably because of the [tough] early life that he spent when he was young, that helped him," said Amuneke at the beginning of this year. "He's someone that wanted to succeed. Even when you look at him today with Napoli, he doesn't like to lose. He always wants to win, one quality that singles Victor out."

When major European clubs, including Arsenal, tried to sign him, he and his family chose Wolfsburg for the calm environment and the club's ability to develop young players. But a series of injuries limited him to 14 Bundesliga games without a goal before he was shipped off on loan to Charleroi in Belgium.

"Wolfsburg condemned him," his older brother Andrew told DW. "They said he was not fit, that he was not good. But Charleroi gave him that platform." Former Wolfsburg sporting director Jörg Schmadtke later admitted it was a "poor decision" when Osimhen joined Napoli from Lille for over €60 million ($64.8 million).

Turbulent times in Naples

It took him two years to settle down in the south of Italy. His father died during the COVID-19 lockdown, and he caught the virus when he attended the funeral. Osimhen has also battled severe injuries, including breaking his cheekbone and eye socket back in 2021, which is why he wears a protective mask to this day.

It was last season, his third in Naples, that Osimhen hit the peak of his powers to help crown Napoli Serie A champions for the first time since Diego Maradona led them to glory in 1987 and 1990, finishing as the league's top scorer with 26 goals.

"I think he was the most important element of that title challenge," Kristen Schlewitz, author of the book "More Than Maradona," told DW. "He has this graceful elegance that contradicts his reputation as a physical player."

Only Maradona is more revered than Osimhen in the city of Naples. Like the Argentine legend, the young Nigerian's face adorns murals across the city, where they worship their football stars like gods. Fans stand in front of his home every night singing his name. They hang around restaurants until the early hours for autographs. Their adulation matches his boisterous spirit.

"For a boy from Olusosun, who would have thought I would have my picture beside Maradona's," said Osimhen. "It's like a dream."

But his relationship with the club was strained in September when Napoli's official TikTok account posted a video mocking the player after he missed a penalty against Bologna.

He deleted several photos of him wearing the club's shirt from his social media. His agent, Roberto Calenda, threatened to sue Napoli over the "I am not a boy, I am coconut" controversy after a second club Tiktok video mocked him with the viral song by the Swedish YouTube channel Coconut Hen.

Much of the tension has arisen because Osimhen has refused to extend his contract, which expires in 2025. Napoli have reportedly quoted sums upwards of €200 million ($216 million), scaring off potential buyers and including suitors from the Saudi Premier League in the summer. 

AFCON expectations

Despite his club success, Osimhen has yet to win a senior title with his country. He missed the last Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon through injury and failed to lead Nigeria to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as they fell short in their final qualifying match against Ghana. Barring any late injuries, Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro expects the player, who scored ten goals in qualifying, to play a vital role in their Africa Cup of Nations challenge in Ivory Coast next month.

"Victor is a fantastic player and striker," Peseiro told DW. "He is a player with the capacity to score and to create offensive-defensive pressure."

Nigeria won their last AFCON title a decade ago in South Africa and are keen to return to the continental pinnacle. They have begun a social media campaign titled "Let's do it again," inspired by a strong crop of talent that is now spearheaded by Africa's Player of the Year.

Edited by: James Thorogood