Lessons from Victor Osimhen’s success story

“He once told me that while growing up in Olusosun, Lagos, his family was the poorest around. They needed to fight for everything. He had to work very hard, sell newspapers, do all kinds of menial jobs to earn a living while playing. That is what has built him into the strong, energetic, pacy and powerful striker that he is today. Much more than that, he has so much fight inside of him.” – Oma Akatugba (Journalist and Osimhen’s long-term friend).

His most inspiring zero-to-hero life trajectory reminds one of the wise words by Garth Stein, the best-selling author of ‘The Art of Racing in the Rain’. And that is: “The true test of a champion is not whether he can triumph but whether he can overcome obstacles”. Talking about obstacles, John Harold Johnson, (now of blessed memory) the then publisher of the soar away ‘Ebony Magazine’ stated succinctly that: “The greater the obstacles we overcome, the greater the glory we achieve”.

Indeed, to succeed along the twisted and thorny paths that eventually lead to glory, one has to lift himself up, high enough to turn the stumbling blocks into stepping stones. So it was well stated by the Kung Fu legend, Bruce Lee. Incidentally, that is precisely what our own Victor Osimhen has done; to make not only members of his family but his legions of fans across the globe, immensely proud of him.

Just at the age of 24 years he has literally hit the bull’s eye. The energetic, ever focused, lanky lad recently achieved the fantastic feat for his team Napoli to win their first Italian League title in 33 years!His lone but epic-making goal from the penalty spot granted SSC Napoli their first win since 1990. It set not only the stadium in frenetic frenzy but got the football world celebrating one of the world’s greatest emerging soccer icons.

“He is reaching cult status”. Lolade Adewuyi, the managing editor at Soccernet Nigeria, told Al Jazeera. On his part, Mario Balotelli, on his Instagram Live Session said: “I have been calling some friends from Napoli; it is crazy. Trust me, you did something incredible. In 10 years’ time, you’ll understand what you’ve done.” But while we wait for events to unfold, let the records be put in their proper perspective.

For instance, Osimhen has become the highest African goal scorer in Italy in a single season. Furthermore, he has beaten the only African player to win Ballon d’Or, George Weah, to become the African player with the most goals in Serie A history. He scored 47 goals in 79 games, compared to George Weah’s 46 goals in 114 games. But that is not all there is to it.

For instance, Victor Osimhen’s 21 league goals helped him break the record for the most goals scored by a Nigerian in a single Serie A season, previously held by Simy Nwankwo (20). And the 21 goals also equaled Samuel Eto’o’s record for the most goals scored by an African footballer in a single Serie A season. This was one record that stood since the 2010/11 season.

Osimhen, who bagged SerieA’s Player of the Month of March, 2023 has also become the first Nigerian to achieve double figures in 2 consecutive Serie A seasons. It is little of a surprise therefore, that he has become the costliest player in Italy; the costliest African player in Italy, the most valuable player at Napoli and the Serie A highest goals scorer! But it has not always been that rosy.

That reminds us of the prayer of the unforgettable patriot, Tai Solarin, (of blessed memory) who stated that: “may your road be rough!” Osimhen lost his mother at a young age of 13. His father lost his job three months after he lost his wife! Challenging circumstances compelled them to move from a 2-bedroom flat to a one-room stifling abode. Though they lived, as severally reported close to one of Lagos state’s biggest refuse dump sites in Olusosun, that sordid situation spurred him on to have the larger picture. To survive, he, along with his siblings had to hawk “pure water”, oranges and newspapers along Ojota road, Lagos state.

However, as the avatar, Nelson Mandela rightly stated: “The greatest glory in living, lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Despite the fact that his father wanted him to become a medical doctor he chose instead to pursue his career in the soccer world. As fate would have it, he was one of the thousands of ambitious youngsters given only 15 minutes to prove their mettle at the 2014 Nigeria Under-17 team screening held in Abuja by coach Amuneke.

Within that short period he scored two goals! Yet, that feat was not enough to convince the coach, Amuneke who was reportedly stressed out. With a wave of hand he sent Osimhen and the others away. But God’s plans for our lives, once we keep struggling against daunting odds will always pave the way forward.

As widely reported, as the beleaguered soccer dreamers trudged out of the field Osimhen heard the Nigeria team doctor advising the coach Amuneke to try out “The guy on green”. He turned back, because the dress he wore was green. The coach reportedly taunted him, asking the quaint question: “You no dey chop? Why you lean like this? Alright, sit down!” The rest, as they say, is history.

Not only did he get selected into the Nigeria Under-17 WC team, but went on to win the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, the 2015 FIFA U-17 Golden Boot (Highest Goal Scorer), the  2015 FIFA Silver Shoe Award (Second Best Player), making him the beautiful bride of global soccer, similar to the status he has held unto, as at this day.

Yet, it was a tale of woes of rejection for Osimhen when he first moved to Europe in 2017, joining Bundesliga side Wolfsburg. He struggled to get first-team games and didn’t score in 14 games for the club. But he hailed how ex-Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez helped him in training during their time at the club. From there to Belgian Champions Club Brugge, to Lille until the Italian giants, Napoli FC broke their transfer record to make him the most expensive African player at a whopping sign-on fee of $96 million (N39.7 billion).

While becoming an international soccer brand, his iconic face mask – worn after he sustained a cheekbone injury – adorns cakes across the southern city. A song composed by musician Alex Garini about the striker went viral in February and “celebrates his goal-scoring ability and his grit to defy the odds”. The official celebratory T-shirt, as well as the unofficial yet highly popular “Face Game” shirts featuring him have sold out in record time, according to Il Napolista.

One significant issue that stands out is his decision to help people with disabilities in Nigeria and Africa at large, citing Sadio Mane, the Senegalese soccer superstar and cheerful giver as his source of inspiration.

As several clubs are currently eager to break the bank to sign him for the next set of seasons, the lasting lessons to learn from his success story are profound. We must identify our God-given talents and hone them, against all odds to become the best that we can be. That is no matter the obstacles we encounter. As rightly stated by Ray Kroc, who bought over the Mcdonald’s franchise “persistence pays!”