From Lagos’s dusty streets to the bright European stadiums, the Nigerian star Victor Osimin continues to write the chapters of his inspiring story after it is today one of the most prominent strikers of the African continent and the world.
Victor Osimin was born on December 29, 1998 in the Ulsuson neighborhood in the Nigerian capital, Lagos, a area known for waste dumps, population accumulation and daily suffering.
Osimin grew up in severe circumstances, as he had to work from a young age to help his family survive, so he sold water bottles and newspapers in the crowd of the city’s streets, and faced life with the hardness of a young man who wrestled with reality with a dream weapon.
The beginning of the dream
Despite the cruelty of childhood, football found its way to the heart of Osimin, so the streets were his stadium, his friends are his opponents, and the ball is the only refuge of life.
He joined the “Altimit Strikes” academy in Lagos, and there he started drawing attention with his great talent and exceptional scoring sensitivity.
In 2015, the turning point came in the Osimin march, as it was called for the representation of the Nigeria U -17 team in the World Cup held in Chile, and there his talent exploded for the whole world.
Victor Al -Nsour led the Green to achieve the title, scored 10 goals that crowned the top scorer for the tournament, and won the golden shoe and the golden ball for the best player in the competition.
After the championship, the world of football turned to him, and European clubs began to closely monitor him, and his professional career started after him in Europe, beginning with the German Wolfsburg in 2017, then to the Belgian Charlero, who revived his talent.
In 2019, Osimin joined the French night, where his capabilities exploded, which attracted the attention of Napoli, which included him for 70 million euros in a record deal.
History industry in Italy
In Naples, Osimin turned from a promising striker to a world-class star, winning the award for the best young player in the Italian league for the 2021-2022 season.
And in the following season 2022-2023 Osimin led the Italian South team to crown the title “Scudetto”, which is the first league title of the team in 33 years, and that season was crowned the top scorer after he scored 26 goals, to become the first African to achieve this achievement.
In December 2023, Osimin won the Best Player of Africa Award by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), beating Mohamed Salah and Ashraf Hakimi.
Victor gave the award to his late parents, and wrote on the “X” platform as a boy who came from the streets of Ulsuson, I never imagined to be a symbol in world football, this award for everyone who has supported me one day.
In the same year, he ranked eighth in the ranking of the Golden Ball, as the first Nigerian to enter the list of the top ten.
The summer of 2024, and after years of brilliance in Italy, Osimin had a new experience by joining the Turkish club Galatasaray on loan.
The Nigerian star presented an exceptional season, and led the team to achieve the Turkish League title, crowned the top scorer for the competition, and also dazzled the fans at its levels in the Champions League.
Osimin’s journey is not just the story of another football star, but rather an inspiring story on insistence, achieving a dream despite poverty, and reaching the top despite the difficult beginnings.