As a boy in Lagos, Victor Osimhen sold bottled water to drivers stuck in traffic. Years later, he was scoring the goals that won Napoli their first league title in 33 years.
Osimhen was born on 29 December 1998 in Lagos and grew up in Olusosun, an area near one of the city’s largest dumpsites. His family struggled, and he worked from a young age.
The Golden Eaglets
His talent showed early. At the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, Osimhen scored ten goals, the most in the tournament, as Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets won the title. European clubs noticed.
Europe
He joined Wolfsburg in Germany, where injuries and illness held him back. He moved to Charleroi in Belgium on loan, then to Lille in France, where he scored regularly and attracted bigger clubs.
In 2020, Napoli signed him for a large fee, making him one of the most expensive African players ever.
Napoli’s title
In the 2022-23 season, Osimhen scored 26 goals in Serie A and finished as the league’s top scorer. Napoli won the Italian title for the first time since 1990, when Diego Maradona led the team.
The city celebrated for weeks. Murals of Osimhen, with his trademark protective mask, appeared on walls next to images of Maradona.
Maradona’s city
Naples had not won the league since the Maradona years, and fans painted blue and white on their streets and balconies for months. For many supporters, Osimhen became the first Napoli striker since those days to carry the whole city’s hopes.
The mask
Osimhen wears a face mask because of a serious facial injury he suffered in a collision in 2021, which fractured bones around his eye and cheek. The mask became part of his image.
African Footballer of the Year
In December 2023, Osimhen was named African Footballer of the Year at the CAF Awards in Marrakech. He was the first Nigerian to win the men’s award since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.
Super Eagles
Osimhen became the main striker for Nigeria and helped them reach the final of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost to Côte d’Ivoire.
Moving on
After a dispute over his future at Napoli, he moved to Galatasaray in Turkey, where he kept scoring.
From the traffic
Lagos traffic jams are full of young hawkers selling water, snacks and phone credit to drivers. One of them grew up to be the best player in Africa, and some of those hawkers now wear his shirt.
