14th March, 2024
Several great attackers such as Edinson Cavani and Gonzalo Higuain have dawned Napoli’s number 9 shirt in search of glory, but none of them may have a bigger impact on the club’s domestic success like the Nigerian-born Victor Osimhen. His goal-scoring exploits for the Little Donkeys were central to the team winning its third Serie A Title and its first Scudetto since the Maradona Era.
Napoli’s Nigerian Hitman
In just four seasons, Osimhen is already the club’s 11th-highest goal scorer with 72 goals to his name in 122 games. But what’s even more impressive is that Napoli’s Nigerian HItman has the club’s third highest goal-to-game ratio surpassing even Maradona and trailing only behind Cavani and Higuain. If you enjoy betting and believe in Victor Osimhen’s potential, you can explore Betway promo voucher that offer great opportunities to maximize your winnings. These vouchers can be used to place bets on Osimhen scoring goals or Napoli securing wins, providing a great way to enhance your betting experience.
Winning The Title After 33 Years
Following Maradona’s signing in 1984, Napoli went on to win their first league title in club history. The club won the title again and added the Italian Super Cup in the same year with Maradona leading from the front. The little donkeys seemed unstoppable and looked like they were going to win many more trophies.
But as fate would have it, Maradona would receive a doping-related suspension in the just concluded World Cup, which he won. The legend never played for Napoli again. And Napoli never lifted the Serie A title again. That is until the club began rebuilding its squad.
The little donkeys splashed a record signing fee of €70 million on the young Victor Osimhen. In his first season, the young lad scored a humble but impressive 10 goals and 3 assists in 24 league appearances with Napoli finishing 5th place. Everything went uphill from there.
The next season Napoli secured a 3rd place finish. The then 23-year-old Nigerian striker netted 14 goals and 2 assists which won him the Serie A Best Young Player Award. With only 7 points separating Napoli in 3rd place and the league winners, Napoli felt like they could clinch the League title, something they haven’t managed in 33 years.
So at the start of the 22/23 season, Napoli signed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Dinamo Batumi in what would be a game-changing acquisition for the Club. Victor Osimhen together with Kvaratskhelia not only led the deadly attack that won the league title, but the pair directly contributed to 52 of the 77 goals Napoli scored in Serie A.
Osimhen had 30 goal contributions in 32 games, bagging 26 goals and providing 4 assists. While Kvaratskhelia scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists in an unforgettable first season for the Georgian. Napoli were utterly dominant as they scored the most goals and conceded the least that season while finishing with a 16-point margin.
Osimhen’s Champions League Journey With Napoli So Far
Osimhen’s brilliant run in a Napoli shirt didn’t stop at Serie A. The young striker is already Napoli’s third-highest goal scorer in the Champions League while having the least appearances compared to other names on the list.
In the same league-winning season, Napoli reached the quarter-final stage with Victor Osimhen scoring 5 goals in 6 games. He even scored a last-minute bullet header in the quarter-final game against AC Milan, but that wasn’t enough to keep his side in the competition.
Now Napoli currently faces Barcelona in the Champions League Round of 16.
Despite playing the first leg at home in front of their fans, Napoli was looking unusually lacklustre as they trailed 0-1 without managing a single shot in the first half of their Champions League game against Barcelona. Losing this game would mean the Little Donkeys have to win at Camp Nou, a place where the Catalonians have only lost three times this season.
Determined not to lose at home, Napoli threw everything they had at an unrelenting Barcelona defence in the second half. Napoli still couldn’t create a clear chance up to the 75th-minute. Then out of nowhere, it’s 1-1.
Osimhen receives an unsuspecting pass from Anguissa through the middle of the pitch, guides the ball brilliantly with his marker falling from the brief tussle, before calmly slotting the ball in the bottom corner of the net. His goal secured a crucial draw for Napoli against the run of play.
Back From AFCON
Osimhen left Italy for the AFCON tournament at the start of 2024. And while the striker went on to the final with his country, his club struggled in front of goal with only three wins in nine games. But everything changed when he returned.
In just 4 games since his return, Napoli have been reminded of how crucial their club record signing is to the team. In his return match, the striker scored Napoli’s only goal against Cagliari. He then scored a crucial equaliser in their home game against Barcelona the following week.
He continued his run by scoring a wonderful hat trick against Sassuolo in the league and winning the penalty that led to a crucial late win against Juventus just last week. He heads to Camp Nou next week for the second leg of Napoli’s Champions League game, and with Osimhen’s recent form, you can almost see him netting a goal.