Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen has won the CAF 2023 Men’s Player of The Year award.
He saw off competition from Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, Senegal’s Sadio Mane, and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, among others.
The 24-year-old, standing at 1.85m has indeed stood tall among his peers, with the award coming after a lengthy 24-year wait since Super Eagles legend, Kanu Nwankwo last received the honour in 1999.
The Nigerian striker had a thunderous form in the last 2022/2023 football season. He helped his Italian club side, Napoli, win their third Scudetto 33 years after the era of the late Argentinian legend, Diego Maradona.
Osimhen registered 26 goals in the league, becoming the first African to win the top scorer award in the domestic Serie A league.
He later won the Italian league’s best striker prize and got included inthe Serie A Team of the Year, earning him a place in the hearts of the Neapolitans.
Graced with excellent physical attributes and an eye for goal, the Nigerian striker broke George Weah’s record as the highest-scoring African player in the Italian league.
It was reported that in December, Osimhen won the AIC award – the Italian Footballers’ Association Player of the Year.
His fine form which has been maintained, has seen a corresponding steady progress over time as was evident when the Nigerian forward was ranked ninth in the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards.
Despite being knocked out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the Lagos-born striker had 10 goals in the tournament, with seven of them coming against São Tomé and Principe.
Haviong made his official senior debut for the Super Eagles in June 2017, Osimhen had never looked back, with 20 goals in his name out of 27 appearances.
Without a doubt, with his Monday historic award in the Moroccan city of Marakesh, the ‘Nigerian Prince’ has cemented his place in the hall of fame as one of the best players in Africa, and the world at large.
Punch
