Mueez Ajao
– If striker Victor Osimhen manages to lead Napoli to their first Serie A title in more than 30 years, he believes he will become a club “icon”.
– However, the 24-year-old Nigerian said he would not be able to reach the status of late Argentine great Diego Maradona, whom he called a “demigod.”
– Maradona remains Naples’ biggest soccer hero. He led the local team to their only two league titles in 1987 and 1990, and their stadium is named after him.
Also Read: Osimhen prioritizes winning trophy with Napoli amid transfer rumors
– “I don’t consider myself as an icon yet until I achieve the objective which the club has set itself for this season,” Osimhen said while picking up an award in Rome.
– However, if Napoli win the scudetto, he said: “I think [I] have a very big chance of being named an icon.”
– But, he added: “It wouldn’t compare to what Maradona has done for this club.”
– With 13 games to go, Napoli are odds-on for Serie A glory, having a huge, 15-point advantage over second-placed Internazionale.
– Winning would be a huge lift for the city in Italy’s poorer south, where fans are passionate about the club. Some street hawkers are already selling mementoes in Napoli colours and with a “three” on them in anticipation of a third title.
– Shops are also selling cakes and Easter eggs decorated with Osimhen’s trademark face mask, which he wears on the pitch following a face injury.
– “It’s been 33 years since the last Scudetto,” Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis said.
– Another title “could make the city go crazy, I think it is already going crazy and planning [a party] which could involve two or three million people,” De Laurentiis said.
– Osimhen, who is in his third season at Napoli after previous stints in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg and in Ligue 1 with Lille, is Serie A’s top scorer this season with 19 goals.
– In Rome, where he was given a prize by the Foreign Press Association, he hinted at future move to England’s Premier League.
👏 @victorosimhen9 receives @Stampa_Estera's prize for Best Foreign Athlete 🏅 pic.twitter.com/pYA0TBXH2b
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) March 6, 2023
– “I’m working so hard to make sure that I achieve my dream of playing of course in the Premier League some day,” he said, adding that for the moment he was focused on the Serie A.
Victor Osimhen: “I’m working so hard to make sure that I achieve my dream of playing in the Premier League one day” 🔵🇳🇬 #transfers
“It’s a process and I just want to keep on this momentum, Serie A is in one of top five leagues in the world and it’s an amazing feeling for me”. pic.twitter.com/dPuE3rbTfm
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 6, 2023
