September 20, (THEWILL) – In Monday night football in the Serie A, Victor Osimhen’s Napoli are scheduled to travel to the Dacia Arena in Udine to take on Udinese in a matchday four fixture billed for a 7:45pm kickoff, local time.
The away game presents the Nigerian striker the opportunity to open his Serie A account of goals as he marks his return from suspension for the red card he picked up in the August 22 home tie against Venezia that forced him out of the September 11 victory against Juventus.
Osimhen was twice on target for Napoli in their brilliant comeback against Leicester City in the exciting UEFA Europa League Group C opening fixture at the King Power Stadium last week after they were left to chase the game to avoid returning home empty-handed.
In the colours of the Super Eagles, Osimhen has also contributed to the progress the team has recorded in the pair of matches played so far in the qualifiers for Qatar 2022. He was on the scoresheet in the difficult tie against Cape Verde, where a weakened Nigerian squad struggled to a 2-1 victory, with his goal levelling the scores before an own-goal gave Nigeria all three points.
Analysing the capacity of Osimhen to further exploit the reserves of his potential, Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team coach Gernot Rohr has publicly expressed his belief that the talented striker has what it takes to become like the Ivory Coast legend, Didier Drogba.
Drogba remains arguably one of the best strikers in the world in a professional career that was most productive at the EPL side Chelsea, where he scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club’s fourth highest goal scorer of all time. Drogba was twice named African Footballer of the Year, in 2006 and 2009.
These sorts of accolades are not impossible for Osinhem and Rohr believes Nigeria’s golden boy can fill the vacuum left with Drogba now retired. Injuries have prevented Osimhen from a consistent stretch of playing time to let his talent loose but his quality has never been debatable.
Current manager Luciano Spalletti already knows Osimhen’s quality. Spalletti said of the Nigerian: “He will certainly be a foothold for us and a strength of this team. He is a complete striker, he knows how to score and he knows how to fight for his teammates.”
On Rohr’s part, his faith in Osimhen is unshakable, even though he recognises the room for improvement. He said: “I think Osimhen has what it takes to become a great striker, one of the best ever. But he still has to grow. He can become the new Drogba. I have no doubts about this. Victor has many qualities that recall those of the Ivorian legend.”
The Super Eagles forward has now collected a 50 career goal tally that he will certainly be shooting to add to on Monday night. Yet, the question to be looked at squarely is whether Osimhen is seeking to become another Drogba or intends to carve out his own identity and create a niche for himself.
So far, he has shown by talent and delivery that he is his own type of striker comfortable to be seen in that light. The African transfer record he holds is further proof, if any is needed, that he will rather be the one to be used as a measure rather than to be measured in the mould of a Drogba.
Yet, he will need to prove this with title-winning credentials in the way Drogba did admirably in his time to reach that level of quality and attain that height in class. He has it in him. It is left for him to make it happen.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
