Osimhen hails Amunike’s impact after CAF Player of the Year award win
2023 CAF Men’s Player of the year award winner, Victor Osimhen has hailed the impact Coach Emmanuel Amunike has had on his career.
Osimhen edged Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Egypt’s Mo Salah to win the 2023 CAF Men’s Player of the year award in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday, December 11, 2023.
After clinching the grandest individual award award in African football, Osimhen used the opportunity to celebrate the man who gave him his career breakthrough with Nigeria’s U-17 team.
“This feels good. It has been 24 years since a Nigerian – Nwankwo Kanu won this award. It is a very good feeling to have put Nigeria back on the map. I appreciate God for this,” Osimhen said after getting his award.
“He [Amunike] believed in me right from the start and was at the heart of our 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup victory in Chile.
” He gave me the opportunity to really showcase myself and when things were not going well with me, he was the brain behind the motivation and it is absolutely right for me to acknowledge him at the biggest stage because behind closed doors, he has helped me a lot.
” He is present here and here to witness what he has produced,” an emotional Osimhen told CAFOnline.
Amunike, who was the 1994 African Player of the Year was at the heart of Nigeria’s AFCON 1994 victory before taking the world by storm at the FIFA World Cup in the USA scoring against Bulgaria and Italy. He was also key to Nigeria’s Atlanta 1996 Olympic gold medal.
He later took up coaching winning the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup with Osimhen walking away with the Golden Boot after scoring 10 goals – an effective duo.
Osimhen added that, “It is a big night for us as Nigeria. [Asisat] Oshoala, Chiamaka [Nnadozie] and the Super Falcons. It shows what we can do and that we are back on track.”
