Osimhen rise to stardom might not be different from other top sportsmen who found succor in their chosen sporting career after spending their growing up days in penury, the unique part of his childhood was that he grew up in a densely populated dumpsite of the stinking Olusosun slum area of Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos state, and was much like the most unwanted part of a poor family of 7 being the last on the list.
But as it is crystal clear that success begets many children, he is now more than the most important part of his family and one of the most sought after goal poachers in the world due to his record breaking exploit at the just concluded FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Chile.
10 goals in seven appearances was the impressive tally that enabled Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen to set a new FIFA U-17 World Cup record recently. The Golden Eaglets star found the net at least once in every one of his outings at Chile 2015, with his final haul eclipsing the previous benchmark of nine set by France’s Florent Sinama Pongolle in 2001 and equaled by Souleymane Coulibaly of Côte d’Ivoire a decade later. The strike that broke the record also propelled Nigeria towards a fifth U-17 World Cup crown, bolstering their already-preeminent tally with a 2-0 win over a Mali side appearing in their nation's first-ever FIFA final.
Before success found Osimhen, he had spent most part of his growing up in abject poverty that was so terrible to the extent that he’s not sure of next meal after taken one.
The amazing part of his story is that many Lagos residents who ply the Ojota axis of the state may have patronized Osimhen while assisting his brother as a newspaper vendor or while running relays inside the constant traffic lock down in Ojota not knowing they have spent some minutes with the world star to be.
But because an average Nigerian kid is a born footballer, the gangling striker would not be dejected by the hardships of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick family, he took advantage of the popular Olusosun football pitch to keep learning the curve until coach Emmanuel Amunike’s open trial allotted him platform to showcase what is deposited in him.
Feelers from his community revealed that Osimhen was always in disagreement with his father who wanted him to go to school and become a Doctor. It was gathered that his family never supported his football ambition because it was believed that Osimhen could turn the family’s fortune as a Doctor but he has a separate root he wanted to tread towards success. Infact, we gathered that at some point, Osimhen gave up on football to consider other means when he was not making headway in football, the intervention of his childhood coach, Chinedu Ogbonna stopped him from dumping football.
Before attracting the consciousness of Golden Eaglets coach, Emmanuel Amuneke during the open screening, Osimhen had attended several scouting screen that he never got the cut. He took advantage of the Golden Eaglets screening and dazzled the team handlers with his tenacity and hunger to find the back of the net scoring in virtually all the team’s friendly matches prior to the CAF Under-17 and World Cup qualifier completion. He emerged as top scorer with 4 goals.
No doubt, winning the CAF golden boot and qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in are two recipes for Osimhen’s wonderful exploit on the world stage. Speaking during the competition in Chile, he said he was undeterred by the stadium crowd because of the huge believe he had that if he can replicate his recent performance in Chile, he would be honing and giving a clear direction to his career path. He did not only fulfill his promise, he also broke record of decades while setting another that may be unmatched in another decade.
His outstanding outing at the World cup won him the Golden Boot as well as the Silver Ball making him the 2nd best
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