Lille Metropole of France striker, Victor Osimhen has sent a thank you message to former Super Eagles’ winger, Emmanuel Amuneke, as he revealed what he learnt from the ex-international during his breakthrough days with the Nigerian under-17 national team, Golden Eaglets, megasportsarena.com reports.
The in-form Super Eagles’ rookie, who went on to become highest goals scorer at Chile 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, recounted further how Amuneke, who was then Eaglets’ coach, provided the ideal foundation and training that eventually helped him get the right direction for his career.
He recalled further that it was during his days playing under Amuneke in the Eaglets that he got a bolder view about football as a career and found out that becoming successful in the round leather game goes beyond holding unto natural talent alone, as discipline, commitment, focus and dedication are also needed.
Although Osimhen admitted he did not like Amuneke’s style at the beginning and was almost walking out of the cadet national team, the former VfL Wolfsburg of Germany and Sporting Charleroi of Belgium hitman added that he took sound advice from one of the officials, which he says eventually helped him stay put and weather the storm.
He is now thankful of the learning curve he gained under Amuneke, as the Eaglets went on to win the Cadet Mundial in Chile and he turned out to become the overall eternal top scorer in the competition’s history, with ten goals from the single championship.
As he heads into Tuesday’s awards night of Confederation of African Football (CAF), where he is shortlisted for Best Young Player of The Year 2019, Osimhen has reflected on all he gained playing under Amuneke and stressed that the former FC Barcelona of Spain winger and 1993 Africa Footballer of The Year means almost everything to his life as a whole.
Osimhen posited: “I thank Coach Amuneke for everything he did for me. At first I thought he did not like me, and I was almost going to leave the camp, until the coordinator advised me to be patient. From then I started seeing what Coach Amuneke could do for me.
“He is the foundation for my football, and almost everything that I am now in life. He thought me that football goes beyond just talent. You need discipline and dedication to be successful. I remain grateful for everything he thoughts me, and I believe it will still help me in the future.”
