witness
That determination came with a
single-mindedness as well: Osimhen
refused to take his A Levels, preferring
to forge a path in professional football
at any cost, but lied to his family that he
had. Only when the results came out,
and he was unable to present his, did
the ruse become apparent, to the
disappointment of the entire family.
The scrawny teenager had burnt his
bridges; football simply had to work.
Fortune favours the brave, and so
when Nigeria began to put together a
squad for the 2015 Under-17 World Cup
in Chile, Osimhen attended the open
screenings in the nation’s capital Abuja.
In order to participate, the youngster
embarked on a nine-hour inter-state
road trip, for the first time in his life,
cooped up in a small saloon car as
part of a party of six people.
Upon arrival, he would only get a
small window to make a first impression.
Erstwhile coach of the U17 national
team Emmanuel Amuneke is a stern
character, and had a large number of
prospective candidates to screen, so
players were sorted into teams for
30-minute appraisal matches.
It was a shot in the dark that offered
few guarantees. In fact, when Osimhen
called to inform Sanni that he was
attending the screening exercise,
his mentor was highly sceptical.
“Physically, he was very small, you
know? I did not believe Nigeria would
select someone like him for the
Under-17s. He called to tell me he was
in Abuja and I told him, ‘Don’t bother,
just come back home!’
“But he told me not to worry, that he
would try to make the team.”
Former Sporting and Barcelona
winger Amuneke, himself somethingof a prodigy during his playing days,
recalls the first encounter with the
youngster who would go on to lead
his country to success.
“I remember the first time I met Victor
Osimhen,” Amuneke tellsWorld Soccer.
“Everybody was given the opportunity
to be able to show their quality, but the
crowd was so much. We had to organise
the team in such a way that it would be
easier for us to select players after15
to 30 minutes’ play from each group.
“So, to be very honest with you, when
his team was playing, I was on the other
side of the pitch, trying to select a new
team that would come up immediately
after. When his team was done playing,
I was not all that convinced. But when
my backroom staff came to me, they
pointed him out to me. I told them I
didn’t see much about him, but that I
would have a second look. That wasWorld Cup winner...
Osimhen (R) with
Golden Ball winner
Kelechi Nwakali (L)
after winning the
Under-17 World
Cup in 2015
Chelsea fan...a grainy
image of Osimhen in
a Chelsea shirt, the
club he supported
in his youth