Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen was on the score sheet again for Napoli on Sunday but the Serie A champion’s title defence remains in turmoil as another defeat leaves them seven points off top spot.
Ironically, given it was a missed penalty that led to the social media storm with Napoli, it was from the spot that the 24-year-old drew his side level on the stroke of half-time with Fiorentina but the visitors went on to claim a 3-1 win in the final match before the international break.
It is Napoli’s second defeat in eight games and leaves them in fifth sport – seven points adrift of leaders AC Milan.
Despite being mocked on TikTok by his own club, the first African to finish leading scorer in the Italian top flight, Osimhen, in the aftermath has enjoyed global support including from Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry.
With hindsight, perhaps it was always inevitable that some of the chaos that engulfed Napoli following their Scudetto triumph would not only play out on the pitch in terms of results, but would directly affect their biggest star personally.
The impolitic decision of club president Aurelio De Laurentiis to unilaterally trigger an extension to former manager Luciano Spalletti’s contract put the 64-year-old’s nose out of joint so much so that he quit with Frenchman, Rudi Garcia, was appointed in his place.
In a sense, this latest incident with Osimhen could be viewed as a continuation of a theme of poor judgements on the part of the reigning Italian champions.
Similarly to the handling of Spalletti, Napoli’s approach to addressing Osimhen’s dissatisfaction over two now deleted TikTok posts, which poked fun at him for the missed penalty against Bologna, has endangered what should have been a season of consolidation for the club following their first title win in over 30 years.
Osimhen – ‘The love I enjoy at Napoli is massive’
In all of this, Osimhen, has largely kept his own counsel, content to let his football do the talking.
The Nigerian’s immediate reaction – deleting the majority of the allusions to Napoli from his Instagram account – drew mixed reactions, but unfortunately was viewed by some of the club’s fanbase as a rejection of them.
This could not be farther from the truth with a subsequent Instragram post calling for unity and previous statements making no secret of his special connection to the Partenopei faithful, going so far as to put his success down to their warmth and support.
“The love I enjoy is massive – the club, the city, the supporters and everyone connected to Napoli makes me fly,” he told BBC Sport in 2021.
“They trust me and stood by me through the tough start last season.”
With six goals in eight games in the league, Osimhen is relishing being able to give back to Napoli after a difficult first season scoring only twice in his first 16 appearances for the club.
A 4-1 win at home to Udinese followed in the immediacy after Napoli’s TikTok post with Osimhen scoring the second goal. After the match, far away from the Stadio Diego Maradona, the striker took the time to stop and sign autographs outside his house.
His decision to opt for silence on the matter is, in fact, a sign of respect for the club and its fans.
While the club’s reluctance to apologise publicly was disappointing, the lack of solidarity from his own teammates was more so.
Osimhen has always been a team player, enthusiastically talking up the efforts of his colleagues and putting his arms around them in both joy and pain.
Yet, at times during this debacle, it seemed like the player, whose goals wrote many names into the folklore of Naples, was left on his own to deal with the perceived disrespect.
Nigeria’s Balon d’Or and Fifa’s The Best nominee
Despite all that has taken place around and related to Osimhen over the past fortnight, his attention has already shifted to delivering on the pitch where it counts.
His goals against Udinese, Lecce and now Fiorentina have left no room for doubt as to his commitment. It is now the club’s prerogative to see to his contract extension with the current deal expiring at the end of next season.
In amidst all the turmoil, it can be easy to lose sight of the most important thing: the Nigeria international is enjoying the finest period of his career to date.
In September, he was nominated for both the Ballon d’Or and Fifa’s The Best awards, and is the frontrunner for the African Player of the Year award.
In a season of unprecedented abundance in the Nigerian striking ranks, he is his national team’s undisputed leading marksman at club level.
He now joins up with his country’s squad for the international friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique, affording him the opportunity to once again connect with an adoring fanbase.
These are the best days of Osimhen’s life; in spite of everything, this Super Eagle continues to fly.
