Victor Osimhen of the Super Eagles has added another award to his expanding collection after being named Footballer of the Year for 2023 at the AIC Oscar del Calcio Awards.
Osimhen was important in Napoli winning their first Serie A title in 33 years earlier this year.
The Nigerian won the Italian Footballers’ Association Footballer of the Year title on Monday night after scoring 26 league goals.
“Victor Osimhen is the 2022/23 Footballer of the Year,” the awardees tweeted while announcing the 24-year-old as the winner.
#GGDC2023 ✨
Victor Osimhen è il calciatore dell’anno 2022/23 #GranGalàDelCalcio #Osimhen #VictorOsimhen #Napoli pic.twitter.com/SWf9yA85nC— Gran Galà del Calcio AIC (@GranGalaAIC) December 4, 2023
Apart from winning the individual prize, Osimhen also earned a spot in the Serie A Team of the Year alongside teammates Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Kim Min-jae.
Others included in the list are Andrea Bastoni, Theo Hernández, Rafael Leão, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Mike Maignan, Stanislav Lobotka, and Nicolo Barella.
The occasion on Monday comes just one week before the CAF awards, where the striker is vying to become the first Nigerian to win Africa’s top player honor since the great Kanu Nwankwo in 1999. The event is scheduled to take place in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh. Former Nigerian captains Mikel Obi and Vincent Enyeama came the closest to winning the award since Kanu, finishing second and third in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Osimhen was ranked ninth in the 2023 Ballon d’Or in October, becoming the highest-rated Nigerian since the award’s establishment. Kanu came in 11th place in 1996.
