Lille metropole goal sensation, Victor Osimen has shared his history to fans about his humble beginnings. He told how his background and experiences almost frustrated and rubbed him of playing the round leather game .
The Nigerian forward opened up on an exclusive interview with buchi labalaba of the Nigeria Info. Since everything good surely wouldn’t come easy, surely there is a story behind every success. Osimen shared his bad and most devastating experience trying to reach the pick of his footballing career.
The glamour, style, accolades, prospect and reign he enjoys now didn’t just come in a platter of Gold as there is a lot to it all. Osimen recounts how he started at onisesan, a place very close to Ojota Lagos.
According to him, in his boyhood days, there used to be a competition organised to take winners to Malta. He saw this as an opportunity to start a promising football career but things didn’t go as planned. ” I struggled through out the competition to get to the final as my mind is set to playing football abroad. But getting close to the final stage, I broke my ankle. The person who took me there abandoned me in pain as my father became my physio. ” on other occasion, I broke my arm. That was how they took others to Malta and I was left out because they thought I was injury prone” Osimen added.
Most footballers, especially the ones from this part of the world, who had it rough and tough trying to go farther in football, were one time faced with difficulty and along the line, give up on their dreams of becoming a star just because they couldn’t match up with the obstacles between them and greatness.
According to Osimen, he had given up. “I gave up on my dream of playing football and I started doing bricklayer job.” Osimen didn’t fail to tell that things were difficult for him and his family to the extent that it was hard to feed. “the situation was bad to the extent that we couldn’t feed…”….”if I was told that it will be football that will bring my family out of poverty, I will say it’s a lie”
The 2015 under 17 World Cup winner also shared how he was seemingly bullied by his landlord’s son, thinking that the fellow hated him as every child would think when corrected but little did he knew he meant well. ” my landlord son use to beat me, I taught he hated me, one day he asked me why am I not playing football anymore…. He gave me 10 thousand naira to buy football boots, telling me that he wants to see me play football.” Osimen claimed that was the turning point because he didn’t want to fail the man. The activities of the man was the needed push Osimen needed to go the extra mile. He needed someone who will always be in his mind not wanting to disappoint. “That was when I knew I have the talent. Brother Nuru never gave up on me, he gave me the push.”
The star player also remember how he was also rejected by Eko football Club. He did so much screening and trials, most times on empty stomach and after walking a very long distance everyday, yet nothing came out of it” I was rejected by Eko football club. Sometimes I don’t take breakfast. The final day, I was told they can’t take me. I cried seriously but I didn’t give up because of Nuru.”
Osimen finally said that he is used to rejection because he has been rejected a lot in his career as rejection is very normal in every endeavour and has become a part of him. Osimen has scored a total of 18 goals this season before the Corona Virus pandemic halted footballing activities across the world. In 2017 he made his way to German side VfL Wolfsburg where he has a short spell and move on to Charleroi in 2018 on loan. His loan deal was made permanent but soon after signed up for Lille where he has enjoyed fine form till today.
