Club Brugge winger Noa Lang has said he deserves to win the Belgium Golden Shoe prize more than Genk’s Paul Onuachu.
Onuachu received the 2021 Belgium Golden Shoe prize on Wednesday night, as recognition for his fine performances in the Belgian league over the course of last season.
Dutch winger Noa Lang came in second after collecting 272 votes, which is less to Onuachu’s 333. Another Brugge player, Charles De Ketelaere completed the podium with 271 votes.
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“I am not angry, no,” Lang said after the awards ceremony in Antwerp on Wednesday night. “I think everyone knows who the best football player is, and that’s me. If you look at the stats, then my numbers are better than his (Paul Onuachu).”
Numbers don’t back Lang’s claims though. Onuachu’s tally of 33 league goals last season dwarfs his numbers of 16. Lang’s 7 assists are two more than Onuachu’s. Onuachu played more minutes (3,011) compared to Lang (2,200).
It will be recalled, Onuachu was called up to the Nigerian under-23 national team in February 2015. In March 2019 he received his first call-up to the Nigerian senior team.
On 26 March 2019, Onuachu scored his first goal for Nigeria in a friendly match against Egypt. The goal was scored within the first ten seconds of the game, and the fastest ever scored for Nigeria. Following the goal, Onuachu was heralded as the “toast of Nigerian football”, with “his coach, team-mates, journalists and fans talking about him”. He was selected to the Nigeria squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. He played in Nigeria’s 1–0 win over Burundi.
Onuachu moved to Danish club FC Midtjylland in 2012, on a scholarship, from their affiliate team in Nigeria, Ebedei. He was a prolific scorer for their youth team, and made his first-team debut in the Cup later that year, before making his league debut in December 2012. In June 2013 he signed a new three-year contract with the club, before extending it for a further three years in August 2015. In early 2015 he was loaned to Vejle BK, before returning to FC Midtjylland ahead of the 2015–16 season
In August 2019 he signed for Belgian club Genk.
