Stay focused - Amuneke warns Super Eagles star Victor Osimhen against effect of fame

Nigerian football legend, Emmanuel Amuneke, has some words of wisdom for Super Eagles and SSC Napoli main man Victor Osimhen after his latest success.

Amuneke has advised Osimhen to remain calm and grounded after he was named the 2023 African Footballer of the Year. 

An excellent 2022/2023 campaign for Napoli saw Osimhen rise to the pinnacle of African football. 

The 24-year-old was the protagonist as the team from Naples was crowned Serie A champions for the first time in over 30 years. 

Osimhen’s impressive scoring ability proved decisive as he netted 26 goals to lead Napoli to glory en route to the Italian Player of the Year award.

Following his heroics with Napoli, the Super Eagles star was named as the rightful winner of the 2023 African Player of the Year in a lavish ceremony in Morocco earlier this month.

In an interview with Tribal Football, Amuneke, who himself was a star forward for Nigeria Super Eagles and also won the award in the 1990s, advised the Napoli icon to stay calm and focused despite his meteoric rise in the game.

"He (Osimhen) just needs to stay calm and focused. The good things will come to him," Amuneke said.

After he emerged as the new king of African football, Osimhen will lead Nigeria’s quest to end a 10-year wait for the AFCON title. 

Nigeria last won the title in 2013 with the late Stephen Okechukwu Keshi and the Napoli man, who recently committed his immediate future to the Italian champions, is expected to light up the AFCON2023 slated to kick off next month in Ivory Coast.