In October 2023, Victor Osimhen finished 8th in the Ballon d’Or final rankings.
It was a reward for a spectacular season, in which the Super Eagles talisman led Napoli to their first Scudetto in 33 years.
Osimhen plundered 26 goals to finish as Serie A’s top scorer.
In total, he scored 28 goals and provided 10 assists in 49 appearances for Napoli in all competitions in 2022/23.
It is instructive to note that Osimhen was also the highest-ranking African, finishing ahead of Egypt’s Mohammed Salah, who placed 11th.
In December of last year, Osimhen was named the CAF Player of the Year.
This year, Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman was the only African that made the 30-man shortlist.
Lookman was ranked the 14th best player during the Ballon d’Or gala on October 28.
On Thursday this week, the Nigerian quartet of Lookman, William Troost-Ekong, Paul Onuachu and Asisat Oshoala were nominated for the Best FIFA Awards 2024.
Bear in mind, Super Eagles captain Troost-Ekong was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and made the initial nominees’ shortlist for the CAF Player of the Year.
So why are Nigerian footballers getting continental and global recognition again?
“Yes, excellence. The truth is that excellence at the top level cannot be hidden,” Clinton McDubus, a top football analyst and podcaster, tells Newsmen.
I do think they could be getting better recognised through branding. But, so far, their excellence has brought deserved recognition.
“It also helps that Nigerians are a big part of the global football social media landscape. We hype our own.
As long as the players do their part by being excellent, Nigerians worldwide will carry their names forward.”
McDubus is very keen to highlight that Osimhen and Lookman have taken their game to another level?
Osimhen had flaws in his game while at Lille and in his early seasons at Napoli, even though he was already one of the best players around,” he said.
“It is clear that he worked on those flaws and bettered himself, ultimately entering the world class category and becoming the top five striker in the world that he currently is.
Lookman, on his part, improved his shooting and a few other flaws in his game, taking on more responsibility and pushing himself under the tutelage of his coach.
Now, both of these players are proving week in week out that they deserve all the hype and recognition.”
Lookman is the hot favourite to be named the CAF Player of the Year next month. It would represent a back-to-back win for Nigeria.
McDubus said: “I think it is great for Nigerian football.
“Finally, we are back on the map in terms of having world class players in our team. This is a validation of that.
This also means that we need to take advantage of the talents we have at our disposal and win something.
“We cannot be having back-to-back CAF POTY winners and keep falling short. We are in the moment of another excellent generation.
Perhaps, they can win something to fully make it a golden generation. We also must qualify for the World Cup. It would be embarrassing to have these players and miss out two times in a row.
