Osimhen: ‘NAPOLI were underdogs, now enjoy every moment’

The centre-forward is also heading for the Capocannoniere title after finding the net this evening in the 1-1 draw with Udinese, which proved enough to secure the Serie A title.

Victor Osimhen feels ‘overwhelmed’ at helping Napoli to win the Scudetto and urges the fans to ‘enjoy every moment’ of their victory as underdogs. ‘I will forever be grateful to this league and I improved so much.’

“I am overwhelmed right now. It’s an amazing feeling. We’ve waited so many years for this moment and to be able to deliver the Scudetto to the Neapolitans is something we will not forget and it will continue to live in our hearts for the rest of our lives,” Osimhen told DAZN.

“I am happy for the squad, for all Neapolitans, now we can celebrate in our stadium and we’re going to enjoy it for life.”

He over-celebrated the goal and ended up breaking his trademark protective face mask, although fortunately they had spares on the touchline.

“My mask was broken! I had to change it.”

They had already been on the verge of securing the title on Sunday, but were held to a 1-1 draw by Salernitana, forcing them to postpone it until this evening at the Dacia Arena.

“I don’t know the words to use to quantify this feeling. It’s amazing. We waited 33 years, the support we got from our fans since the start of the season has been over-whelming. Nobody deserved the Scudetto more than the Neapolitans and more than Napoli.

“We were the underdogs at the start of the season, not many believed in us, so many people wrote us off. Just like I used to say, teams stick together, it’s an amazing coach, backroom staff, the physiotherapists, the doctors that made sure we were in great condition. We believe from the start of the season that we have this great squad that can deliver the Scudetto and now we achieved this dream and will keep on believing in ourselves and enjoy this moment.”

When did the Nigeria international and his Napoli teammates realise that the title was within their grasp?

“I think when it started to become reality was when we won in Rome. Big respect to Roma, they have a great squad, but the way we fought in that game to the end, that is when we realised we have the quality to win the Scudetto. Since we went to number one in the standings, we have not gone down, that shows a great mentality. Now we have to enjoy it, it is long over-due and we have to enjoy every moment of it.”

Osimhen still doesn’t speak Italian, but he has learned the lyrics to the chant often heard in recent weeks: ‘And off they go, and the leaders off they go.’

“I really don’t know how to sing, but when my teammates start up, I join in. I am trying to learn a lot of Neapolitan songs. I will go back home in front of our fans and enjoy this moment.”

He has become a world-famous striker now and is attracting interest from the top clubs, so he was asked what aspect of his game improved the most thanks to playing in Serie A.

“I will forever be grateful to this league and this competition, because they exposed me more to the world. I am always a work in progress striker, as I have a lot to improve. It has been amazing in terms of my hold-up play, my goal-scoring prowess and a big kudos to Spalletti and his backroom staff, they have really improved me.

“The confidence the team also gave me feeling that I am a leader has really helped me improve. Also a big kudos to the Napoli fans. When I arrived, I went through some difficult times, but they gave me the energy and really supported me, making me the striker that I am today.”