25/05/2026
Victor Osimhen: “I left home with a backpack and 2 pairs of clothes. The one I was wearing, and a green kit in my bag. We drove to Abuja in the oldest car you can imagine, and we arrived at midnight.
The next morning, the sun came up, and I saw 1 million kids with a dream.
Maybe 1 million is an exaggeration, but not by much. There must have been 900 kids waiting outside this stadium. The first day, I didn’t even get on the pitch. The second day, one of the coaches finally pointed at me.
‘Green shirt. Let’s go. You have 15 minutes.’
Just 15 minutes to change my life. I knew that the only way to impress them was to run. So I ran until I was sweating blood.
I ended up scoring 2 goals in 15 minutes.
I thought that maybe I had a chance. But then the coaches got on a microphone, and they addressed the crowd. They called out some names, and I did not hear my name. Everybody started walking to the parking lot.
My dream was dead. I was just about to get in the car when I heard people shouting.
‘Hey! Hey! The guy in green!’
Huh???
I turned around, and some kids were waving to me.
I pointed to my chest, like in the movies.
Me???
I looked behind me.
‘The guy in green!’
Lucky green.
I ran back over to them, and they said, ‘Hey, the coach wants to see you. The team doctor told him you were the guy who scored two goals. Are you the guy?’
I said, ‘I’m the guy!!! I’M THE GUY!!!!’
I went back into the stadium and the doctor was pointing at me and holding up two fingers.
He said, ‘That’s the kid.’
Two fingers saved me.
If the team doctor didn’t do that, I would not be a footballer today. I would probably be at the bottom of a well.”
Source: Player's Tribune
