Napoli star Victor Osimhen insists he wants to ‘repay’ the love shown by Napoli fans, while Aurelio De Laurentiis predicts celebrations for the title could involve ‘two or three million people.’
In recognition of his stellar performances for Napoli over the course of the last year, Victor Osimhen was awarded with the ‘Best Foreign Player in Italy’ award by the Foreign Press Association on Monday afternoon.
The Nigerian international is one of the most sought-after properties in the global transfer market after his run of consistently brilliant results in Naples.
Osimhen has registered 19 goals and three assists from his 20 appearances in Serie A for the Partenopei so far this campaign and in February became the first player in the club’s history to score in eight consecutive league matches.
Speaking to the press after being presented with the award, Osimhen hailed the city of Naples and asserted that he wants to reward fans with Napoli’s first Scudetto since 1989-90.
“When you arrive in Naples as a footballer, you fall in love with the sport even more,” he explained. “People dedicate their lives to football, to supporting the city and the team and this drives me to have a mission to do well for these people.
“They make me very happy and I want to give them something unforgettable. When I arrived in 2020, they immediately showed me great love and I want to repay them on the pitch.
“Everyone here has been brilliant, from the president to the coach and including the players. We all have the opportunity to become icons of this city.”
Osimhen was also accompanied by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, who also addressed the media at the awards ceremony.
ADL reminded the press that: “33 years have passed since our last Scudetto. Many Neapolitans have been born in this timespan,” he continued.
“After sinking into bankruptcy and being reborn, taking advantage of the constant growth in these 18 years, the crowning of the scudetto could drive the city crazy, which is already doing it. There could be 2-3 million people involved. A lot of stuff going on.”
In typical De Laurentiis fashion, the President provided some outlandish remarks, drawing comparisons between the worlds of football and cinema and claiming that watching Napoli is comparable to making love.
“Football is very similar to cinema. The only difference is that in football you don’t know the ending, and that’s the fascinating part,” ADL insisted.
“There are countless possible combinations to feel satisfied over the course of a season in which many games are played. We play about 50 of them, all intense and exciting. Like making love fifty times with the most beautiful woman in the world,” he laughed.