Galatasaray and Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen has just surpassed every other Nigerian in the UEFA Champions League (UCL). The 26-year-old has now scored 10 UCL goals, taking him past Obafemi Martins. This incredible feat reinforces Osimhen’s stature, scoring as much as he has in this competition.
All of Martins’ goals came with one club: Inter Milan. The 40-year-old retired footballer played 22 Champions League games for Inter Milan from 2002 to 2006. This is impressive indeed, and Martins is rightly regarded as one of Nigeria’s greatest strikers to date.
What’s the Big Deal With 10 Goals?
It doesn’t look like much, right? However, when UEFA recognizes the highest goal scorers in Champions League history, the fewest number the body considers is 15. This means that UEFA recognizes how difficult it is to score in the Champions League. Scoring is difficult in the UCL for several reasons:
- There aren’t many games available: The Champions League is only available to very few teams every season. Only the big clubs make regular appearances, and sometimes even they miss out. Just two teams play up to 13 games, and that’s for getting to the final. The rest either play 6, 8, 10, or 12 games. This is not a lot of opportunities to score.
- The general quality of the opponents: In the Champions League, only the best teams from each league get a chance to even play in it. Hence, all your opponents are the best from somewhere.
All these and more are why many players—even the greats—end up not scoring many. For Nigerians, this is even more the case. Osimhen hitting 10, and being five goals away from entering the UCL history books, is a testament to his talent.
How Have Nigerians Performed in the Champions League?
Nigerians don’t appear in UCL history much, and that’s because it’s a European competition, and the number of Nigerian internationals playing in Europe is not many. Despite this, the best Nigerian footballers have found their way to Europe and even participated in European tournaments. Very few of these Nigerians have been forwards, though, making Osimhen’s feat even more impressive. Other than Osimhen and Martins, there are other notable Nigerians that have graced this competition:
- Nwankwo Kanu: Kanu has made the most UCL appearances out of all Nigerian forwards (45), but he doesn’t have many goals to boast of. With only four goals, the legendary Nigeria captain leaves a lot to be desired.
- Jay-Jay Okocha: Okocha was one of the most talented footballers to ever wear Nigeria’s iconic green jersey. As far as the Champions League goes, however, he has zero goal involvements in nine appearances.
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- Yakubu Aiyegbeni: Popularly known as just Yakubu, he only played five Champions League games, but surpassed Kanu’s goal tally, scoring five. Everyone will remember that Yakubu miss (though it wasn’t in the Champions League). But for those who don’t, here it is:
- Victor Boniface: Boniface only started becoming a regular player around two years ago. He only has four appearances and one goal to his name.
Why Osimhen Should Now Be Recognized as One of Nigeria’s Greatest
Osimhen is currently Nigeria’s second all-time top goalscorer (25), only 12 goals behind Rashidi Yekini. Osimhen is still only 26 years old and will likely play for the next seven years at least, making him likely to be the country’s all-time top scorer by the time he retires.
Those are just national team exploits, though. He also has some legendary moments for his former club Napoli, where he won the Golden Boot in the 2022/23 season en route to securing the Scudetto. This title marked Napoli’s first in 33 years and their third overall. Yes, when asked, many refuse to acknowledge that Osimhen is nearing legendary status as a Nigerian footballer.
What’s Next for Osimhen?
If Galatasaray plays its cards right, the club could play at least eight more games in the UCL this season. This means Osimhen gets a chance to put his name among the greats. If Osimhen scores five more goals in this competition, he will become the only Nigerian international in the UEFA Champions League all-time goal scorers list.
The special thing about this feat is that it can’t be disregarded, as everyone can admit that the UCL is the gold standard. Osimhen now needs to push on and achieve even more, so that excuses not to credit him will continue to sound silly.
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