Nigerian Victor Osimhen has become the first African to win the Serie A Golden Boot for scoring the highest number of goals in the 2022/23 season.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Napoli star scored 26 goals in 32 matches to edge past his closest rival Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez to land the highly coveted “Capocannoniere” prize.
Osimhen, who had already scored 25 goals before Napoli’s Sunday game against Sampdoria scored from the spot to add one more strike to his tally as his club won 2-0.
Osimhen in an interview with DAZN said, “This season has been brilliant for me, for my teammates, and for Napoli. We deserved this.”
While discussing if he would leave the club during the summer, the Nigerian said, “I don’t know, the president has to decide that. I love the people of Napoli, they have shown me so much love. For me, I don’t mind, the president decides and I will just go with the flow.”
His goals were instrumental as the club clinched their first league title in 33 years and their third overall.
Earlier, the Super Eagle scooped the Best Striker award for the season for his efforts.
His Serie A Golden Boot comes after years of attempts by Africans to win the prize, as the continent’s only Ballon d’Or winner George Weah could not win it while he played in Italy.
In the 2020/2021 campaign, Osimhen’s compatriot Simy Nwankwo contested for the Capocannoniere but finished with 20 league goals behind eventual winner Cristiano Ronaldo who had 29 goals in the season.
