Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has revealed his admiration and gratitude for Mario Gomez, who shared a dressing room with him during their time together at Wolfsburg.
Before his career really took off, Osimhen had spent a stint at Wolfsburg, who had signed him from Nigerian outfit Ultimate Strikers Academy. The German outfit loaned him out to Belgian club Charleroi, for whom he signed permanently for later and had a tally of 20 goals in 36 appearances.
During his time at Wolfsburg, Osimhen played and trained alongside Mario Gomez, who himself had a stint with Fiorentina at one point.
In an interview with Il Mattino, Osimhen spoke in glowing terms about Gomez and the impact he had on the Nigerian. The Napoli man stated:Â
“I often think of Mario Gomez. At Wolfsburg, it wasn’t easy and not only because of the climate. It was the first experience away from home, practically in another world. And Mario stopped with me at every training session. He gave me suggestions, to tell me what to do in order not to make mistakes.
“He trusted me. [He is] A great champion who dedicated himself to giving me suggestions. And I said to myself: if someone as important and good as he wastes time with someone like me, it means that he sees something in you that maybe I haven’t seen yet. And it was teaching that helped me make the key step in my career.”
Gomez has now retired from the game and his last stint came at Stuttgart. Osimhen is on fire for Napoli this season, scoring 9 goals and racking up three assists in 11 Serie A outings for the Partenopei.
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Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN
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