FIFA U-17 World Cup record breaker, Victor Osimhen as well as Captain Kelechi Nwakali, have both paid special tribute to Golden Eaglets’ Head Coach, Emmanuel Amuneke following a record fifth title for Nigeria at the global cadet championship at Chile 2015.
Two goals by Victor Osimhen and Funsho Bamgboye saw Nigeria to glory yet again at the Estadio Sausalito Stadium in Vina del Mar on Sunday, in front of over 21,000 spectators including the NFF President Amaju Pinnick; NFF Deputy General Secretary, Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme and; a pocket of Nigerian fans led by officials from Nigeria’s Embassy in Argentina who came all the way from Buenos Aires.
Osimhen’s goal broke the existing FIFA U-17 World Cup scoring record of nine goals – just three days after he equalled the nine-goal record in a single tournament previously jointly held by Frenchman Florent Sinama Pongolle and Ivorian Souleymane Coulibaly, who were top scorers at the global cadet championship at Trinidad & Tobago 2001 and Mexico 2011 respectively.
Speaking after laying his hands on the Golden Boot of Chile 2015, Osimhen thanked coach Emmanuel Amuneke for being a father figure to the players, even as he dedicated his award to his sister who gave birth to a baby girl on Friday.
“I want to thank coach Amuneke again for what he has impacted in us and I’m also grateful to my teammates who helped me to break the record,” said the teenager who was also voted as the second best player of the tournament behind Nwakali. “The Golden Boot is also dedicated to my sister who just had a baby girl.”
Nwakali, who was rewarded with the adidas Golden Ball and the Second Runner Up of the adidas Golden Boot, said apart from God, Coach Amuneke was the architect of the team’s success: “Coach Amuneke is more than a coach to us. He is a father and I want to thank him so much. It is always the dream of every young player to win the World Cup and we are happy that he has helped us to achieve this glory.”
