Ex-Italian Footballer Defends Victor Osimhen After Missing Another Penalty

Former Italy international, Emanuele Giaccherini has defended Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen after missing a penalty against Juventus on Sunday, March 3.

Victor Osimhen who has enjoyed a relatively fair goalscoring form since he returned to Napoli from the 2023 AFCON, was expected to lead the Italian reigning champions to beat Juve last weekend.

When the scoreline was 1-1, Osimhen was fouled in Juventus’ eighteen-yard box and the referee awarded a penalty to Napoli. The 25-year-old Nigerian striker failed to convert it.

Fortunately for the Nigeria international, Giancomo Raspadori scored the rebound from Wojciech Szczesny’s save to secure a 2-1 win at home.

The penalty miss against Juventus made it the second time in four attempts that Victor Osimhen has missed a spot-kick this season. Between last season and this season, Osimhen has missed four penalties in all competitions. He has now missed 6 penalties in his football career.

Hence, some of his critics have been doubting his proficiency as a striker because of his inability to often convert penalties.

But Emanuele Giaccherini who played for Napoli between 2016 and 2018 doesn’t want Osimhen to be judged based on his inability to convert penalties.

The 38-year-old Italian midfielder who retired from professional football in 2021 believes that Osimhen brings more to Napoli than just scoring penalties.

“Penalties are wrong, we know. That’s not what you judge a player by,” Giaccherini told Radio Crc.

“What I look at is the work that Osimhen does, bringing with him more than one opponent. Kvara also benefited from this. This duo can be Napoli’s added value in Italy and Europe.”