'Osimhen, Chukwueze were there too' - Okwonkwo relives winning 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup

Bologna loanee Orji Okwonkwo has revealed that winning the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup with Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen and AC Milan forward Samuel Chukwueze was special.

The Cittadella forward played in five matches for the Golden Eaglets during the tournament in Chile, scoring in a 4-2 win over Mexico in the semifinals.

With a record 10 goals, Osimhen won the Golden Boot, while Chukwueze received the Bronze Ball as the tournament's third standout performer.

Okwonkwo is back on the pitch following a two-year Fifa suspension for allegedly using Clostebol, having had his initial four-year ban reduced.

Before the Fifa ban, he was doing very well at Cittadella, registering nine goal involvements (7 goals, 2 assists) in twenty matches. 

One thousand one hundred and twenty-six days after his last goal in Italian football, the Bologna-owned player netted the match-winning goal for Cittadella as they defeated Juve Stabia 1-0 in the last round of matches in the Serie B.

After the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup, the Abuja Football College product was linked with a plethora of European clubs but opted to start his professional career at Bologna. 

Speaking to Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, Okwonkwo said: "In 2015 we won the U17 World Cup with Nigeria. Osimhen and Chukwueze were there too, many clubs wanted me. I chose the rossoblù."

When quizzed about his ban that ended in February 2024, he responded: "It’s a closed topic that I don’t want to talk about. For me, only the present exists."

Okwonkwo enjoyed his most productive spell as a professional at Canadian Major League Soccer outfit CF Montréal, where he netted 10 goals in 50 matches 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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