Why Victor Osimhen refused Galatasaray captain’s armband during win over Alanyaspor

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen displayed leadership and humility during Galatasaray’s 3-1 victory over Alanyaspor after a touching captaincy moment involving former Manchester City star İlkay Gündoğan, Afrik-Foot reports.

The Turkish champions secured a hard-earned win at RAMS Park, with Osimhen scoring one goal and providing one assist to guide his side to three important points.

Regular captain Mauro Icardi began the match on the bench, while vice-captains Abdülkerim Bardakcı and Kaan Ayhan were also unavailable to start. That situation meant midfielder Lucas Torreira led Galatasaray onto the pitch wearing the captain’s armband.

Torreira enjoyed an excellent game, contributing a goal and an assist before being substituted in the 79th minute. When Gündoğan entered the match, the armband was passed to him.

In a surprising moment, Gündoğan approached Osimhen and attempted to hand him the captain’s band. The Nigerian striker immediately refused and instead placed it back on the German midfielder’s arm, insisting he was the more deserving leader.

After the match, Osimhen explained his decision.

“İlkay is someone I respect very much, he is very valuable to me,” Osimhen told the Galatasaray website.

“He is a person known worldwide. He is both calm and motivating. He is someone we can always talk to. He is very visionary. When he brought me the captain’s armband, it felt strange. I gave it back so he could lead us. He helps us every time he comes into the game. He is someone who deserves love.”

Victor Osimhen: Goal, controversy and victory for Galatasaray

The match itself was far from straightforward. Fresh from a demanding midweek victory over Juventus, Galatasaray started slowly but finally broke the deadlock just before half-time through Gabriel Sara.

Alanyaspor responded early after the restart when Steve Mounié headed home to level the score, briefly silencing the home crowd.

A controversial moment followed soon after. Osimhen raced onto a loose ball inside the penalty area and appeared to be clipped from behind as he went down. Despite strong appeals, the referee awarded a foul to Alanyaspor, and VAR did not overturn the decision.

Osimhen chose not to complain.

“There was contact,” the former Napoli star maintains.

“I don’t know if my opponent touched the ball later or before. The referee was probably right there. I didn’t want to argue. Maybe I touched the ball, maybe he touched it, I don’t know for sure. The important thing is that we won the match.”

Galatasaray quickly regained control. Osimhen created the second goal by setting up Torreira, restoring the home side’s lead.

The Nigerian then sealed victory in the 83rd minute after intercepting a poor pass from goalkeeper Paulo Victor, calmly rounding him and finishing into an empty net.

The strike took Osimhen to 10 league goals this season.