By Monsurah Olatunji
Former Turkey international Gökmen Özdenak has criticized Victor Osimhen’s overall performance in Galatasaray’s narrow 2-1 victory over Göztepe, despite the Super Eagles forward scoring his first goal of the new year.
Galatasaray secured the three points over the weekend in their ongoing quest for the Turkish Süper Lig title, with Osimhen breaking the deadlock and scoring the team’s first goal of 2025.
However, Özdenak pointed out that the team struggled in their attacking play and noted that Osimhen’s contribution was limited to just the goal.
“Victor Osimhen was not on the field in the Göztepe match. There is zero cooperation in the attack,” Özdenak said, as quoted by Habersarikirmizi.com.
The former player also mentioned that Galatasaray faces challenges when playing against teams that are physically stronger and more combative.
He believes that improvements in the squad should be focused on increasing the team’s physicality and athleticism to better compete with such opponents.
Osimhen’s goal against Göztepe brings his tally to 10 goals in 12 appearances for Galatasaray in the Turkish League, making him the fourth-highest goal scorer in the competition this season.
Despite his impressive scoring record, Özdenak’s comments highlight concerns about the team’s overall attacking cohesion and tactical development.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
