“It was my only dream” – Sparta Prague’s Olatunji reacts to surreal UEFA Champions League debut

Victor Oluyemi Olatunji became the first Nigerian footballer in history to score and assist on their UEFA Champions League debut.

Nigeria and Sparta Prague striker, Victor Oluyemi Olatunji, was delighted after making history in his side’s 3-0 UEFA Champions League win over RB Salzburg, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 25-year-old provided an assist and found the back of the net at the epet ARENA in Praha on Wednesday, becoming the first Nigerian to score and set up another goal on his Champions League debut.

Speaking after the game, the former Inter Bratislava forward revealed that scoring against Pepijn Lijnders’s side fulfilled a lifelong dream.

“I just wanted to put the ball in the back of the net. It was my only dream for tonight. We always play like a team and I really enjoyed it. For the third goal, I could have shot but I wanted to give us a bigger chance [of scoring], because missing that chance would not have been good for the team. I feel good, I feel great and I’m very happy for myself, because I worked hard to get to this point. I’m also happy for the team,” the Sokoto-born striker told UEFA.com.

Olatunji is yet to feature for the Nigerian senior football team, but with consistent performances like Wednesday’s, an invite to the Super Eagles in the near future should not be far-fetched.

He’ll be hoping to continue his brilliant Champions League form when Sparta Prague travel to the Mercedes Benz Stadium in two weeks to face Bundesliga side, VfB Stuttgart.

 

This post was last modified on September 19, 2024 10:59 am

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria. With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience. He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.

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