Week after week, fireworks Osimhen, nicknamed "Supermhen", and Randal Kolo Muani, alias "RKM", continue to take their team to the heights of their respective championships, leading Serie A for the Nigerian from Naples (15 points ahead of the second), and in the leading sextet of the Bundesliga (five points from the head) for the French vice-world champion.

Last weekend, they struck again, in Sassuolo for Osimhen and at home against Werder Bremen for "RKM".

And for the two centre-forwards, the winter break extended by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has in no way cut the momentum observed since the fall.

After a start to the season thwarted by a thigh injury, the 24-year-old Nigerian, twenty days younger than Kolo Muani, found an impressive cruising speed with "Napoli", scorer or decisive passer during fourteen of the seventeen matches played in all competitions.

"The most complete of all"

"It's the most complete of all. It still has significant room for improvement", assures its coach Luciano Spalletti about "Supermhen", who made his European debut in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg (2017-18), before express visits to Charleroi (2018-19) then Lille (2019-20).

Napoli's Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen scores a headed goal against Juventus on January 13, 2023 at the Diego-Maradona stadium © Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

With each goal, this celebration of its own: removing the black protective mask he has been wearing since last season, after suffering fractures in the face during a clash with Inter defender Milan Skriniar.

A mask that sellers now offer on match nights around the Diego Maradona stadium.

Since mid-October, the figures have been identical and just as dizzying for Kolo Muani, with the difference that the ex-Nantais is a little less of a scorer (8 against 16) and a little more of a passer (7 against 3) than Osimhen.

With 18 achievements, Victor Osimhen is on track to become the first African "Capocannoniere" player in the Italian championship.

And Randal Kolo Muani could well succeed Robert Lewandowski as the best scorer (goals and assists) in the German championship.

The "SuperEagle" (23 caps, 15 goals with Nigeria) now has everyone in Italy in agreement, including the most skeptical.

"Kolomania" in Germany

In Germany, Kolo Muani convinced from the start, starting with his coach the Austrian Oliver Glasner, who very quickly gave him the keys to the tip of the Eintracht attack, relegating the Colombian Rafael Borré to the bench. , yet craftsman of the coronation in the Europa League last season.

French Frankfurt striker Randal Kolo Muani, before a training session, February 20, 2023 © Daniel ROLAND / AFP

Unlike Osimhen, Kolo Muani participated in the 2022 World Cup with France, joining the Blues while he was training in Japan with Frankfurt, replacing Christopher Nkunku at short notice.

After his Qatari performances, notably in the final against Argentina and this missed opportunity in extra time, the spotlight was even more on him.

Impermeable to this "Kolomania", he on the contrary accelerated, with in particular two doubles in quick succession at the beginning of February.

Lothar Matthäus, 1990 world champion and now a consultant for one of the championship broadcasters Sky, is full of praise, referring to an "enrichment" and "the biggest stroke of luck" for the Bundesliga this season.

At just 24 years old, the two attackers are among the most prominent and sought-after players in Europe, despite long-term contracts (summer 2025 for Osimhen, summer 2027 for Kolo Muani).

If Naples had to break the bank (80 million euros) to secure the services of "Supermhen" in the summer of 2020, "RKM" did not cost Eintracht a penny, which recruited him when his contract with Nantes expired in the summer of 2022.

© 2023 AFP