'How body' — Thierry Henry hails Osimhen in pidgin, Super Eagles star says teammates don't listen to him

Premier League legend Thierry Henry hailed Victor Osimhen in Nigerian pidgin English and lauded his mentality after the Super Eagles star scored the winner to help Galatasaray advance past Juventus and reach the Champions League round of 16. 

The 27-year-old scored the winner as Galatasaray advanced past Juventus 7–5 on aggregate. Henry, who has been a revered pundit on CBS’s Champions League show since 2021, spoke to the Nigerian after the game; he started the conversation in an interesting manner. 

First, he hailed Osimhen in pidgin English, "Victor, how body? Body dey?” Of which the Galatasaray ace responded, grinning ear-to-ear, "Body dey fine.” Henry then presented his question to Osimhen, asking him when he adopted his laudable mentality, mindset and edge.

“I want to talk to you about your mindset,” Henry said. “I've seen that in the African Cup of Nations, and I saw that today. You wanting more – when did that switch in your head? And not just being there, being able to score goals – when did the switch happen for you?”

The Super Eagles star took the opportunity to further express his displeasure at his teammates' performance, revealing that he psyched himself up and tried to rub off his mentality on his teammates, to no avail. 

Palpably frustrated, he said that he tried to talk his teammates through the game, as he noticed some of them were overwhelmed by the occasion, but according to him, they didn't listen. 

“At first I was really psyched up,” Osimhen said. “I prepared my teammates before we stepped on the pitch. I let them know how difficult it is to come to Turin to try to get a win because I have played here also, and I know how difficult it is.

“And then I think some of them are timid, and when I try to motivate them and do the best I can – I cannot do it alone – and I try to motivate them that it's normal, this is football. Some of them are kind of scared with the crowd and the way Juventus are playing. 

“But I know this team; when you try to lay back and let them play, they are going to do damage. They even played better with the red card than when they are 11, so for me, we have a lot to improve on.

“When I speak, and some of them tend not to listen, I just keep going, so I have nothing else to say.”

Osimhen's frustration is understandable. He inspired his team to a 5–2 victory in the first leg, and despite publicly warning his team that Juventus could not be written off in the second leg, he witnessed his side lose 3–0 against the Old Lady — despite Spalletti’s men playing with 10 men from the 49th minute — which ultimately forced extra time. He scored in extra time to secure qualification. Burak Yilmaz’s goal after he confirmed the result.