Paul Onuachu may have lost out on the prestigious Golden Shoe, but with every passing week of action it is looking very likely he will be crowned Goal King of Belgium this season.
The Genk giant will then become the third Nigerian striker to top the goals charts in the Jupiler Pro League.
How did Tosin Dosunmu and Joseph Akpala fare after they also emerged Goal Kings in Belgium?
Voetbalprimeur recounts –
Tosin Dosunmu
When was he Goal King? 2005-2006
Age at the time? 26 years
At which club? Germinal Beerschot
Also played for… RWDM, Denderhoutem, KV Mechelen, KVC Westerlo, Austria Wien (Oos), AS Nancy (Fra), Zulte Waregem,Royal Antwerp , MVV (Ned), Sint-Niklaas
Number of goals as top scorer? 18
Number of goals in his entire professional career? 87
His list of employers speaks volumes: Dosunmu could hardly be called a loyal club player. And yet the very fast winger will be remembered by many in a purple and white outfit, with or without ‘Quick’ on the chest. Indeed, he experienced his absolute heyday with the late Germinal Beerschot.
In total, the goalgetter hit 36 times in the service of the Rats . He managed half of that number between August 2005 and May 2006, with which he stayed ahead of Mémé Tchité in a two-man battle for the top prize.
The Standard Liege star with half a dozen nationalities, for example, did not crown himself as the very first African top scorer in Belgium.
Beerschot owed a commendable sixth place on the final table to their Nigerian star, but regrettably they could not cash in a big transfer for him.
Dosunmu was loaned out to Austria Wien, before he teamed up with KVC Westerlo, where he had proved with 28 goals in 59 appearances he could still score goals.
Because that nose for goals failed in Vienna, Austria Wien started looking for a buyer. That news reached AS Nancy’s ears. The current Ligue-2 team played at the highest level at the time, saw brand-new top scorer Dosunmu the perfect replacement and put two million Euros on the table.
However, this French adventure went badly.
Although Dosunmu had enough chances, he only managed a goal in Ligue 1.
A quick loan to Zulte Waregem did not bring any relief. Even then the downward curve of the rest of his career would start.
Even when Beerschot threw a lifeline, Dosunmu could no longer justify his previous status. With seven goals in the year of his return, the former crowd favorite still gave fans hope, but his productivity would only drop. After three and a half years, the attacker closed the door of the Kiel behind him, this time for good.
Dosunmu, at the time in his early thirties, decided to add one more salient chapter to his career. After a short stint with the Dutch MVV, he opted for… Royal Antwerp FC!
As a former Rat , you can safely call this a daring step. Thanks to his eternal smile, however, the Tawny Owl held no grudge. Nevertheless, Dosunmu failed to cause sparks in the stands. After three goals, spread over 20 matches, he already disappeared through the back door.
When a year of Sint-Niklaas did not bring any improvement, the former top scorer decided to hang his boots in 2013.
Joseph Akpala
When Goal King? 2007-2008
Age at the time? 21 years
At which club? Sporting Charleroi
Also played for… Bendel Insurance (Nig),Club Brugge, Werder Bremen (Ger), Karabükspor (Tur), KV Oostende, Al-Faisaly FC (Saudi Arabia)
Number of goals as top scorer? 18
Number of goals in his entire professional career? 118
Barely two years after Dosunmu became the first African Goal King of Belgium, Nigeria already had a follow-up success in the Jupiler Pro League.
Countryman Akpala also topped the charts by shaking off rivals like Elyaniv Barda (KRC Genk) and Milan Jovanovic (Standard Liège).
The always smiling striker did that at Sporting Charleroi, without too much experience. It was not until 2005 that he had left his native soil for the first time. Akpala was known in his homeland as a talent and lived up to that expectation.
At the age of 21, he could already call himself the most effective attacker in the Belgian league.
It was written in the stars that the top clubs led by Club Brugge would chase Akpala and they eventually convinced Charleroi with a sum of three million Euros, still one of the more expensive domestic transfers in the history of Belgian football.
Club was also paid back that hefty amount in performances. Although Akpala was certainly not the most skilled, he put the ball in the basket 56 times in 168 matches in blue and black. This made him one of Club’s most important goalscorers for four years.
In 2012, Akpala believed it was time to move to a higher level. The Bundesliga, that’s where he wanted to work! Werder Bremen were only too happy to offer him that opportunity.
A few years earlier, this traditional club won the Bundesliga, but in the previous decade that star would gradually begin to wane. Akpala did not escape that.
The Nigerian struggled with the faster pace in Germany and therefore hardly managed to conjure up his name on the scoreboard. His Werder report card: less than 500 playing minutes, one goal, one assist… Not a great record, to say the least.
Thereafter a loan to the Turkish club Karabükspor offered very little and Akpala decided to return to familiar territory.
The ambitious KV Oostende saw in the top scorer of 2008 the ideal reinforcement to attack the big clubs.
Marc Coucke, then still the great man on the coast, presented him with a lucrative contract. Akpala accepted that offer with both hands. He would contest more than a hundred matches for KVO, resulting in 21 goals.
Nevertheless, the years began to weigh more and more on him. After the new board had to put the money to the business, the striker went to Saudi Arabia for a year for the cash.
Many were therefore surprised when the free Akpala landed in Ostend again in the autumn (on much lesser conditions than at his first turn), but in fact the cheerful Nigerian was on the downward slide. He is currently without a club …
