Super Eagles striker Simeon “Simy” Nwankwo has opened up on a difficult 2024/2025 campaign that saw him suffer relegation from Serie B to Serie C with Italian club Salernitana, Footynaija.com reports.
Simy made his name in Italian football after scoring 20 goals to fire Crotone from Serie B to Serie A in 2018/2019. The towering striker then repeated his scoring exploits in the Italian top flight to help Crotone avoid relegation before moving to Salernitana.
However, his goals basically dried up after making that switch and his career unfortunately hit a downward spiral. Having notched 66 goals in five seasons at Crotone, Simy managed only 11 goals in the next five seasons as Salernitana lost their top flight status and struggled in the second division.
Things went from bad to worse for Simy and Salernitana following the club’s relegation to Serie C. In a recent interview with Complete Sports, Simy reflected on what was ultimately a disappointing season.
What Simy Nwankwo said
“It was a tough one. We started more or less on a good note full of confidence because after relegation from the top league we tried to build something to get back up but it is never easy when you have to change a lot.
“Coming down from a different league, a lot of players not happy, some trying to go away, new ones coming in meeting a difficult situation because the atmosphere was not really that easy, it was tough, people were angry because of the relegation.
“So, things didn’t go as planned then we had to change coaches in the course of the season, bringing in new ideas every two, three months. This affected us. Affected the whole atmosphere but on an individual note I just had to do the same thing I had done all these years.
“I had to be strong, consistent, tried to play the best I can and contribute the little I can, couple of goals here and there but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter because it’s a collective game and all that matters is the team’s result that we were able to achieve together.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a positive one but there are lots of lessons to learn and it made us stronger for sure.”
Simy is currently without a club after exhausting his contract with Salernitana. The 33-year-old striker will be looking to sort out his future soon with only a few days left in this summer’s transfer window.
He has four caps for the Super Eagles, with a couple of those appearances coming at the 2018 World Cup held in Russia.