Simy ‘not 100% happy’ despite setting Nigerian goals record in Serie A

SIMEON ‘Simy’ Nwankwo was not in celebration mood on Saturday night even after scoring twice in Crotone’s dramatic 4-3 Serie A win at Parma.

The Super Eagles striker struck Crotone’s first and final goals of the clash to take his tally to a very impressive 11 goals in his last eight games.

Simy’s goals also earned Crotone their first away win of the season, but they are still stuck at the bottom of the Serie A table and look bound for a quick return to the second division.

“It’s a strange moment,” he told Sky Sports Italia during his post-match interview. “I cannot be happy. It’s true on an individual level I’m doing well, but it’s not enough, because the team is what matters.

“Today we brought home a victory we’ve deserved for a long time and I hope we can close the season with dignity.

“The squad has always been focused, we never gave up, it’s a pity things have gone this way and we take the blame. Now we want to just do as well as possible.”

Simy now has 19 Serie A goals this season, 29 over his career in the Italian top flight, beating Obafemi Martins’ record of 28 for most scored in Serie A by a Nigerian player.

“It’s an honour in a very difficult league like Serie A, but as I said, I cannot be 100 per cent happy because we weren’t able to do what we wanted as a team,” the towering striker added.

Simy, 28, could be sold by Crotone, the club he has been with for five years, if they go down as expected, but the Nigerian star refused to speculatee about his future.

“I am not thinking about that,” he said. “I have huge respect for Crotone, the people in this city honestly welcomed me like a son. I cannot talk about the future right now.”

Simy’s 19 Serie A goals this season also means he is having the most prolific season by any Nigerian in a top five European league this century.