Antonio Nusa
Country: Norway
Age: 21
Club: RB Leipzig
League: Bundesliga
Position: Winger
Major honours: Belgian Pro League ×2 (2021–22, 2023–24) and Belgian Super Cup ×1 (2022), all with Club Brugge.
Club History: Stabæk (2021) → Club Brugge (2021–2024) → RB Leipzig (2024–present).
Diebilderwelt | Alamy
‘"What God has said will surely come to pass": The boy who shook the world of European football by keeping a promise made to his grandmother
The tattoo on his right arm is more than just ink—the words "I promise, Grandma" serve as a guiding compass and a daily prayer for Nusa. In his childhood, when a devastating tragedy struck the young talent in the small Norwegian town of Langhus the passing of his beloved grandmother—Antonio, with tear-filled eyes, made a solemn vow: he would one day play in the world’s greatest stadiums.
The surname "Nusa," which stems from his Nigerian roots, means "what God says will surely come to pass" in a local dialect. He lives by this inner conviction and a specific ritual: every year on January 1st, he writes down his ambitious goals on a sheet of paper, and by the end of the year, he crosses each one off.
In 2020, he signed his first professional contract with Stabæk, and in 2021, he caught the attention of European scouts by scoring a brace against Viking in the Norwegian league. That same summer, the Belgian club Club Brugge signed the young talent. Regarding this achievement, the legendary Norwegian defender and star, John Arne Riise, openly stated:
"In Nusa’s game, I see that raw energy and boldness possessed only by true stars—he never shies away from responsibility on the pitch."
- John Arne Riise
In September 2022, during an away match against Porto in the UEFA Champions League, Nusa—who had come on as a substitute—found the back of the net, becoming the second-youngest goal scorer in the tournament's history. This incredible breakthrough earned him the nickname "the Norwegian Neymar" in the media. As for Antonio himself, when speaking about his childhood idol, he admits: "Neymar is a huge inspiration to me; when I was little, I used to try to replicate his tricks and movements exactly."
Speaking about the player's style, Ståle Solbakken head coach of the Norwegian national team and a renowned Scandinavian specialist—emphasized:
"Antonio is a player who possesses a rare, almost extinct quality: while playing with absolute freedom on the pitch, he never loses his tactical discipline—he simply takes on his man in situations where others would choose to pass."
According to sources within the club, during his very first weeks at the training base, he stunned the team’s physical conditioning coaches with his test results—for although he moves with an effortless, graceful quality, his strength and explosive power metrics proved to be among the best, even when compared to the team’s leading players. However, alongside his success, difficulties also emerged in Antonio's life: during the first few months after moving to Germany, minor injuries arose, temporarily preventing him from playing at full capacity.
Nevertheless, his strong character and the promise he had made to his grandmother outweighed all the negatives; during his rehabilitation, he trained with double the intensity in the gym, seeking to build muscle mass so he would be even better protected against the rough play of opposing defenders.
This season, Antonio Nusa’s name has been making headlines across European sports media; however, those within the club know that his success is built on immense, day-to-day hard work. At RB Leipzig’s training ground, it is well-known that after the main training session concludes, he always stays on the pitch to execute at least fifty powerful shots with both feet.
Moreover, he tries to send the ball precisely into the top corner. An interesting detail is that he often requests training sessions without a goalkeeper, using special target boards to develop his accuracy.
His standing within the Norwegian national team is growing stronger by the day; alongside Erling Haaland, he forms the core of the attacking trio. It has emerged from within the national team camp that Antonio listens to exotic music during training gatherings—he is particularly fond of old-school Nigerian hip-hop, which connects him to his roots and energizes him before taking the pitch.
Following this recognition, Nusa’s career took a significant new turn, with the Club Brugge coaching staff building various tactical setups around him. It has emerged from within the team that, during training sessions, Antonio would often try playing in different pairs of boots to sharpen his feel for the ball, while his coaches specifically granted him the freedom to experiment in defensive zones.
Ultimately, the next major milestone in his career was his move to the German Bundesliga, where he signed a long-term contract with RB Leipzig. Following his transfer to Germany, the club’s analytics team revealed an interesting insight: Nusa is one of the rare players capable of changing his running trajectory several times per second while moving at speed with the ball—all without losing his balance.
Therefore, it came as no surprise that in his very debut—against VfL Bochum—he created a decisive goal just minutes after stepping onto the pitch. Commenting on this transfer, RB Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schäfer noted:
"Antonio is a unique project, whose sheer explosive power and technique are a very rare phenomenon in modern football."
Antonio Nusa himself speaks quite philosophically and humbly about his own development, his future plans, and the high expectations surrounding him:
"Transfer fees, press assessments, and front-page headlines are not my concern; a footballer must never allow these things to make him lose his sense of reality—my sole and primary goal is hard daily work, deriving maximum enjoyment on the pitch, and fulfilling the commitment that is most sacred to me."
Football experts often point out a unique quality in Antonio’s game: he never seeks the easy path. At a time when young players in modern football are frequently advised to stick to tactical frameworks and minimize risk, Nusa does the exact opposite. He takes the field with the intent to disrupt the balance of play and sow chaos within the opponent’s defence.
As he himself noted in an interview, his greatest motivation is not praise from the press, but the inner peace that comes from knowing he gave his absolute all on the pitch. And while his signature feints leave defenders bewildered, Antonio Nusa continues on a path where every new match is not merely a game, but a daily fulfilment of a promise made to his grandmother.
Written by Nini Giorgadze (28.10.2026)