Victor Boniface shared how his coach at Bayer Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso, has been instrumental in his improvement at the club.
The Nigeria striker noted that Alonso’s superior skills during training sessions constantly motivate him to strive for excellence.
Boniface emphasized that Alonso’s coaching style sets him apart from other coaches at the club.
During an interview with AFP, Boniface said: “Imagine you’re training and your coach is doing better than you.”
“Then you want to step up your game.”
“For him to be involved in training gives us a boost,” Boniface said of Alonso, who “has won everything that can be won in football.”
“Sometimes he tells me of players he played with, with similar abilities to me. He tries to improve me in my weakest areas.”
Reflecting on his nearly three-month injury that forced him to sit out the 2023 AFCON, where the Super Eagles ultimately placed second, Victor Boniface added: “It was truly a challenging time for me when I got injured.”
“Missing out on AFCON and numerous games for Leverkusen was tough to accept.”
“Fortunately, I had the support of my teammates and the club, which helped me through the tough period. While it was a difficult experience, I tried to keep a positive mindset. In the end, it’s all part of the game – there are highs and lows, and it’s all about how you handle them.”
The Nigerian striker made a big move from Nigeria to Norway, signing with Bodo/Glimt when he was 18-year-old.
While helping the club win their first Norwegian title in 2020, he suffered two ACL tears and almost gave up on his football career.
After a successful time with Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium, he joined Leverkusen last July.
His impressive performance saw him score 16 goals in his first 23 games before he, unfortunately, got injured again while preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria in January 2024.
Victor Boniface’s Achievement at Bayer Leverkusen
Since Victor Boniface arrived at Bayer Leverkusen from Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium for €20.5 million in July 2023, he has been nothing short of extraordinary.
In 29 games across all competitions, he has scored 18 goals and provided 10 assists, becoming the team’s top scorer even after a brief injury setback between January and March.
With Leverkusen never having won a league title in their 120-year history and often falling short at the final hurdle, earning the unfortunate nickname ‘Neverkusen’, Boniface has been instrumental in turning their fortunes around.
Thanks to his contributions, Bayer Leverkusen have secured their first Bundesliga title and are now on course to potentially claim two more titles in the Europa League and DFB-POKAL.
What’s next for Boniface and Leverkusen?
Leverkusen will welcome third-placed Stuttgart on Saturday, April 27 with only four games left in the Bundesliga season for them to potentially become the first team to go unbeaten.
In addition to their impressive league record, Leverkusen have also reached the German Cup final against Kaiserslautern and the Europa League semi-finals against Roma, extending their unbeaten streak to a remarkable 45 games in all competitions this season.
