The Nigerian center forward, top scorer in the last Europa League, had an incredible impact with Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen: only Erling Haaland like him
The ancient Romans used to use a phrase: nomen omen, “the name is an omen”. The etymology of the name Victor, however, is quite simple: it is a Latin term that indicates a winner, a conqueror. And perhaps conqueror is the adjective that best describes the rise of Victor Boniface, the new spearhead of Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, who is laying waste to the Bundesliga defenses. His “invasion” in Europe, moreover, is similar to the Viking / barbarian ones of the 5th century: he started from Norway, passed through Belgium, arrived in Germany in the summer without any intention of stopping.
military childhood
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Victor Boniface was born in Akure, Nigeria, on 23 December 2000. The context of his childhood was a military base, in which his grandfather was enrolled: at the age of six he began playing football in the street, when he turned twelve he already at the level of his uncles, whom he defines as “my older brothers”, and is noticed by the academy. Victor is confident in himself and knows that he will become a footballer: he has no problem leaving his family when Real Sapphire calls him, and he begins to be called up by the under-17 national team. His conquest of Europe begins thanks to one of his team-mates team, arrived to play in Latvia and then sold to Norway. The Real Sapphire coach turns to the agent who had carried out the negotiations, advising him to look at other young players from the academy. A Norwegian delegation therefore goes to Nigeria and follows Boniface in a tournament: they decide to take him with them for an audition.
Norway and Belgium
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The Scandinavian adventure starts with a no from Valerenga, so his agent organizes him a trial with Bodø/Glimt: he scores two goals in the first half and is replaced. Boniface is worried that he hasn’t made a good impression, but the agent explains to him: “They like you, they didn’t want me to finish the race. They were afraid that you would score more goals and some big club would notice you.” A week later he signed his first contract, the 2018/19 season was underway and in the freezing Norwegian winter came his first blow: a ruptured cruciate ligament, which would torment him in all three seasons with Bodø. The potential can be glimpsed, but the appearances he manages to accumulate are few: just 66 in three seasons in all competitions, seasoned with 23 goals and 8 assists. The business card leaves some doubts: a 22-year-old boy who has already suffered two cruciate ruptures and makes physical power his main weapon may never reach his full potential. However, Union Saint-Gilloise is betting on him and bringing him to Belgium in the summer of 2022: Boniface manages to put his physical problems behind him and is the protagonist of a surprising season. 55 appearances, 22 goals and 12 assists, second place in the league and above all the incredible journey in the Europa League: he dragged his team to the quarter-finals and became the competition’s top scorer together with Rashford, with 6 goals in 10 appearances. Union was eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen, and in the first leg (which ended 1-1) Boniface scored the Belgian goal. Xabi Alonso, who has been at the helm of Aspirin for a few months, dotes on him and in the following July makes him Bayer’s starting striker.
in Haaland’s footsteps
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The impact in Germany was devastating: his debut came on 12 August in the first round of the cup, and he scored in his team’s easy 8-0 win. He was left without a goal in the first match of the Bundesliga, a 3-2 win against Leipzig, in which he however provided an assist to Frimpong. Then came two consecutive doubles in the successes against Borussia Moenchengladbach and Darmstad 98. On the fourth day, in the crash test against Bayern Munich, he failed to find the net but kept Kim and Upamecano in constant apprehension, and Bayer left the Allianz Arena with a tie. His incredible performances earned him the title of player of the month in the Bundesliga, as well as that of “Rookie” of the month: only one other player had achieved this feat before him, Erling Haaland in 2020. On September 10th also comes the debut with Nigeria alongside another Victor, well known in Naples: he came on in the 64th minute in place of Awoniyi and gave Chukwueze the assist for the final 6-0 against São Tomé e Príncipe, in the Cup qualifiers of Africa.
modern
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To define the characteristics of Victor Boniface, just one adjective could be enough: modern. The Nigerian is endowed with an explosive physique, 1.90 m and 85 kg, and combines the instinct of a pure attacker with the skillset of a winger. His style of play is electric: he aims, dribbles, attacks spaces and celebrates a bit like Umtiti a bit like Steph Curry. Very good at playing with his back to goal, he loves to come out to play with the team, and often spreads out to the left to look for one-on-ones: despite having an important physical structure he is very technical and fast, often overtaking his opponents with control oriented, demonstrating the footballing IQ of a number 10. In Germany some are already comparing him to Lewandowski, due to his ability to finish well with both feet (despite being right-footed). With 23 years to go, Boniface has a bright future ahead of him: under the guidance of a professor like Xabi Alonso he can greatly refine the more tactical aspects of his game. In the goal machine that this Leverksuen looks like, Europe is warned: the Nigerian conqueror has no intention of stopping.
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