Victor Boniface

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Victor Boniface
Boniface celebrating with Bodø/Glimt in 2021
Personal information
Full name Victor Okoh Boniface
Date of birth (2000-12-23) 23 December 2000 (age 23)
Place of birth Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s)
Striker
Team information
Current team
 Bayer Leverkusen
Number 22
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–2019 Real Sapphire
2019[2] → Lefke TSK (loan) 2 (2)
2019–2022 Bodø/Glimt 48 (13)
2022–2023 Union SG 37 (9)
2023– Bayer Leverkusen 19 (11)
International career‡
2023– Nigeria 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:20, 21 April 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2023

Victor Okoh Boniface (born 23 December 2000) is a Nigerian professional

striker for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Nigeria national team. Boniface is renowned for his pace, strength, dribbling ability, finishing and work ethic.[3][4][5][6]

Club career

Real Sapphire

In January 2018, Boniface went on loan to KTFF Süper Lig club Lefke TSK. After continuing his career here for a short time, he returned to Real Sapphire in July 2018.[7]

Bodø/Glimt

Boniface signed for

Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, but had to withdraw from the squad due to injury.[10] In September 2019 he nonetheless made his league debut for the club.[11]

Union SG

On 8 August 2022, Boniface signed a four-year contract with Belgian side

Union Berlin in the round of 16, finishing as the competition's joint top scorer along with Marcus Rashford.[13]

Bayer Leverkusen

On 22 July 2023, Boniface signed for

Borussia Park in a 3–0 away derby win against Borussia Mönchengladbach.[16]

On 11th April Boniface scored against West Ham in the 1st leg of the Europa League quarter-final. The game finished 2-0.[17]

On 15th April Boniface scored the opener from the penalty spot against Werder Bremen in a 5-0 win. The win meant that Bayer Leverkusen won the Bundesliga for the first time with 5 games to spare.[18]

International career

Boniface made his debut for the Nigeria senior team on 10 September 2023, coming on in the 64th minute for Taiwo Awoniyi. He provided an assist in that match to Samuel Chukwueze.[citation needed] On 29 December 2023, he was named in the Nigerian squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast.[19] However, on 8 January 2024, Boniface sustained a muscle injury which forced him to miss the African tournament,[20] and he was replaced by Terem Moffi.[21]

Style of play

Boniface is known for his distinctive style of play. His playing characteristics include strengths in dribbling, finishing, and headed attempts, while his weaknesses lie in offside awareness, holding onto the ball, and defensive contribution.[22]

He is described as a player who likes to dribble, likes to do layoffs, and likes to play long balls. These attributes contribute to his effectiveness as a forward on the field.[23]

His background, including learning to play football in a military barracks in Nigeria, adds an interesting dimension to his journey as a footballer.

Overall, Victor Boniface's style of play is characterized by his technical abilities, goal-scoring prowess, and unique playing preferences, making him a player to watch in the world of football.[24][25][26]

Personal life

Boniface is a Christian.[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 April 2024[28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bodø/Glimt 2019 Eliteserien 8 1 0 0 – 8 1
2020 Eliteserien 24 6 0 0 3[b] 2 27 8
2021 Eliteserien 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2022 Eliteserien 15 6 5 3 10[c] 5 30 14
Total 48 13 5 3 13 7 66 23
Union SG 2022–23 Belgian Pro League 37 9 4 2 10[b] 6 51 17
Bayer Leverkusen 2023–24 Bundesliga 19 11 3 2 7[b] 5 29 18
Career total 104 33 12 7 30 18 146 58
  1. Norwegian Cup, Belgian Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Four appearances and five goals in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 19 November 2023[29]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Nigeria 2023 5 0
Total 5 0

Honours

Bodø/Glimt

Bayer Leverkusen

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Victor Boniface". Bundesliga. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  2. ^ "VICTOR OKAH BONIFACE" (in Turkish).
  3. ^ Akinbo, Peter (17 February 2024). "Osimhen, Boniface listed among world's best strikers". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  4. ^ Acho, Affa (23 December 2023). "FULL LIST: Osimhen, Boniface Listed Among Top 100 Best Footballers In The World". Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  5. ^ Opanuga, Jimisayo (29 December 2023). "Victor Boniface ranked 5th best signing of 2023 summer". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  6. ^ Sports, Pulse (5 January 2024). "Victor Osimhen and Boniface ranked behind Saka, Kvaratskhelia in 100 most valuable players list". Pulse Sports Nigeria. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Türk takımlarının burnunun dibinden Avrupa zirvesine uzanan bir hayat hikayesi" (in Turkish). 24 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Victor Boniface signes for Glimt". Bodø Nu. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  9. ^ Nygaard, Jacob Sundblom (23 March 2019). "Victor Boniface suffers injury". Eurosport.no. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Paul Aigbogun Makes Late Change To Flying Eagles Squad For U20 AFCON – Victor Boniface Out, Pascal Durugbor In". Own Goal Nigeria. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  11. ^ Victor Boniface at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
  12. ^ "Welcome Victor Boniface". Union SG. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Victor Boniface: Who is Bayer Leverkusen's new Nigerian striker?". Bundesliga. 26 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Bayer 04 sign Victor Boniface". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 22 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Leverkusen trumpft auf und schlägt Leipzig" (in German). ZDF. 21 August 2023.
  16. ^ "3:0! Bayer Leverkusen mit Gala bei Borussia Mönchengladbach" (in German). Bundesliga. 26 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Moyes gives West Ham 'half a chance' in Leverkusen tie". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  18. ^ "'Incredible feeling' - Alonso toasts Leverkusen title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  19. ^ Olu Ibidapo, Ayodele (29 December 2023). "Peseiro names 25 players as Super Eagles seek fourth AFCON title in Cote d'Ivoire". Nigeria Football Federation. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Nigeria's injured Boniface set to miss African Cup of Nations". Reuters. 8 January 2024.
  21. ^ "CAN 2024. Terem Moffi finalement appelé avec le Nigeria pour remplacer Victor Boniface" (in French). Ouest-France. 9 January 2024.
  22. ^ "Tactics Corner: Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz and Victor Boniface setting the Bundesliga alight". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Victor Boniface: Nigeria's Next Top Striker?". Breaking The Lines. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  24. ^ Stafford-Bloor, Sebastian. "50 to watch - Victor Boniface: A rare talent who has already overcome a career's worth of misfortune". The Athletic. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  25. ^ Omachonu, Kelvin (3 May 2023). ""I learned to play football in the military barracks"- Hot Nigerian striker Victor Boniface". Soccernet.ng. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  26. ^ Tripathi, Saumy Deepak (14 October 2023). "Victor Boniface: Bundesliga Newest Star Is A Future Star". FootTheBall. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  27. ^ "Victor Boniface: Bayer Leverkusen star visits his childhood friend in church on Christmas eve". Pulse Sports. 25 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  28. ^ Victor Boniface at Soccerway
  29. ^ "Victor Boniface". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  30. ^ "Bayer Leverkusen are 2023/24 Bundesliga champions!". Bundesliga. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  31. ^ "2022/23 Europa League top scorers: Boniface, Rashford at the summit". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  32. ^ "2022/23 UEFA Europa League Team of the Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  33. ^ "Victor Boniface named November's Rookie of the Month!". Bundesliga. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  34. ^ "Victor Boniface wins Bundesliga Player of the Month for August!". Bundesliga. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Victor_Boniface&oldid=1221033642"