Victor Boniface on Bayer Leverkusen's title defence, stacking up to Harry Kane and more...
Victor Boniface has told bundesliga.com how he and defending champions Bayer Leverkusen can deliver another memorable season in 2024/25, after going unbeaten en route to winning the Bundesliga and DFB Cup last term...
bundesliga.com: Bundesliga winner, DFB Cup winner, Rookie of the Season... How can you top a season like that?
Victor Boniface: "Of course. I can’t really top the Rookie of the Season because I am not a rookie anymore, but we can achieve the same thing, not just me alone, but the team in general. We had a fantastic season last year and we see what it meant to the people, because they support us and everything. We don’t mind giving them that again. Try to do what we did the last season. Try to achieve something good again."
bundesliga.com: If you had to choose just one title, which one would it have been?
Boniface: "I would have to pick the Bundesliga."
bundesliga.com: What makes it special?
Boniface: "Because I think that trophy has been missing in the BayArena. They haven’t won the league before, so I think they deserve something like that."
bundesliga.com: You invited your youth coach from Nigeria to the title celebrations. What was the motivation behind this?
Boniface: "Because he was the first coach that gave me the opportunity, he was the first coach that scouted me from secondary school. He brought me from secondary school to his team. I was with him almost for six, seven, eight years. He was the first one that gave me a really good platform to start showcasing my talents. To pay him back, I wanted to bring him so he can see how far I’ve come and to be part of the celebration with me. So, I brought him."
bundesliga.com: Have we already seen Victor Boniface at his limit?
Boniface: "No, no, no. There is a lot more."
bundesliga.com: In terms of what...?
Boniface: "In terms of everything. In terms of me to improve as a player and learn new stuff. There is room for improvement for me. I am the type of guy that learns every day. So, I think there is more I can achieve individually and in terms of collective with the team."
bundesliga.com: And football-wise?
Boniface: "Everything. Like I said, I learn every day. For my own side, I think there is more of what I know I can do, but it is not just about me. It is about the whole team. The most important thing is the team. As long as we are winning I am happy and I am fine with it."
Watch: Rookie of the Season winner 2023/24 - Victor Boniface
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bundesliga.com: What role did your three-month injury break last season play?
Boniface: "Before the injury, I was decent. Not just me, like I said, the team we were doing well. During my injury the team was also doing well. When I came back, they were also doing well. For me as a football player, I want to improve in every aspect. Even though I know I had a great season last year, I want to improve. I want to learn day by day. I want to get to the highest level. So, there is a lot of room for improvement for me."
bundesliga.com: How is your fitness - especially in view of the fact that you didn't play a tournament during the summer break?
Boniface: "I had a good summer. I went to the national team. We had World Cup qualifiers. I was there for two weeks and it was also good for me to spend time with my family. I haven’t seen some of them for years. To spend those moments with them really helped me, because after the injury, even though I was back, I was a little bit stressed, but I needed my family around with me. So, after the season I spent quality time with them. Now I am back focusing on the new season."
bundesliga.com: Many of the coaches think you're already in top form. Are they right?
Boniface: "Yes. They are the ones watching the training. The won’t see any difference of me. They saw me when I came and they saw me when I was injured and they are seeing me now. So, for them to say this, I think they have a point. I don’t know what they are saying, but if not just one or two people are saying this, I think they have to be right."
bundesliga.com: What is different?
Boniface: "I don’t really know, but what I know is that after my injury I wasn’t very comfortable when I was back. I was a little bit scared of the stuff in my head, like what if it would happen again. With an injury like this, it takes time in your head to be back 100 percent again. So, after the season I spent quality time and holiday. Now I am back and I don’t have that in my head. So, I am back and ready to fight and give 100 percent."
bundesliga.com: Are you a person who thinks a lot?
Boniface: "No, I don’t think so. To be honest, I don’t think about stuff, but at that point of time last season, after the injury, I think when I was back after a week or two I was feeling pain and I was uncomfortable. I was stressed."
bundesliga.com: You made your international debut for Nigeria in September 2023. What did that mean to you?
Boniface: "For me it is a dream to represent a country like Nigeria. We have almost 300 million people. To be part of like 20 or 30 players representing the country is the biggest dream for me, because watching people playing and representing the country when I was I kid – to be part of the national them was a dream for me. I was really happy to be a part of it."
bundesliga.com: Has the perception of people in Nigeria towards you changed?
Boniface: "For me, it didn’t change, but I think for my family it changed because they see me representing Nigeria. They have a different mindset, a different thinking now. However, for me it is about coming to help the country, playing and having fun on the pitch, so it is not different."
bundesliga.com: Fourteen goals in 23 Bundesliga games. Do you see yourself on the same level as Harry Kane and Serhou Guirassy?
Boniface: "I can’t say for any of them. I can say they are top, top players. Top strikers. Harry Kane has been doing this for so many years, same as Guirassy. I learned a lot from these guys because I watched a lot of them before, but now I am focusing on myself. I don’t think... Many people might be thinking I might be on the same level, but I am focusing on how to improve and how to help my team. I don’t really think about me competing with anybody. I am just trying to go on the pitch, have fun, win games and help my team. That is what I focus on."
bundesliga.com: What is your biggest strength?
Boniface: "I don’t really have one. The way I am seeing myself, I don’t really have one particular aspect. I couldn’t say I am really good at this because I am also really good at other aspects as well. I am really good in dribbling, I am really good in passing – you can see the assists I had. So, there is a lot of stuff I am really good at, but there is some stuff I am not good at. I can’t really pick one stuff that I know that I am good at. However, I know that in the overall game I am up there."
Watch: The best of Boniface in the Bundesliga
bundesliga.com: And where do you see the greatest strengths of Kane and Guirassy?
Boniface: "I think for Harry Kane it is the goalscoring ability. In the box he is deadly. When he has a chance in the box he is deadly. For Guirassy it is going behind in the box. That is the mentality I am trying to have. I am still young, I am still learning from people like them. So, I think I have a lot to learn when it comes to that area. To be deadly. When I have four or five chances, I should score at least four. I am still learning, I am trying to get to that point."
bundesliga.com: Do you also see a renaissance of the classic centre-forward in the Bundesliga?
Boniface: "I think there are a lot of good strikers. Not just me, Kane, Guirassy. There is [Loïs] Openda, there is [Benjamin] Šeško. There are a lot of top strikers in the Bundesliga now. A lot."
bundesliga.com: What is the biggest challenge for the new season?
Boniface: "I think now everybody will want to beat Leverkusen, because we went unbeaten last season in the league. So, I think everybody will want to be the first to break this. However, you can see the guys, everyone not just me. Everyone is focused. We had a really good season, we achieved something great. We see the joy in the face of the players, the coach, the staff, everyone. So, we really want to have the same feeling at the end of the season. If you have a good meal tonight for example, you want to have it tomorrow. So, we had that great season last year and we want to achieve something good also this season. So, we are looking forward to the new season."
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