Zero to hero: Grandma, coach relive Boniface humble beginnings News

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Zero to hero: Grandma, coach relive Boniface humble beginnings

By Daily Sports Nigeria on April 17, 2024

After helping Bayer Leverkusen to their first-ever Bundesliga title in the club’s 120-year history, no one is more proud of Nigerian striker, Victor Boniface, than his grandmother, Lucy Okoh, who enrolled him at an academy in Akure, the Ondo State capital some years ago, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

On Sunday, Boniface scored the opening goal in the 5-0 thrashing of Werdern, helping Bayer Leverkusen win the Bundesliga with five games to spare.

Aside from ending the 11-year reign of Bayern Munich, Boniface and his teammates still have a chance to end the league season unbeaten, just as they are still in contention for two more titles; the DFB Pokal and the Europa League.

Having won two league titles with Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt in 2020 and 2021, the Bundesliga title is his biggest title so far and his grandma is happy to have shared part of the moments with him.

Earlier this season, she was in Germany to spend time with the striker and was at the BayArena to watch him live when the fans famously changed his name in rhythm. She reflected on the trip and the eventual success in the Bundesliga.

“I thank God because it’s not by my power. I didn’t think something like this will happen in my lifetime. Going to Germany to watch him live and to have heard thousands of people also shout his name inside the stadium makes me really proud,” Boniface’s grandma told PUNCH Sports Extra.

“I could not watch the match but my happiness knows no bounds regardless. So many people have been calling to congratulate me as well.”

Boniface was born in Akure, Ondo State to Mr. and Mrs. Okoh but grew up in a military barracks with his grandparents, reflecting a modest upbringing in a disciplined environment.

His football journey started at the Real Sapphire Academy in Lagos, where he showcased exceptional talent, which led to Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt handing him his first professional contract in 2019.

Boniface experienced significant success at Bodo/Glimt, later moving to Union SG in Belgium. His performance garnered attention from Bayer Leverkusen, with whom he signed a five-year contract.

However, a significant event in Boniface’s life was the death of his mother following an accident, a trauma that deeply affected him and momentarily derailed his football aspirations.

Boniface reckoned he lost his mind and his way as he battled a difficult period of depression following the death of his mother.

“I gave up at that time, as I was no longer interested in playing football,” Boniface told OJB sports in 2023.

“There was a period when I lost my mum, I also had a bad injury that was going to keep me out for six to eight months, and I lost a good offer from Club Brugge.

“I lost interest in football, I forgot about my diets, I began to eat everything, I started living a normal life, I just wanted to be happy, I started partying and drinking.

“I don’t drink normally, but I started it because I was depressed.”

Renowned for his pace, strength, dribbling ability, finishing, and work ethic, Boniface didn’t allow that phase of his life eventually weigh him down. And coming from the dusty streets of Akure, he quickly dusted himself up and put in everything through diligence, focus, determination and hard work to become a proud winner of the German Bundesliga, scoring the first goal from the spot, in an eventual 5-0 win over Werder Bremen that handed Die Werkself their first league triumph in their 120-year history.

Overall, he scored 11 league goals, which is tied for the seventh most by a player this term, whilst he also ranks joint eighth for assists, creating eight goals for his teammates. He has 18 goals in all competitions this season, and this number could have been more but for a rough patch that had him sidelined with injury.

His coach at Royal Gold Soccer Academy in Akure, Blessing Johnson, also said the striker’s exploits have projected the academy.

He was first spotted by the coach at a school tournament, before joining his academy, where he moved to Real Sapphire in Lagos and then to Europe in 2019.

“I feel excited. Though he has won league titles before in Norway but this one is different because, for a club not to have won the league in their history, it’s something big if you break that jinx in the way Victor and his teammates have,” Johnson told PUNCH Sports Extra.

“As a coach, I feel fulfilled for running an academy, which will be 16 years this year, and one of our products is already making waves globally. That alone has put our name on the map and we are leveraging on that.”

His grandma and coach also said they are looking forward to seeing him win trophies for Nigeria, just as former Super Eagles midfielder, Sunday Oliseh, has tipped him.

“I pray that everything will work according to God’s plan and I know when it’s time for him to play for Nigeria in a major tournament and win something for the country, I pray that I will also be alive and he will also continue to succeed,” Okoh said.

“If not because of the injury setback in January that made him miss the AFCON, he would have taken a step closer to achieving something with Nigeria as well. He is a player that can help Nigeria achieve a lot, together with the calibre of players in the national team at the moment,” Johnson said.

On Tuesday, the 23-year-old depicted his grass-to-grace story with a picture of himself wearing two different boots growing up amid life’s uncertainties in Akure.

The picture on his X handle portrayed the agonising and pitiable phase most Nigerian youths pass through, but it came with a caption in the form of a warning, which read, “If you like, give up.”

The post captures the never-say-die attitude of the striker, and with the Bundesliga now in the bag added to his Norwegian Eliteserien titles in 2020 and 2021 plus individual awards like the UEFA Europa League top scorer for 2022/23 and being named in Europe’s second-tier league’s Team of The Season same term, Boniface just won’t quit, at least not now.

And his countrymen would be hoping he transfers his club form to the Super Eagles, after injury barred him from the 2023 AFCON earlier this year. His absence was evident, as his teammates struggled to score goals.

Source Punch Ng

Posted April 17, 2024