Victor Boniface is keen on replicating his form for Bayer Leverkusen with the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of today’s friendly game against Russia, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
He has been roundly criticized for not matching his form for the German side with the senior national team of Nigeria, particularly during the qualifiers for the AFCON where the started in all of the games without scoring a goal.
That form saw him drop in the pecking order behind Genk forward Tolu Arokodare, who started ahead of him in the team’s last two games in the world cup qualifiers under new coach Eric Chelle.
Chelle was also left impressed by the performance of Rangers forward Cyriel Dessers in the two games of the Unity Cup by scoring in the 2-1 win over Ghana, and also providing an assist in the 2-2 draw against Jamaica which Nigeria went on to win 5-4 on penalty.
It appears the challenge provided by the above mentioned forwards has changed the mentality of Boniface for good according to one of his teammates.
” He ( Boniface) was the best player in our two training sessions. The manner which he chased everything down and also put his body on the line was good to see. Way better than who it was before. He trained like a beast. Maybe he is aware that he has to fight now after seeing what others in his position have done”, a player revealed.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
