Super Eagles and Bayer 04 Leverkusen striker, Victor Okoh Boniface, has revealed the secret message Xabi Alonso told him in his side’s 4-3 win over VfL Wolfsburg last weekend, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 23-year-old came off the bench in the 68th minute, replacing Patrik Schick, before scoring with the last kick of the game in the 94th minute.
Quizzed about what it feels like to play under the Spaniard, Boniface revealed the manager is very demanding, as he wants his players to keep improving.
“With the coach, he was a top footballer in his playing days, and everybody knows how good he was. He tries to motivate us as a coach, and even when we are playing well, he demands more from me, especially. He tells me, Boni, you have the body, the technique and the size, I want you to give me more,” the former Union Saint-Gilloise striker said in an Interview with Sporty TV.
“Xabi Alonso… Every time he tells me to try and watch Drogba… ‘I want you to be like Drogba’. He (Alonso) is that guy”
— Victor Boniface pic.twitter.com/g4WD8TuRSj
— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) September 25, 2024
Additionally, the Nigerian striker mentioned Alonso has suggested he models his game after former Chelsea and Ivory Coast legend, Didier Drogba.
“He tells me to watch Drogba. To be honest, in the last game, which we won 4-3, before I came on, he told me to be strong, to be in the box, to play like Drogba. He’s always behind us and we want to give 100% because we trust him,” the former FK Bodø/Glimt added.
Boniface has scored three goals and provided one assist for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga this season, continuing his red-hot form from where he stopped last campaign.
