Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure was the hero in midweek when his first half brace gave Club Brugge an unlikely half time lead at the Santiago Bernabeu but his manager is pleasantly surprised by how the Nigerian youngster have taken the extra buzz generated by his heroics in his stride.
Although, Real Madrid eventually rallied to earn a controversial 2-2 draw on Tuesday night in the Champions League but the press in Belgium and Nigeria have not stopped talking about the 20-year-old forward.
Ahead of a difficult match with high flying Ghent on Sunday, coach Philippe Clement has admitted that he had not seen the one-cap Super Eagles striker receive so much attention in his football career so far, but it’s been pleasing how the young man is handling all the extra attention.
“I haven’t seen him float yet,” says Clement as observed by Soccernet.ng.
“This morning I saw an eager Dennis on training. His focus is already completely on Sunday. That makes for a good feeling.
“I also talk to him almost every day. His feet are still firmly on the ground. If it had to go in the wrong direction, he would soon know and experience it personally.
Casting yet another glance back on a fantastic night in Spain, the Club Brugge boss was visibly delighted with the performance of his men but equally disappointed that their efforts have not yielded more than the two draws they have produced in the Champions League so far.
“Of course it gives a positive feeling (to draw at the Bernabeu),” the Bruges coach winked.
“I had set the bar very high in advance, but everyone was willing to do that. The interpretation was almost perfect, so I can only praise my players.
“Bernabéu was a big step in our development process. It is just a shame that our harvest with 2 out of 6 (points) is not the right reward for what we have brought in the first two games.
“There are still four great challenges ahead for us to bring the same (level of performance) and, who even knows, to surpass it.”