Nigeria international and Werder Bremen forward Victor Boniface has addressed his prolonged goal drought and dip in form, insisting that critics do not understand the full picture of what he brings to the pitch, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 24-year-old, currently on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, has endured a difficult start to life at Bremen, failing to score in 13 matches for the club.
His struggles have drawn growing criticism from fans and pundits who expected the same explosive form that lit up the Bundesliga during his debut season at Leverkusen.
Boniface, however, maintains that while his goal tally is under scrutiny, his wider contribution to the team’s overall play is being overlooked.
“If you watched the game against Union Berlin, which we won at home 1-0, I didn’t score or an assist but you will have seen what I bring to the team, you get what I mean?” Boniface said in an interview with Soccer Laduma.
Victor Boniface: From Leverkusen star to Bremen struggles
Boniface burst onto the Bundesliga scene in the 2023/24 season, scoring 14 goals and providing eight assists as Bayer Leverkusen stormed to their first-ever league title. His dynamic play, strength, and eye for goal earned him widespread praise and a growing reputation as one of Africa’s brightest attacking talents.
However, an injury-plagued follow-up campaign disrupted that momentum. Despite missing close to half the season, Boniface still managed eight goals and one assist in 19 appearances, a tally that saw him finish as Leverkusen’s second-highest scorer.
That consistency, though, has not carried over to Werder Bremen. In his new surroundings, Boniface has struggled to find rhythm and confidence. His recent outing against Mainz typified his difficulties: 64 minutes on the pitch, no goals, no shots on target, and a 53% pass completion rate.
Coach Horst Steffen was reportedly unhappy with the striker’s display, leaving question marks over whether Boniface will retain his place in the starting line-up for Friday’s clash against Wolfsburg.
Still, Boniface insists he remains unbothered by the criticism, even as his goal drought stretches on.
“Media says a lot of things. When you don’t score, then people want to talk but trust me you don’t know anything about me. I’ve seen things but I am strong and anybody that knows me, knows that I am a strong guy; those things don’t really affect me,” he said.
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‘I’m still improving every day’ – Boniface
The Nigerian forward has made it clear he is focused on personal growth rather than online opinions.
“I’m trying to improve every day and I think this is the worst start I’ve had since arriving in Germany, you know, because I’ve played four, five games with no goals,” Boniface said.
“My first season was great and I haven’t mentioned anything about my second season before, but last season I missed between 16 and 20 games, but I was still the second highest goalscorer at Leverkusen, and they said it’s a bad season, so I am trying to understand what is this.”
Boniface also dismissed online criticism as shallow and uninformed:
“Most people don’t watch games, they just go to LiveScore and say, ‘This guy doesn’t score, let me make money on Twitter by insulting him', so if you know the type of guy I am, you’ll know I have no problem.”
Despite his struggles, Boniface’s record in Germany remains respectable. The former Union Saint-Gilloise forward has 22 goals and 12 assists in 49 Bundesliga appearances. He is now Nigeria’s fourth all-time top goalscorer in the history of the competition, behind Jonathan Akpoborie (60 goals), Victor Agali (32), and Anthony Ujah (30).
