Nigerian forward Victor Boniface has opened up about a memorable past encounter with legendary Portuguese coach José Mourinho, who has managed elite clubs including Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and AS Roma. The exchange between Boniface and Mourinho happened shortly before AS Roma’s shocking 6-1 defeat to Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage on October 21, 2021. At that time, Boniface was playing for Bodø/Glimt, a team based in a small city in Norway. Before his move to Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, the Nigerian striker experienced the unique and extreme weather conditions of the region, which he admitted posed challenges even for top-level professionals. Speaking on The Culture League Podcast, Boniface reflected: “I played in Norway, one of the coldest countries in the world. I was with Bodø/Glimt, and the city itself is very small… it’s surrounded by the sea, and the temperature is freezing. Mourinho came to the pitch, walked inside, pulled out his phone, recorded everything, and posted: ‘This is the situation, we’re about to play, very cold.’ I commented on that same post because, at that time, I didn’t know I’d reach this level in my career. I told him, ‘You never see anything.’” Interestingly, despite being part of the Bodø/Glimt squad, Boniface did not feature in that historic match because he was still recovering from a cruciate ligament injury. That encounter remains a defining memory for Boniface, who has since risen to prominence as one of Nigeria’s most exciting attacking talents and a key figure for Bayer Leverkusen and the Super Eagles.
Astana’s Belarusian midfielder #07 Max Ebong (C) fights for the ball with Chelsea’s English midfielder #32 Tyrique George (R) during the UEFA Conference League football match between FC Astana and Chelsea FC in Astana on December 12, 2024. (Photo by Konstantin CHALABOV / AFP) Chelsea made it five wins in five Europa Conference League outings on Thursday with a 3-1 victory against Astana in Almaty. A much-changed Chelsea side battled the frigid conditions in Kazakhstan and won to all but guarantee a top-eight finish in the league phase, which would ensure automatic qualification to the round of 16. Chelsea sit top of the standings on 15 points, three ahead of Legia Warsaw who are the only other side to boast a perfect record in the competition. The Polish side will seek to draw level with Chelsea when they host Lugano of Switzerland later on Thursday. The defeat leaves Astana in the final knock-out play-off spot with four points and at risk of elimination. Chelsea wrapped up the points in the first half through goals from Marc Guiu and Renato Veiga. Marin Tomasov pulled one back for the hosts on the stroke of half-time but Enzo Maresca’s side rarely looked troubled in the second half as they closed out the win. Guiu gave Chelsea the perfect start by netting a brace inside the opening 20 minutes, bringing his tally in Europe to three goals in five appearances this season. His first on 14 minutes showcased the ex-Barcelona attacker’s budding talent as he drove past a defender on the right flank before stroking home from an acute angle. The 18-year-old Spaniard doubled up four minutes later with a striker’s goal as he forced the ball home at the front post following good wing play by Pedro Neto. Renato Veiga, 21, headed in Chelsea’s third from a corner on 39 minutes. Croatian veteran Tomasov scored the pick of the goals in the 45th minute as he stood up Renato Veiga in the box before arcing a fine left-footed strike in off the far post. Earlier, Djurgarden of Sweden provisionally moved up to sixth with a 2-1 win at Vikingur Reykjavik despite finishing with 10 men. REA DALSO: Follow the LMSINT MEDIA channel on WhatsApp: Join Our WhatsApp Group Hear: Chat on WhatsApp Join our Telegram Chanel.
