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.