Nigeria’s Super Eagles players Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella after weeks of working towards the seemingly inevitable, co-inspired Bayer Leverkusen not only to their first-ever Bundesliga title but also to a record unbeaten league triumph.
On Sunday, April 14, Boniface scored and assisted as Leverkusen defeated Werder Bremen 5-0 at the Bay Arena to irrevocably seal the 2023/24 Bundesliga title with five games to spare.
Unrelentless, the Die Werkself pressed on in their remaining league matches, securing a draw against Dortmund and high-flying Stuttgart at death, even as they were upholding the unbeaten run in the UEFA Europa League and the DFB Pokal.
History was finally made at the Arena on Saturday, May 19, as Super Eagles’ Boniface opened the scoring for the champions, as they defeated Augsburg 2-1, becoming the first-ever team to win the German topflight league invincibly.
The Nigeria football community are still celebrating Boniface and Tella for their contributions to Leverkusen’s glory, but amidst these celebrations, Football411 takes a look at erstwhile and present Super Eagles stars who won a league title unbeaten.
Invincible league-winning Super Eagles Stars
Finidi George and Nwankwo Kanu —Ajax Amsterdam, 1994/95
Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ head coach Finidi George and legend Nwankwo Kanu were the first Nigerians to win a league undefeated. After inspiring Nigeria to a second Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy in 1994, Geroge and Kanu’s contributions were remarkable as Aajx went on to clinch the Eredivisie and Champions League unbeaten in the 1994/95 season.
Terrorising on the flanks, George registered 17 goal contributions (eight goals and nine assists) in 30 league appearances for the Dutch giants. His compatriot Kanu scored 10 goals in 18 matches as Ajax won the league undefeated.
Nwankwo Kanu — Arsenal, 2003/04
Dubbed as the greatest Nigerian footballer of all time, Kanu is the only Eagles to star with two invincible league titles.
Following his remarkable contribution to Ajax’s invincible run, the Imo State-born forward moved on to Inter Milan in 1996, before joining Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in 1999. Kanu was at the Emirates until 2024 and was part of the team that won the 2023/24 English Premier League (EPL) undefeated. The record remains unbroken in the league.
Leon Balogun, Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo — Rangers, 2020/21
The trio of Balogun, Bassey and Aribo won the Scottish Premiership with Rangers undefeated in the 2020/21 season. Led by Steven Gerrard, Aribo—the best-performing Nigerian in the team— scored six goals and assisted four in 26 league appearances for the side, while Balogun registered three assists in 19 appearances.
Bassey appeared in seven games, as Rangers won their 55th Scottish Premiership in grand style. Aribo and Bassey have moved on to England where they represent Southampton and Fulham respectively, Balogun still plies his trade at Rangers, alongside Eagles Cyriel Dessers.
Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella — Bayer Leverkusen, 2023/24
Super Eagles’ latest invincible league winners Boniface and Tella are on their biggest career run. Boniface, after winning the Norwegian league with Bodø/Glimt in 2020 and 2021, scored the most league goals (14) for Bayer Leverkusen in the historic Bundesliga title.
The 24-year-old who was voted the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season, also registered eight assists and was only bested by Alejandro Grimaldo (13) and Florian Wirtz (11) in the Alonso set up.
Like his compatriot, Tella won the 2022/2023 EFL Championship during his loan spell at Burnley, before doing it better in Germany. The England-born player registered five goals and five assists as Leverkusen ended Bayern Munich’s 11-year dominance.
Boniface and Tella became the third and fourth Nigerian to win the Bundesliga, after Pascal Ojigwe (Kaiserslautern, 1997/98) and Sunday Oliseh (Borussia Dortmund, 2001/02 season).
The Leverkusen stars could end the season with a treble if they win the DFB POKAL and Europa League against Ademola Lookman’s Atalanta on Wednesday, May 22 in Dublin.
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