This article was originally published on September 15th, 2023.
Under Xabi Alonso, Bayer Leverkusen are currently one of the most interesting teams in Europe. The Spanish manager took the job after Gerardo Seoane was dismissed, rescued Leverkusen from the bottom of the table and managed to finish the season at 6th. The transfer window went pretty well, with the club recruiting a few experienced players (Alejandro Grimaldo, Granit Xhaka, Jonas Hofmann) and some promising ones. Among all new signings, let’s talk about Victor Boniface: he is tearing the Bundesliga apart and cementing his spot as one of the most important players of the squad.
The 22 years old Nigerian striker (another one!) was signed from Union Saint-Gilloise, a Belgium club. At the Pro League, Boniface scored 9 goals and gave 8 assists in 37 matches. He also shone against some German clubs (Union Berlin and Leverkusen) at the UEFA Europa League.
Considering his first games for Leverkusen, 20 million euros are looking like a bargain: Boniface impressed so far, scoring 5 times and receiving two awards: Bundesliga rookie of the month and Bundesliga player of the month — winning both in the same month was only done once before, by a certain Erling Haaland (for Borussia Dortmund).
Let’s look at what makes him so good and how he contributes to this new version of Bayer Leverkusen.
MAIN POSITION
Although Xabi Alonso experimented with a back-four defensive line during the pre season (and started the DFB Pokal game like this), he returned to his favoured 3–4–2–1 as soon as the Bundesliga started. Boniface plays as a central striker in both setups.
BONIFACE’S ROLE AT PROGRESSION
As he started his first full season at Bayer Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso transformed his team: last year they were a more transitional team, relying on a medium block and fast breaks to score goals. This season, however, they are a much more patient team, looking to keep the ball for longer periods — Boniface is an important player at this.
The striker offers himself as a pass option regularly, mainly looking to receive the ball at his feet, with his back to goal. Leverkusen doesn’t always activates him, but that’s something we can clearly see when observing his off-ball movements. In the video below (don’t mind the portuguese subtitles), we can see how he positions himself across the pitch, dropping back and moving laterally while maintaining his body orientation.
Up until the third round of the Bundesliga, Boniface received the fifth most progressive passes. These numbers are kinda skewed by Leverkusen’s high possession stats, but are also a indication of how frequent they look to find Boniface up ahead, progressing play.
What makes Boniface a good option for these kind of passes?
- His strength: he uses his arms and upper body strength to absorb physical contact when pressed (something really important for a player who does these runs in a more vertical manner, without angling it to avoid contact). As a result of that, he can control/pass the ball more comfortably, by not letting the defender bypass him.
- The fact that he understand when to quickly release the ball, taking only one touch to find the free man. Leverkusen’s setup are well designed for that, making it easier to progress the ball in the middle.
In the sequences below, he is able to find a player facing the goal, withstading physical contact in some situations.
He’a also a reliable option for a more direct approach, usually in long goal kicks.
However, Boniface’s first touches are still inconsistent, even in low pressures situations — he’s currently better when making a pass without controlling the ball. That’s something he could work on the be an even better player.
Besides all that, he’s showed great awareness about his surroundings so far, identifying the level of pressure he’s about to get. Even though he was unsuccessful sometimes, when receiving with space it is common for Boniface to try and control the ball in a way that already sets up his next action, be it a spin, a sprint towards the goal or a shot. This behavior allows him to gain valuable time, giving himself an advantage over his opponent. For that, he can use his most distant foot to control the ball (ex. 1, 3 and 4), use little body feints to bypass the defender (ex. 2) or prepare a shot on goal (ex. 5).
HITTING THE BOX
The Bayer Leverkusen striker is also very intelligent when attacking the box — after all, he already scored 4 times in the Bundesliga. Especially in situations in which the ball enters the central corridor, in regions close to the opponent's area, Boniface has performed a certain type of movement quite efficiently: the Nigerian changes his body orientation, positioning himself laterally (facilitating the subsequent run), and moves a few steps aside, leaving just enough space for the through pass to happen between him and the defender.
The vast majority of these happen on the left side of the pitch, with Boniface attacking the half-space, but the Nigerian also recognizes opportunities to make diagonal movements from left to right: two of his goal contribution so far happened after these runs.
In more settled possession phases, Boniface tends to occupy the center of the field. Despite this, he is not exactly the type of attacker who is constantly pushing the defensive line back through successive runs to the byline. Boniface's preference in Germany has been to drag the line to a certain point and then delay his run or take a step back, making himself available to receive passes on the edge of the box and around the penalty spot.
Even in less controlled situations (after a dead ball clearance, for example), Boniface tends to look for that area to finish, prowling the area until an opportunity presents itself. This striker's tendency is reflected in his shot map.
OFFENSIVE TRANSITIONS
He does have more freedom in offensive transitions and usually occupy the left flank to receive and carry from outside to inside, taking the ball to his right foot, the dominant one — however, he showed efficiency when receiving from the right wing too. Using his speed and dribbling ability, Boniface carries the ball for several meters frequently, almost always towards the box and taking on defenders in the process. In addition to being strong enough to withstand collisions, the attacker is an efficient short dribbler— typically, he waits for the defender to engage before making his decision, but also has the necessary explosiveness to take initiative.
Boniface kept an average of approximately 3 attempted dribbles every 90 minutes during the last edition of the Belgian Pro League and has demonstrated that he is at a higher level at the beginning of the Bundesliga: with a success rate close to 60%, Boniface has made 3 dribbles with success per match. Only Leroy Sané (14) completed more dribbles than him in the first rounds of the Bundesliga.
Elite strikers are a luxury in today’s market. Signing someone ready to impact games while also being a young player was truly a masterpiece from Bayer Leverkusen. Will he be able to keep performing at this level? If his first games at Germany are anything to go by, I would confidently say so. Let’s see the rest of the season.
