Bundesliga 2: Match Facts analysis of the promoted teams Bochum and Fürth
In Simon Rolfes, the Bundesliga and its partner AWS have an expert who knows the Bundesliga from A to Z. Bayer 04 Leverkusen's Sporting Director, Rolfes wore Die Werkself's colours 288 times between 2005 and 2015, and represented Germany on 26 occasions. Rolfes is the ideal man to write a regular column for the 'Bundesliga Match Facts Zone' on bundesliga.com, analysing current trends and giving unique insight on the Bundesliga Match Facts.
This week, Simon Rolfes looks at the Bundesliga newcomers VfL Bochum and SpVgg Greuther Fürth, using xG, Attacking Zones, Most Pressed Player and Speed Alert to assess the promoted duo.
By Simon Rolfes
The Bundesliga Match Facts have also been used in Bundesliga 2 for quite some time, which is a good enough reason to take a look at the promoted duo Bochum and Fürth from this perspective, and see what set the duo apart from the rest in the 2020/21 campaign.
What is quite interesting is that only seven of the 18 clubs in Bundesliga 2 had a positive Expected Goals (xG), which meant they scored more goals than would have been expected from the shots they had. Bochum and Fürth, as well as beaten play-off club Holstein Kiel, feature among this group of seven. The promoted teams were therefore very effective in front of goal, while Fürth are particularly impressive with their nine goals above xG.
The fact that Bochum feature so high up this statistic has a lot to do with their top strikers Simon Zoller (15 goals from an xG of 12.8) and Robert Zulj (14 goals from an xG of 10.8). Both took their chances impressively. What is also interesting is that neither Zoller nor Zulj were Bochum's top performer in terms of xG. That was, remarkably enough, their defensive midfielder Robert Tesche, who despite being picked more for his defensive stability, scored eight goals – more than double his xG of 3.8. That made him Bochum's most efficient outlet.
Two further players from this team warrant a mention, though. On the one hand, Gerrit Holtmann, who was caught running at a speed of 22.6 mph (36.4km/h) in the Matchday 24 clash with Fürth. That made him the fastest player in Bundesliga 2 last season, with not a single player in the Bundesliga matching that pace in the Speed Alert Match Fact in 2020/21.
And then there is left full-back Danilo Soares, who deserves a mention here. The Brazilian was Bochum's Most Pressed Player in 13 of the 31 games he played in, making him the player who Bochum's opponents put under the most pressure. Since Soares was the Bochum player with the most phases of possession, it is hardly surprising that Bochum were seen to favour the left-hand side for their incursions into the attacking third. Forty-two per cent of these attacks came down the left, with 33 per cent down the right.
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Fürth, as already mentioned, were the most efficient in front of goal of the two promoted clubs. While their top-scorer Branimir Hrgota scored almost the same amount of goals as he would have been expected to with his chances – 15 from an xG of 14.5 – it was midfield motor Paul Seguin who, with seven goals from an xG of 3.9, was Fürth's top performer in this statistic.
Seguin is certainly a key player for the Clover Leaves. In addition to his seven goals, he also provided eight assists, made the most tackles for his team and was also the player Fürth's opponents pressed the most: he was their Most Pressed Player in 14 matches.
Fürth also liked to attack down the wings, although compared to Bochum, the relationship between both sides is more even. The success Stefan Leitl's men had from this system can be seen clearly in their two full-backs David Raum and Marco Meyerhöfer, who delivered a total of 20 assists. These are two players with a great future ahead of them, although we will see Raum in a TSG Hoffenheim shirt next season.
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