Hicham BOUDAOUI - 5 alternatives to Moisés Caicedo for Chelsea's midfield (3/5)
#3 Hicham BOUDAOUI
From Sahara to Nice via Algiers
Signed by AC Paradou in 2012 after impressing in a tournament with hometown's JS Saoura.
Joined Nice in 2019, in a Paradou AC club record 4 million transfer, joining PAC alumni Youcef Atal (1996)
Hicham Boudaoui originates from Béchar, 750km – 466 miles from Algiers
Football education: partnership between Jean Marc Guillou (JMG) Academy program (est. 2007) x AC Paradou (founded 1994, top flight)
Kolo and Yaya Touré brothers, S.Kalou have the JMG coaching curriculum that notably includes barefoot training, lot of ball mastery and 4v4-7v7 small sided games, no GK.
Boudaoui has won the AFCON with Algeria in 2019 at 19 Played vs Tanzania, came on against Mali.
NT coach Djamel Belmadi in 2019:
“Reminds me Jean Tigana. Very neat, bags of energy, very intelligent. Doesn’t give the ball away. Not build as a unit yet rarely loses duels. Efficient in a key area”
What can’t he do:
Usually, players keen to dribble are all over the place tactically
Usually, dribblers can’t pass / won’t pass short or long
Usually, players who can run for very long aren’t quick
Usually, attacking minded players don’t care for defending
Hicham Boudaoui cuts right through it, starts his 4th season, turned 23 in March.
Lucien Favre asked about Boudaoui in 2022/23 pre-season:
High praise from a coach known for drilling tactically coherent teams and still training and developing senior players on analytical isolated technique (which is a rarity)
In March 2023 Nice’s new head coach Didier Digard:
“He’s the the definition of the player that “has it easy”. Whenever there’s something wrong, you change his position and he needs 5 seconds to understand everything. He’s better when screening the back four.
Looks like he’s hovering, you don’t notice him but he’s challenging for every ball. He’s able to position himself well, and cover the right areas, with the engine he has”
OGC Nice players were asked to name their “Ultimate Team” (YouTube)
Boudaoui is voted as the “5 star player” technically
JC Todibo voted as the best 1v1 defender*
Boudaoui voted as the most endurant
*: Boudaoui still boasts about nutmegging him
Due to his training curriculum at AC Paradou, and the high level of coaching he’s received at Nice, Boudaoui can play every midfield role
His tactical acumen and awareness is often praised by coaches. DM or CM in 433 with Vieira RW in 442 under Galtier CM, RW, DM under Favre
Poised passing range
Boudaoui has poise, composure and technical quality to pass, with a nice turn of pace and ability to quicken up or slow down rythm.
Which is what “controlling the tempo” is about.
There’s players who slow down the game at snail pace and are extremely consistent at distributing whithin a defined radius. That’s not controlling the tempo. Putting the car speed limiter, maybe.
There’s Charlie Adam who’d win a gold medal at the Olympics if Archery was played with a football (and DJ Campbell was the one to release). That’s not controlling the tempo either.
It is not believable (nor acceptable) for any musician to not have experimented at least once how low the weight of the metronome can go.
However, being able to burst away from markers, create separation on the ball, play a rupture pass in behind. Or at the same time, “pause” for a second to slow down the tempo.
This is “controlling” the tempo, as in; putting one’s mind at the service of the actual live momentum game state to make the team play at the rythm/pace that’s best at that point.
In that sense, it’s always a good sign when midfielders/wingers (think Ramires, Fernandinho) are converted from another position, and their toolbox includes some winger stuff like pace or dribbling to provide astute technical problem solving under pressure.
100% of their role covers 70% of their skillset.
Anybody is entitled to prefer midfielders whose skillset covers 70% of what the entire 100% of the role requires.
The remaining 30% being “misprofiling” or simply the fault of whatever scapegoat Twitter finds most appropriate.
IN and OUT wide player: who can sit at Boudaoui’s table?
Boudaoui has got the unusual ability to be able to thrive inside AND outside, which is not that frequent. However, his left foot isn’t so good so it’s mostly on the right side.
The timing of his runs in behind is good, he’s not just a hurdle jumper.
Timing to find separation, diagonal trajectory, and making sure he doesn’t start his run where he should be supposed to end up is a mark of game intelligence.
How many players would like to run in behind, and end up here:
Ball watching, going with the flow is the direct route to nothignessland on the pitch.
Stop, pause, analyse and identify open space with arrow-like runs helps getting in promising areas between players at the right moment.
Boudaoui can also tuck inside and link up with an overlapping fullback, he’s not a turnover funnel.
Defensive stops
This season in Ligue 1, Hicham Boudaoui averages
3.5 tackles per 90 this season 1.7 successful, 48% success rate,
2 interceptions (1031’).
That’s a nice 5.5 tackles+interceptions per 90
Won’t be tricked by a dribble, FBref has him tacling a whopping 78% of the 2.8 dribbles he faces per 90.
His positioning to get into duels is good, his footwork is dynamic, lowers his balance and uses his arm to jump in whenever he senses he can nick the ball.
Boudaoui’s usually already switched on to split the defence first time on transition.
A tactical sponge
Hicham Boudaoui is a sponge from a tactical perspective, he’ll pick up and digest any defensive instruction being given and or reads situations to react accordingly.
Combination of hardly getting tired + high level of focus over 90’ to maintain the team’s pressing traps & closing down angles.
This season, Boudaoui runs 12.2 kilometers per game on average (7.6 miles), which is the second most in Ligue 1 (behind Lorient’s Julien Ponceau).
Even ran 13.3km against Reims.
His coverage of the channels is key to double team with fullbacks.
His defensive footwork, arrow runs to cover the route to goal then close down ahead of him: doing a “U” shape if you prefer.
Most average players are ball watching and end up doing the opposite: run like a baseball home run and end up clipping the player wrong side because they’re chasing them.
Boudaoui is also aware that he needs to track channel runners between fullbacks and centre backs, and is competent to get the ball back in wide areas (what many central players can’t).
He can play every role in midfield and display a defensive nous to screen the back four and cut off the 9 when playing as the deepest, do the crucial role of doubling up with the fullback when playing as 8, or shut down a side in 442.
Expect the unexpected
Boudaoui’s numbers have room for improvement with 3 goals a 2 assists in each of the past two seasons. None so far (but mostly played in deep midfield in a team who couldn’t score until Favre was dismissed.
However, his range of solutions & confident approach allows him to try things and go again over and over.
I don’t need batteries to play
Boudaoui’s 22/23 season started with a slight delay due to a back injury, which is always complex because it holds the whole together.
However, he doesn’t have recurring muscular issues, which is a good sign for a player who runs a lot, and whose game partly relies on short bursts of pace.
That he avoided fractures and other untimely contact injuries despite his frame is either evidence that he knows how to get between players, or that he’s not gonna break even kicked off the park. Game footage points at both.
Maybe he listens to Sia:
I don't need batteries to play
I'm so confident
Yeah, I'm unstoppable today
Scattered spaghetti analysis
Hicham Boudaoui’s pass map courtesy of @mclachbot @ChicagoDmitry
There’s an attraction to funnel the ball more down the right side, which is a consequence of an assured ability when he opens up his body to play on the right in the path of the receiver.
Otherwise, a left foot, and possible symmetric motion towards the left not as good.
His 43/50 per game this season is a volume career high (at 85%),
with 2/3 succesful long passes per game which is decent.
On the receiving end on the left chart, several things of note:
Featuring at RW, CM, DM; covering almost every blade of grass so far.
The number of passes toward the centre circle indicate he’s a trusted option
The numbers of very short passes, or flicks suggest supporting box-to-box movement from Boudaoui.
Also receives passes in advanced areas down the right side
In terms of progressive passes, Boudaoui has some nice “progressive” crossfield passes, on the ground or in the air.
That might stem from his good motion to play the ball towards the right (photo below).
He’s also able to open up to receive it in return on his left back foot and play towards the left side. (ie: right back passes the ball back inside, HB receives with his left foot and picks a mid range progressive pass with his right)
Might want to stop the early pass ball side (dark blue), going through footage would probably help understand the low success rate.
(guess: can fail to lift the ball over head level when he hits it first time for these weird crosses-whatever, and some maybe too flat long passes when he tries to priorize pace but doesn’t makes it hard enough to deal with for defenders)
As a rule of thumb, it’s a good attacking “structure” to have the receiver having the passer and the goal in his sight. Judging from the angles of the dark blue passes from the right wing (right chart), that’s probably why it’s not working.
Perspective is required, of course you’d expect your Enzo Fernandez and Verratti to master the entire range from five yarders to crossfield passes (which he can pull out with no backstride, that’s so impressive. Like super strong Frank Lampard could), left to right, right to left etc…
But when speaking about a rather dimunitive, dynamic midfielder/winger, it is rarer to see them having the vision or ability to see beyond their close direct radius of typical actions in possession (ie: dribble, give and go)
His final pass is a bit off especially to connect with the 9, but he’s never really been played off a striker, he really belongs to the engine room deeper in midfield.
January addition Teremas Igobor Moffi, any midfielder’s dream (short and long he’s going to be there no matter what, too) might change the picture a bit on La Côte d’Azur.
Smart seal of approval
A look through @Smarterscout’s lenses
Stylistically, Boudaoui (1999) is akin to C.Gallagher (2000).
To the trained eye: super valuable good players, surprisingly large repertoire (a “wepetwar". I love frenglish words, no reason to fear what crosses the channel in the dictionnary either).
To the untrained eye: what does he do exactly, he does none of the things my understanding of an impactful midfielder suggests.
Yet they are (impactful). Take the hint.
Comparing:
Conor Gallagher’s 21-22 season at Palace, in a 433 for a Pat Vieira team keen to play football but often deprived of it by better teams.
Moisés Caicedo’s latest as the benchmark of that 5-player focus.
Hicham Boudaoui’s 20-21 season with a significant run of games at CM
He played exclusively right winger in 442 under Galtier in 21-22, that was part of the explanation behind Boudaoui not making the Algeria NT squad for the 2022 AFCON according to his manager.
Also, Nice and Watford, signing AFCON players and considering releasing said players on time to actually play the AFCON. Discrepancy FC.
Boudaoui can dribble and link up which is not always frequent altogether
Boudaoui’s duels both sides of the ball are strong
Gallagher the better finisher. Scouting down the ladder is not always thrlling, but a welcome eye opener as to what the local budget Gallagher do.
They’re just not very good at anything bar clattering people and sensing flicks for non existent players or plays. And certainly don’t send missiles in the top corner every other month like the real Conor Gallagher does.Caicedo (178, 5ft10) fares better in the air than Boudaoui (175, one inch apart). Both Gallagher and Caicedo are probably harder to dislodge due to a bigger core strength (and weight).
In 2022/23 I think Boudaoui is only yet to play goalkeeper, doesn’t have any significant sample size anywhere so far.
118 minutes at CM, 262 at right wing 8 whatever.
Hicham Boudawhy
Hicham Boudaoui’s skillset is unusual. The reason why he’s been selected here:
The last Ligue 1-based diminutive (and shy) all action midfielder, dribbling box to box who couldn’t really finish but with incredible defensive #numbers whom every team mate praises the seemingly endless energy supply?
N’Golo Kanté.
Kanté’s stellar rise (played all 7 French divisions) and mythical perception of due to his surhuman performances can’t overlook the fact that when he joined the Premier League, he was playing for Caen who was an obscure vertical-oriented team only scratching the Ligue 1 top 10. Kanté didn’t play DM but 8 in 4141.
Oh the other hand, Gana Gueye was *the* reference defensive midfielder in Ligue 1 and just helped Lille qualify for the Champions League.
One was seen as a guaranteed success when he joined Aston Villa
The other was seen as a gamble, joined Leicester instead of OL and OM who couldn’t make the transfer happen, maybe he wasn’t that good.
Leicester won the league in 2016 with Kanté in the middle of Leicester’s 442
Aston Villa had the worst Premier League season in history (pound for pound).
Boudaoui isn’t N’Golo Kanté (who’s probably quicker, stronger) but certainly has showed enough peculiarness, backed with the eye test to suggest he’s not just a statistical oddity or a luxury player; and belongs to being flagged up in a scouting series such as this one.
Putting a lid on players and set a glass ceiling, just don’t do that.
When there’s a will to improve, ability to pick up information and a reasonably large skillset, sky is the limit.
Jorginho (yes, him) was not and has never been the 8th wonder of the world, but was still a very fine player in his own right who showed he could do most things a base midfield needs to do in the Premier League in the correct set up (for him). Tremendous engine, quite good reading the game to intercept in front of him. And extremely reliable distributor on one side of the midway line.
Racking up a tackle from time to time.
Won the Champions League, and might win the Premier League whilst being pretty much discarded as a 8 until he joined Napoli.
Probably a more consistent and fluid distributor than Boudaoui.
