Completed club Zamalek He agreed to include Gabonese striker Aaron Salem Boupendza Pozzi, in a free transfer deal following his departure from the American club Cincinnati.
He is a 28-year-old striker, standing at 5 feet 11 inches tall. Over the past 4 seasons, he has played in 4 leagues in 4 countries on 3 different continents, from Hatayspor in the Turkish Super League, to Al-Arabi in the Qatar Stars League, then Al-Shabab in the Saudi Professional League, and finally for FC Cincinnati in the American League.
Boupendza, famous for his tiger-like backflip celebrations, moved to France at the age of 19, specifically Bordeaux B, after a brilliant first season in Gabon with Mounana and a breakout season on loan at Pau FC, where he scored 15 goals in 21 Ligue 1 games, and that was where he took off.
What did Boupendza do in his career before his final season?
Boupendza had his best season so far in the 2020-21 season with Hatayspor in the Turkish Super Lig. In that outstanding campaign, he scored 22 goals and made one assist in 36 appearances, finishing as the league’s top scorer. He also outscored his expected goals by more than 7 goals.
Boupendza shone with Hatay despite costing the club just €100,000, and some have called Boupendza’s arrival in south-eastern Turkey the best deal in Turkey, or in all of Europe, this season.
The player’s numbers in the last 3 seasons were excellent, as he scored more than 40 goals, exceeding his expected goals by at least 11 goals, and he played more than 1440 minutes in each season.
In addition to the goals scored, he made 9 assists, although he was expected to make only 5.58, which again outperformed his expected assists, just as he outperformed his expected goals.
What did he do in his last season in America?
After signing him, Chris Albright, Cincinnati’s general manager, said, “He is a skilled and dynamic forward with a proven goal record and the ability to play multiple positions in the attack. He is in the prime of his life, and we used a lot of data from Turkey to sign him.”
“He’s a player who has shown he can score goals everywhere he goes, and scoring goals in our game is the most important thing and the hardest thing to do, so I feel this move is very, very valuable, a great addition to our group and it gives us the opportunity to win games in different ways.”
In America, the player played 35 matches for 1894 minutes, scoring 9 goals. This is the only season in his last years in which he fell below expected goals by 1:28 goals, but he made 4 goals above expected assists.
The player created 29 chances and his shooting accuracy reached more than 54%, which is a very high percentage in the American League during that period.
His playing style and features
Digging deeper into Boupendza’s shot numbers gives a clear picture, he demands the ball in dangerous areas, and tends to score more from the left side, as he tends to lean more towards the left flank, where he plays as a left winger in many periods, as the image below shows of his last 75 shots including goals before moving to America.
The player has a variety of skills, if you use him as a striker he will then beat his marker with a dynamic touch, turn or pass the ball to a team-mate. He has a clever trick that some strikers like Victor Osimhen have, he is strong enough to throw defenders off balance with a simple push as he runs past them.
Boupendza never gives up out of possession, he presses hard and closes down passing lanes, and he is capable of leading the press from the front. He scored against Antalyaspor as a result of effective high pressing from him and his attacking teammates. He uses his physical strength and incredible pace both in and out of possession, and is often found at the front post for corners, which is another defensive asset.
Boupendza’s ability to play on both wings
The player’s primary position is as a striker, but when he plays on the left, his offensive output is exceptional and sometimes even exceeds his output as an outright striker, as the table below shows.
| The Center | Matches | Goals | Assists |
| Outspoken attacker | 53 | 13 | 5 |
| Left wing | 33 | 20 | 5 |
| Right wing | 23 | 15 | 3 |
The player participated in the left wing position in 33 matches, according to the Transfermarkt website, and scored 20 goals and made 5 assists, compared to 13 goals and 5 assists in the striker position, and 15 goals and 3 assists in the right wing position.
The only problem he faces is that he is originally a left-footed player, his strength is in his left foot, and therefore his strong foot when he plays as a left winger is outside the field, but he compensates for that problem by playing inside, and the picture of the goals he has scored recently shows that.
What is special is that Boupendza, thanks to his left foot, can be used on the right wing, and he also put up some great numbers, as his strong foot is on the inside of the field.
