Player Focus: The Importance of Mohammed Abdellaoue

Hannover 96 have a match-made in heaven with their current head coach Mirko Slomka, who has taken the club to a new level after nine years of regular mid-table finishes in the Bundesliga. The 44-year-old spent some of his playing career with Hannover and had time as U19 coach and assistant first-team coach before taking the reins in January 2010.

The Reds have had a fairly prolonged spell in the Bundesliga with their last appearance in the 2.Bundesliga coming in 2001-02. Since then, Hannover have spent most of their time in the lower-half/middle of the Bundesliga with seven finishes below 10th place and their highest being eighth before Slomka took over. Last season, Hannover were locked in a fascinating battle with FC Bayern for the third Champions League position but despite beating the Bavarians in the run-in, they could only manage fourth.

Slomka has built a very effective Hannover side, similar to Borussia M’Gladbach, with a solid spine in defence and midfield. The Reds have received 44 yellow cards and three red cards this season, which reflects the aggressive style attributed to them by the WhoScored team characteristics. Hannover’s quick counter-attacking game is helped by two very decent wide-men in Lars Stindl and Christian Pander who both bring excellent distribution with Stindl reaching a rate of 75% pass completion.

The one fluid player in the Hannover system is 28-year-old Jan Schlaudraff, who brings some creativity and class to the midfield and the former FC Bayern trainee has two assists so far. However, the focal point of their attack is 26-year-old striker Mohammed Abdellaoue, who has been one of the most impressive forwards in the league over the last 12 months.

Abdellaoue cost just £1m last summer from Norwegian side Valerenga after he netted 15 goals in 19 games for the five-time champions of Norway. The striker has been in fantastic form for Hannover this campaign with 11 goals in 17 matches, as well as two goals in the UEFA Europa League and an overall WhoScored rating of 6.82 – the side’s third best behind the aforementioned Schlaudraff and Stindl.

 
The forward’s most recent goal against Hertha Berlin on Saturday afternoon was a superb left-footed drive from a very tight angle at the edge of the box. The term “goals win games” is so suitable to Hannover and Abdealloue with the Norwegian scoring 55% of their goals this season.

For a striker, his shooting statistics are incredibly impressive, with Abdellaoue only having 32 shots in his 17 Bundesliga games, which highlights his terrific finishing skills that have attracted interest from the English Premier League in January having found the net with 34% of his efforts thus far.

With such a well-structured side, Slomka is happy enough to have Abdellaoue leading the line, despite his poor overall play. He hasn’t assisted any other goals in the Bundesliga and has an average of just 0.2 key passes. Abdellaoue has been dispossessed, on average, 1.9 times per match which shows his general hold-up play isn’t the strongest part of his game. He has also won just one aerial battle, on average, over his 17 appearances.

His influence in Hannover’s general play is very limited with an average of only 13.1 passes and just 0.1 crosses per match. The striker has made just seven long passes this season and has made no through balls for The Reds.

Abdellaoue’s defensive statistics aren’t impressive either with an average of just 0.3 interceptions, 0.2 clearances and 0.6 tackles per game this term. However, in defence of the Norwegian striker, his job isn’t necessarily to provide the link-up play, as most of Hannover’s attacks tend to be on the break.

Abdellaoue has only one touch to finish off the attacks and his goal record speaks volumes for his composure and ability in front of goal. This season he has scored against the likes of Schalke 04, FC Bayern and a hat-trick against Werder Bremen. His form at club level has pushed him in to the Norwegian national team and with 21 international appearances; he has seven goals to his name.

So for those coaches in England looking on who were eyeing up a £10m+ offer for the 26-year-old, it may not be wise if your looking for a polished attacking player who can bring others into play. However, if a team were to be built around Abdellaoue his clinical finishing would be very effective in the British game, if his future is indeed across the English Channel.