THE SEASON SO FAR – FACT FILE PART I
Wednesday, 25. December 2019, 10:00 Uhr
The winter break is the ideal time to look back at some facts and figures from the season so far. The first part of our review focuses on personal player stats (not including the final game against Bielefeld, which came too late to be considered). Who played every minute, who just a few? Who was the quickest, who the best tackler?
Ever present
During the first half of the season you could be forgiven for thinking every member of the squad was injured at some point. The only player to remain completely injury-free was keeper Robin Himmelmann, who kept goal in all 17 league games and thus all the 1,530 minutes played so far. The only outfield player to feature in all 17 matches was Ryo Miyaichi, who missed just 80 minutes after being subbed on against Heidenheim and off against Wehen Wiesbaden. The only other players to see more than 1,000 minutes of playing time were Mats Møller Dæhli (1,319), Marvin Knoll (1,187), Daniel Buballa (1,170) and Finn Ole Becker (1,060).
Fleeting appearances
Some players weren't as fortunate and didn't get many minutes in the first half of the campaign. Apart from stand-in keepers Svend Brodersen and Korbinian Müller (the latter did play against Frankfurt in the DFB Cup, however), every squad member was used. Players with fewer than 180 minutes of playing time were Rico Benatelli (29 minutes), Luis Coordes (34), Ersin Zehir (55), Jakub Bednarczyk (68), Yiyoung Park (90), Christopher Avevor (110), Youba Diarra (113), Mert Kuyucu (120), Marc Hornschuh (133), Boris Tashchy (175) and Christopher Buchtmann (176).
Top tacklers
Daniel Buballa was our best tackler in the first half of the season. The left-back, who was also deployed in central defence, won 147 of 241 tackles made for a success rate of 61 per cent. He is followed by three other defenders in Leo Østigård (58.68 per cent), Sebastian Ohlsson (58.04) and Jan-Philipp Kalla (57.78 per cent). Fifth place went to Waldemar Sobota, who for an attacking midfielder recorded a decent success rate of 57.21 per cent.
Sprinters
Last year, Ryo Miyaichi came within a whisker of breaking through the 35 km/h barrier, falling short by just 0.03 km/h. The winger was not to be denied this season, however, clocking up 35.17 km/h at Osnabrück. Fellow flank player Christian Conteh also turned on the turbo, achieving his top speed of 34.75 km/h on the opening day at Arminia Bielefeld. Both Miyaichi and Conteh surpassed the 34 km/h mark several times during the first half of the campaign.
Runners
The Boys in Brown finished the first half of the season 11th in the distance covered category with a joint total of 1,940 kilometres. Mats Møller Dæhli led the internal rankings with 172.41 kilometres, ahead of Ryo Miyaichi on 166.08 km. Coming in behind these two were Marvin Knoll (143.84 km), Finn Ole Becker (140.02 km) and Daniel Buballa (135.84 km). The extent of the injury crisis is revealed by the fact that even goalkeeper Robin Himmelmann made the top ten (86.69 km).
Bad boys
No player suffered from yellow carditis during the first half the league campaign, in fact the opposite was the case. The 'worst' offenders in Jos Luhukay's squad were Ryo Miyaichi and Sebastian Ohlsson, who each received three cautions. Florian Carstens, Mats Møller Dæhli, Leo Østigård and Waldemar Sobota were all booked twice. Only four teams collected fewer bookings in the first 17 games, though the Boys in Brown were hit by three red cards. Matt Penney was shown a second yellow in stoppage time of the home game against Kiel, while Youba Diarra was sent off for two bookable offences within 17 minutes of coming on at Osnabrück. Philipp Ziereis was also cautioned twice and summarily dismissed at Regensburg.
Photos: Witters
