Excelsior have had another tough season in the Dutch top-flight. The last six league games for the Rotterdam outfit have ended in defeat, conceding 20 goals in that time. Despite this, they remain outside of the relegation play-off places, RKC Waalwijk being a goal worse off on goal difference. Amongst all the poor performances this year, there has been one bright light in Couhaib Driouech.
While Excelsior have the second worst defensive record in the division, behind rock-bottom Volendam, their goal tally is actually quite high and is much higher than some of those in mid-table and even Utrecht, who are in the European play-offs. Driouech has directly contributed to over 20% of the league goals scored for Excelsior, with four scored and four assisted.
Driouech made the move south from Heerenveen in 2021, where he made only a handful of appearances. During his first season, he made 26 appearances, helping promote the club back to the Eredivisie where they have been ever since. 33 appearances followed in the 22/23 season, with six direct goal contributions. As previously mentioned, his direct goal contributions are trending upwards and in fewer games. This season he will be fully focused on maintaining Excelsiors top-flight status, but with just one year remaining on his current deal may be thinking about a new challenge.
Outside of the goals and assists statistics, there is much more to get excited about. Let’s get into the real numbers.
The graphic above taken from FBRef.com compares Driouech to other attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s next best 14 divisions which includes such divisions as; Dutch Eredivisie, MLS, Portuguese Primeira Liga and Brazilian Série A. Green highlights his best performing metrics while the more red highlights the negative metrics in his game. This data is based off the last 2,351 minutes played for Driouech.
The main things to note would be that the stats above are impacted by overall team performance. For example, despite being quite a high-scoring team, Excelsior are a struggling side and therefore Driouech’s stats are nullified because of it. For example, if the team is not pushing forward and does not have much of the ball then stats such as shot-creating actions (SCA) will suffer because of it. Similarly, goals and assists will also be hard to come by and won’t shine in a poor performing side.
It seems from the statistics that this is a player who likes to take the game into his own hand and this is illustrated best in the progressive carries and successful take-ons.
Firstly, Driouech averages just over five progressive carries* a game. These are defined by any action that takes the ball ten yards further than the previous six passes. This does not include actions that end in the defending half, however it can also be characterised by being less than ten yards but if the run enters the opposition box. From the graph above we can see that he scores very highly and is within the 94th percentile for players compared against. From clips reviewed it is clear that Driouech is a versatile dribbler. These dribbling actions can be either quick or measured as he tries to beat a defender.
In terms of successful take-ons (STO), he also scores very highly and is within the 87th percentile. With 2.76 STO per 90 minutes, it shows the ball progression is often challenged by defenders who he is able to beat with either skill, speed or power.
Excelsior are also likely to go through a lot of defensive work while they don’t have the ball. While these stats could be exaggerated by gamestate, the stats themselves are impressive. Against other attacking midfielders Driouech scores in the 86th percentile or above for four of five statistics measured. The ones to note are probably the tackling, where he averages over two a game and blocks where he is in the 91st percentile with 1.45 a game. This shows he can help out defensively and alleviate pressure from his defence.
Whatever Excelsior’s fate come the end of the season, they are likely to have to sell in order to recoup some cash. His contract ends in summer 2025 and therefore will be exploring his options once Excelsiors top-flight status is concluded.
So where could he end up? He could of course stay in the Netherlands and join a more established club. However, we are seeing more and more players move to the likes of the Championship from Dutch football and there is no doubt Driouech would be a good fit for any side within the top-half of England’s second tier. Next season the likes of Burnley could be interested, however other landing spots could include any of those who miss out on promotion this time round. While it would not be a like-for-like change, if Leeds were to miss out on promotion, he could offer a replacement for Crysencio Summerville, who may have outgrown the Championship. Elsewhere, the likes of Norwich and West Brom could also use a winger with strong offensive and defensive output.
*progressive carries is defined by an action that results in the ball traveling 10 yards further than its furthest point in the last 6 passes, without being within the defensive 50%. However it can be a carry shorter than 10 yards if it enters the opposition box.
Statswise FC 