Boufal’s Battle: Moroccan Star Struggles to Ignite at Union Saint-Gilloise

Without a single start, Sofiane Boufal has only played for 141 minutes scattered across six appearances this season, according to La Dernière Heure. He remained on the bench against PSV. He did not make the trip to Genk. "We preferred to let him work individually in Zaventem so that he could regain his rhythm," explains Sébastien Pocognoli, coach of the Union Saint-Gilloise football team. "To have the best version of Sofiane, he must reach the same level of intensity as his teammates." The Moroccan international must work hard to keep up with the intensity at Union Saint-Gilloise. "The intensity is the same here as in some of the big European clubs," Pocognoli assures. "The recruits have to get used to it: Zorgane struggled during the preparation, Schoofs still has to adapt, just like Patris or Guilherme." He adds: "Boufal has the chance to be in a club with a very high daily intensity and to benefit from a top-notch medical staff. Everything is in place for him to be the best version of himself at this stage of his career."

Boufal is often sidelined due to injuries. Last March, he was stretchered off after 10 minutes during the confrontation between his club and Antwerp, which ended in a crushing victory for the Unionists (5-1). He was affected at the level of the hamstrings. He was suffering from the beginning of a hamstring strain. At the end of August, injuries kept him off the pitch for three more weeks. As a result, he was unable to fully take advantage of the international break to make up for his physical delay. "Each time he was on a roll, he was abruptly stopped by an injury," Pocognoli analyzes. "It was always ’start and stop’. And that’s the hardest thing for a player to manage. It never allowed us to see his true value over the long term. Rather than twenty minutes in a match that’s already decided, we want to see him in a real high-stakes duel with intensity."

If he has not yet managed to find his footing since his arrival in Brussels a little over a year ago due to setbacks, the player has nevertheless been able to maintain good relationships with his teammates. "I see him happy and involved," Pocognoli concludes. "He jokes, encourages, gives his all in training. This season, he has put things in place to be more successful than the previous one. Now it’s up to him to take that step, whether as a regular starter, an intermittent starter, or a luxury substitute. If he succeeds, he will be important to us this season."