SC Braga did some good business in the recently concluded transfer window. One of the new signings for the Liga Portugal side is 28-year-old winger Bruma, whom they acquired on loan from Fenerbache. After struggling for game time this season, the player of Bissau-Guinean descent will be keen to relaunch his career in Portugal, the country where he started his journey. Bruma has vast experience playing for a variety of European clubs like Sporting CP, Real Sociedad, RB Leipzig, and Olympiacos, but he enjoyed his best spells with Galatasaray and PSV. Most recently, he introduced himself in style in his first match for Braga by scoring two late goals in a 4-1 win against Famalicao and proving his worth. Below are some stats that show why Artur Jorge’s side noticed the necessity og signing the experienced winger.
How has Bruma performed?
Although primarily a left winger, Bruma can also play as a right winger and a second striker. While he barely featured for Fenerbache this season, he made 28 appearances for PSV in the Eredivisie last season and started in 12 matches. He scored seven goals and provided three assists for the Dutch side. The above viz shows the percentile rank of Bruma’s stats from the Eredivisie 2021/22 compared to other similar players. It can be observed that Bruma ranks highly in all of the attacking and possession indicators. Notably, he ranks above the 90th percentile for indicators like shots, penalty area touches, passes, received passes, and dangerous passes. In the defence department, he has done well in terms of winning defensive duels.
The above viz illustrates the player’s heat map from the previous Eredivisie season. It can be observed that the winger shows high intensity in the final third as well as in the midfield. He covers more ground in the opposition’s half and is constantly active on the left flank. Bruma averages 45.72 passes per match with 80.5% accuracy, along with 34.65 received passes. He also averages 4.9 touches in the opposition’s penalty area and makes 4.56 progressive runs per match.
Contributions in attack
The above viz shows Bruma’s shot map from last season with PSV. He scored seven goals in 28 league matches with a total xG value of 5.62. He attempted 50 shots, with most of them coming from inside the penalty area, and also scored most of his goals from inside the box. Bruma took an average of 3.26 shots per game with an accuracy rate of 32%.
Apart from scoring goals, Bruma also contributes significantly by creating scoring opportunities for others. He provided three assists for his PSV teammates last term, averaging an xA value of 0.2 per match. From the shot assist viz. above, it can be observed that most of the chances he created were through accurate short passes, including the three assists. Overall, Bruma averages 1.9 shot assists per match, and he created eight big chances last season.
Bruma possesses some key qualities of a good winger, which include dribbling and crossing ability. The above viz shows the winger actions performed by the player during last season. He attempts most of his dribbles in wide positions in the final third and likes to breach the opponent’s penalty area. He also sends in a decent amount of crosses into the box from either flank. Bruma averages as many as 6.38 dribbles per match with a 53.1% success rate and delivers 2.02 crosses with a 35.5% success rate.
Another area where the 28-year-old has done well is passing the ball. His stats in the passing department have been great, and this is another reason why Braga brought in the player. In the Eredivisie, Bruma averaged 45.72 passes per 90 minutes. These passes included 3.13 to the final third (60.4% accuracy) and 3.6 passes to the opposition penalty box (67.3% accuracy) per 90 minutes. The pass map above shows that most of the passes were sideways, and his accuracy rate indicates that the player is calm and composed before delivering any pass.
Bruma’s best performances in a season
Bruma achieved his best goal-scoring figures during the 2016–17 Super Lig season with Galatasaray. He reached the figure of 11 league goals from a total xG value of 7.42. As seen in the viz above, he scored most of the goals from close range and also attempted several shots from outside the box, with two of them finding the back of the net. He scored at the rate of 0.37 goals per game with an xG rate of 0.25 per 90. Additionally, he averaged 2.5 shots per match with 44% accuracy.
In addition to his respectable goal-scoring records that season, Bruma also provided six assists for his Galatasaray teammates, with a total xA tally of 5.5. The shot assists viz above show that these assist attempts came through crosses, progressive passes, and short layoffs. Bruma averaged 0.2 assists per match while averaging a similar xA value per 90. He created as many as 11 big chances while averaging almost two shot assists per match.
Bruma’s inclusion in Braga’s squad will add more depth, experience, and quality to the attacking positions. He is a versatile winger who poses a significant threat going forward and also contributes with his creative and accurate passing. After the departure of players like Vitinha and Diego Lainez, the 28-year-old loanee will have an important role to play in Braga’s attacking department with the club trying to retain second place in Liga Portugal and secure automatic Champions League qualification.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
