Karim Onisiwo has taken 35 shots on goal this Bundesliga season, but has only scored one goal for 1. FSV Mainz 05. However, he is in very good company with that.
There are only two players in Europe’s top five leagues who have finished at least as often as Onisiwo at Mainz and Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain, scoring just once. Both fired 35 shots on goal each. By comparison, Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski needs an average of only 3.8 shots on goal per goal at tomorrow’s Mainz opponents. The Pole leads the Bundesliga scoring charts after 14 games with 16 goals.
From 05 coach Bo Svensson’s point of view, however, Onisiwo’s rate is anything but pitiful. “I don’t feel sorry for him. I see how valuable he is for the team. If he delivers what he needs to deliver – which may have been lacking in one or two games – then he is one of the most important players for us.” Svensson points to the Austrian’s assists on goal, highlighting “how many problems he causes the opposing defence, how much he plods against the ball and how he improves our game.” With six assists, Onisiwo is by far the strongest provider in the team, followed by Jean-Paul Boetius with three. The forward partner of Jonny Burkardt has played a big part in the fact that the captain of the DFB U 21 has already scored ten goals in competitive matches this season (seven in the Bundesliga, three in the DFB Cup).
The fact that he is stagnating at one Bundesliga goal is only a peripheral aspect in Svensson’s view. “The quota is maybe important for the media or maybe for a striker. But I believe that if Karim delivers everything, he will make this team several levels better. Hopefully he’s aware of that, I certainly am,” the 05 coach praises his attacker’s unselfish style of play.
