Theo Bongonda arrived at Spartak. The Red-Whites paid serious money for the Spanish Cadiz winger, who should strengthen the attack of the Muscovites. But he will not help in the fight for RPL gold.
Traveling from Belgium to Spain and backTheo was born and raised in Belgium, where he received a football education and at the age of 18 he made his debut in the top league of the local championship. Six months later, the scouts took him to the Celta, where his development slowed down. In Vigo, he became a first-team player, but practically did not score. The club became disillusioned with his talent and sent him on loan. Soon «Zulte-Waregem» redeemed the contract of his pupil.
And then Bongonda burst. During the 2018/19 season, he scored a dozen and a half goals and brought serious money to the club — Genk paid seven million euros for the winger, making the biggest purchase in history.
In «Genk» Theo continued to churn out goals. He has made over 100 appearances and scored nearly 40 goals to win silver medals and the Belgian Cup for the club in 2020/21. In that final, Bongonda actually made the result — an assist and the winning goal against Standard. The way to the top league was open for Theo again, and he again went to Spain, this time to Cadiz.
He was one of the leading players and even became the team's top scorer with four goals. But we must take into account the specifics of the game, “Cadiz”. The modest Spanish club relies on defensive football, traditionally scores little (only 30 goals this season, the fewest in La Liga), but due to reliable defense it gets the desired result.
Bongonda not only helped keep their place in the top flight, but also brought in a good income for the club. «Spartak» in search of strengthening the attack will pay almost 10 million euros for the Congolese, and this sale could be a record for Cadiz. The only question is why this player is «red-white».
How Bongonda plays and how Spartak can help Theo suits the Red-Whites in style. Fast, technical and focused on passing. He does not seek to take over the game, but maneuvers around the field in search of free zones and draws with partners. Mobility, timely openings and a good understanding of the game make him very useful in combinations with changing positions. And that's exactly what Spartak plays in.
Bongonda usually comes out on one of the flanks of the midfield, but does not act as an extreme midfielder. It is more suitable for him to move across the entire width of the field with the filling of free zones. The season in “Cadiz” turned out to be ineffective, including because the Spanish club plays on defense and attacks little positionally. The Congolese had to act linearly, along the flank, which had a bad effect on his effectiveness.
In “Spartacus”, he will fall into a more suitable structure. A lot of ball control, constant movement of players, search for free zones, combining on the flanks, passes behind the back. Bongonga will be useful both in the underplay and in the end — he opens well into the zones between the defenders, hits hard from his left foot. Theo will definitely fit into the attacking football of Muscovites. But there are a couple of points that look controversial.
To the Congolese there are questions about the game in defense. Both at Cadiz and at Genk, he was one of the most passive players off the ball. Spartak already has Quincy Promes, who is partially exempted from playing defense — but the Dutchman fully compensates for this with a contribution to the attack. Two such defensively passive players is too much luxury, especially since there are doubts about Bongonda's contribution.
Theo is certainly a pretty strong player, but definitely below Promes in terms of level. He will certainly fit well into the combinational style of Guillermo Abascal and will be useful in attack. But it is unlikely that its usefulness will be comparable to the effectiveness of Quincy. Bongonda will complement Spartak's attack, but will not carry it on himself, will not become the leader of the team. Not the fact that it is worth spending so much money on such an increase. To fight for trophies, “red-white” need those who will give results. Bongonda is clearly not such a player, so the results of the team will not get much better. Theo's transfer cannot be called a mistake, but Spartak will not make a step forward with him. This means that it is better for the fans of the team not to dream about the fight for the championship.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.