Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface is targeting a fifth straight Rookie of the Month crown up against Freiburg’s Merlin Röhl and Xavi Simons of RB Leipzig. Your votes will decide the winner for December 2023!
Get the lowdown on the Bundesliga Rookie award, presented by Sorare!
Specific criteria must be met in order for a player to qualify as a Rookie. He must be younger than 23 on Matchday 1 of the new season and cannot have started a Bundesliga match in any previous campaign. Furthermore, players can have accumulated no more than 450 minutes of action before the start of the Bundesliga season in question. That means that youngsters who have only made brief appearances in their careers so far and who have not yet had the chance to fully showcase their talents, still have the opportunity to be named Rookie of the Month, presented by Sorare.
The monthly winners receive one of the coveted Bundesliga Rookie trophies, before vying for the Rookie of the Season prize. As well as the fans (40%), Bundesliga clubs (30%) and a panel of Bundesliga experts (30%) are part of the voting process.
December nominees
Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen)
Boniface has been nominated for the Rookie of the Month for the fifth time in a row, and has won each of the previous four. After another fine month, a record-extending fifth consecutive award can’t be ruled out. The Nigeria striker was rested on Matchday 16 as Leverkusen beat Bochum 4-0, Xabi Alonso starting Patrik Schick in his stead with one eye on the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, but Boniface still came off the bench to add to Schick’s hat-trick with his third goal in December. “A striker partnership is possible,” said Alonso, allaying fears that Boniface might be dropped upon his return from the Ivory Coast.
As well as three goals last month, Boniface laid on another two for teammates. No player league-wide matched his five direct goal involvements in December. He shone particularly brightly in the 3-0 win over Bayern Munich’s recent conquerors Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 15, with a goal, and assist and a shot which was parried into Jeremie Frimpong’s path for the second. Boniface’s conversion rate is also improving: whilst he needed nine shots to score across the first 12 matchdays, he only needed 10 shots for his three goals in December. He was also involved in a goal every 52 minutes he played (up from one every 86 mins previously).
Freiburg youngster Röhl was nominated for November’s prize and continued his rise in December, starting all four games of the Black Forest club’s games last month. Head coach Christian Streich was able to lean on Röhl’s flexibility: the Germany youth international started three games playing in support of a central striker, but in the 1-0 win over Wolfsburg on Matchday 14, he was back in his original central midfield position.
Although he didn’t add to November’s goal against RB Leipzig, it wasn’t for the want of trying, with Röhl tallying 10 shots at the opposition goal in December at a rate of one every 24 minutes he played. Two of those shots ultimately resulted in goals for teammates, and he also enjoyed two direct assists. The 21-year-old was fully committed at the other end, too, making 24 tackles per 90 minutes (the most of any Freiburg player) running 12.3km per game. With a total of 149 sprints in December, he was second only to Leverkusen man Frimpong (165). “I don’t know what Merlin Röhl ran; probably 40 sprints, plus 60 or 70 tempo runs. He’s doing a huge job,” Streich said of his protégé after the Matchday 13 win in Mainz, when Röhl scored the winner after another gruelling 90-minute workout.
Twelve shots on goal and 16 passes to a shot – when it comes to the opposition goal, Xavi is always involved. Leipzig’s creative fulcrum’s 28 shot-involvements in December were only bettered by teammate Loïs Openda – a striker. Although Xavi didn’t find the target himself in December, his blocked long-range shot against Borussia Dortmund allowed Christoph Baumgartner to make it 2-1 in an eventual 3-2 win.
Xavi started all four of Leipzig’s games in December, going unbeaten with the Saxons as they picked up three wins and a draw. With his speed, technique and creativity, Xavi won 54 per cent of his 1v1s, attempting to dribble his opponent an average of 22 times per 90 minutes. “He suits our perfectly, is a top player and is also worth his weight in gold for our image,” sporting director Rouven Schröder recently said of the Paris Saint-Germain-owned youngster.
Previous winners
November 2023
Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen)
October 2023
Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen)
September 2023
Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen)
August 2023
Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen)
