Back story

Tall, powerful, ball-playing Dutch centre-back. Sound familiar? Botman is actually 2cm taller than compatriot Van Dijk at 1.95m (6'4") — why do you think he's nicknamed 'Robocop' at Lille? — and is some eight-and-a-half years younger, but the pair bear striking resemblances in physique and playing style.

Botman, though, has come to the fore earlier. Born in Badhoevedorp near Amsterdam's Schipol airport, Botman's talents were picked up quickly by Ajax, whom he joined aged just nine years old.

He did not make a competitive first-team appearance for the four-time European champions, remaining with Jong Ajax in the second tier of Dutch football where he played alongside ex-Paris Saint-Germain defender Mitchell Bakker and current Nice winger Justin Kluivert. 

WATCH: Sven Botman's first Ligue 1 Uber Eats goal

His big break came with a loan move to top-flight side Heerenveen where he made his Eredivisie debut on the opening day of the 2019/20 season. 

"When I arrived there, I was 18, nearly 19. If you want to progress, make a name for yourself if you like, you have to show it on the TV at the top level. It was my choice to go there," explained Botman. "Ajax made me understand that they wanted to keep me to bring me into the first-team squad, but I clearly felt it wasn't to play an important role. So when Heerenveen came along, it quickly became clear in my mind. It was just the right challenge to take on."

Though COVID-19 would cut the campaign short, Botman had certainly made his mark. After being drafted in due to an injury to a first-team regular to face English Premier League side Southampton in a pre-season friendly, Botman never found himself out of the team, playing every minute of the club's 26 league matches.

"He made enormous progress there," said Jelmer Jager, who runs Ajax's official fan website. "Heerenveen have a more defensive style than Ajax, so he was comfortable in that system. He improved a lot with the ball."

That was when Lille stepped in, signing Botman to a five-year deal following Gabriel's departure for Arsenal. Lille's former CEO Marc Ingla said the club was convinced the new arrival would "have a successful adaptation to the world of French football and will show great progress in the Lille shirt." But they surely couldn't have expected him to swim quite so strongly when thrown in at the deep end.

"The main thing was to keep improving, so it seemed to be the good option," said Botman to explain his move to the Stade Pierre Mauroy. "After playing at the top level in my country, it made sense to go to France to a club playing for the title. It's also a league that has a physical and technical side to it."

Style of play

Botman's first season in France was a dream. He played all but one Ligue 1 Uber Eats game as Lille stunned French football with the club's fifth top-tier title win. A key factor in that success was the team's supremely well-drilled defence with Botman and the veteran Jose Fonte — nearly 16 years Botman's senior — forming an impassable centre-back pairing.

The young Dutchman, who is yet to make his senior international debut but has been called up to the squad on a number of occasions, is above all a defender's defender. While he enjoys keeping possession, he loves keeping opponents at bay even more.

"I like having the ball, but I think that if I had to show my qualities to anyone, then I'd choose a game in which I had to defend," said the Netherlands U21 international. "It's in that sort of match I'm at my best. I've always been able to get clean sheets."

Lille got 21 of them, including two in taking four points off Paris Saint-Germain, in a miserly 2020/21 in which they conceded just 23 goals in 38 top-flight matches. He won a division-high 72.6 per cent of his duels — Fonte won 72.4 per cent — but there is so much more to Botman than a spoiler.

His pass percentage is in the mid-80 percentile with his assuredness on the ball even higher in the UEFA Champions League this season than in Ligue 1 Uber Eats. He didn't score in his first season in France, but has found the net twice in 2021/22 with more surely to come with Lille's brand of counter-attacking football ideally suited to Botman's style.

"I wouldn't say that I'm not made for Ajax, but let's say the Lille system suits me perfectly," he said. "Everyone is important and there is a perfect balance. You have a group of guys who know exactly what they are supposed to be doing."

Current campaign

Botman was the second-most-used player in Lille's title-winning season, but will not match that in 2021/22 after suffering a groin injury in October, the maiden major lay-off of his career.

"I found these weeks long. It was difficult for me because it's the first time I've been injured," said Botman. "It wasn't easy, but now it's behind me." 

The problem saw him miss three UEFA Champions League matches and six league games, but it's a guage of his stature that when he returned to fitness, coach Jocelyn Gourvennec immediately brought him back into the team. He was rested for the Round 17 fixture against Troyes, but that was merely to ensure he was fresh for the decisive Champions League game at Wolfsburg four days later. 

"He was at it straight away. That's not easy when you've been out for eight weeks," said Gourvennec. "We managed to get results without him, but it's good that he's back. He's really respected in the dressing room."

What they said

"I watched one or two of Sven's games before he came, and I saw straight away he had qualities. But he's a young player, and I asked myself whether he would be ready. I wasn't sure. I was really worried. But after two matches alongside him, I was convinced I was mistaken, that there were no doubts to be had." Lille teammate Jose Fonte

"We knew that he was a defender who likes a tackle, is good in the air and on the deck, but he can also play it out from the back. I'm not surprised to see him performing at this level." Ex-Lille coach Christophe Galtier

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