The ball made a loud thud as it ricocheted off Béni Badibanga’s shin guard as he stepped in front of an attempted pass by Toronto FC’s Federico Bernardeschi. Recovering the ball just outside his own box, Badibanga darted to his right and sprinted past the Italian attacker into the midfield.

As he strode forward, Forge captain Kyle Bekker ran behind him, calling out different passing options. He could play in teammate David Choinière making a run down the right, or Tristan Borges through the middle.

Badibanga, however, had his focus on just one thing: the positioning of Toronto FC goalkeeper Luka Gavran. Still inside his own half, in mid-stride, Badibanga sent a strike goalward. It sailed over the head of the Toronto keeper, bounced just once before the six-yard box, and into the back of the net. The crowd at Tim Hortons Field erupted, thousands of orange-clad supporters jumping up and down in equal parts jubilation and disbelief at what they had just seen.

It was less than 11 minutes into Forge FC’s 2024 Canadian Championship semifinal first leg against Major League Soccer side Toronto FC, and Badibanga had just given them the lead in the most unlikely of fashions. Forge would go on to win the match 2-1, a significant result against a team with a much higher budget and history of success in the competition.

On the Forge bench, head coach Bobby Smyrniotis could only let out a smile as a celebrating Badibanga backflipped past him.

“I’ve known Béni now for a year and nothing surprises me,” he said. 

This is what you get with a player like Badibanga, says Smyrniotis, who brought the talented winger to the Hamilton club in July of last year. Sometimes you have to come to terms with a few moments of frustration when his audacious efforts don’t come off as intended. But it is the moments of magic he provides which make the game special.

“A coach that I look up to in global football, Marcelo Bielsa, said it best I think this past week; we are losing creativity in the game, it’s becoming about the result,” said Smyrniotis. “We need players like Badibanga in the game. That’s who people want to come and watch. At all levels of the game we need to be creative, we need to play football, this is a sport for the people.” 

With Badibanga in the lineup, Forge FC are achieving both, finding results and giving people a reason to remember them.

“I think a lot of people leave here with that image, anything else could have happened in the game but they leave here with that image,” said Smyrniotis of Badibanga’s incredible goal after their win against Toronto FC. 

For as long as he can remember, Badibanga has been making special things happen with a ball at his feet. He says he was born with this God-given talent, and grew up with a family who encouraged him to use his creativity as much as possible when playing. Those abilities only further developed over countless hours of football in the streets of Belgium growing up.

That is very evident from the way Badibanga still plays football today. The flicks, the spins, the juggles, and the no-look passes are all pulled off at full speed, and with freedom of expression. He leads all Canadian Premier League players this season in dribbles attempted, with 55. With four goals and three assists in all competitions in 2024, he matches that style with substance as well.

“The way I see football, because everybody has his own vision, you play football, you know… it’s a game,” said Badibanga. “So you have to keep that zone where magic can happen. For me, I try to bring my difference in those kind of areas. I try to be myself and sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail. But that’s part of life and part of the process. I’m not scared to miss, if I don’t try I’m not going to score. So, let’s try and let’s see.”

When he wasn’t enjoying his football at club level, or playing with freedom growing up through various top academies, clubs, including Standard Liège, and the youth national team in Belgium, his father and brother would send him back to play in the streets. He says playing with freedom is always when he plays his best.

Those matches also hardened his mentality. It’s why, whether he is playing against European Championship winners like Lorenzo Insigne and Bernardeschi, or any other opponent, he plays the exact same way.

“I started football outside, you know?,” said Badibanga. “So outside, nobody has a name, and you respect everybody.

“Even my mother used to yell at me because I don’t even know my opponent’s name, like the team, I don’t even know against who I’m playing. As a professional, I start to know because we do video and stuff, but when I was young I never used to look at it, cause that keeps me free in my head. Because if you know you are going to play against this or that guy you can start to think. So I took it out of my head at a young age and I continued like this.” 

He says the best way to respect an opponent is to give his best, in the hopes that they do the same.

“Sometimes I even enjoy seeing my opponents doing nice things, it pushes me to do better,” he says. “So if you are good, we are going to have fun and the crowd is going to be happy.”

Making the crowd happy is something Badibanga has made a habit of since arriving in Hamilton. Among many other memorable moments, he scored a stunning equalizer in extra time of the 2023 CPL final against Cavalry, a match that Forge would go on to win — their fourth title in five seasons.

His creativity, and unique style, meanwhile, is something he has embraced in all walks of life. Be that in his pregame outfits as he pulls up to the stadium, or the way he performs on the field, the freedom to express himself is essential.

“Since I was young, people used to tell me that I’m different and those kind of things,” said Badibanga. “I had to understand it, and understand that it’s not a bad thing to be ‘different’. I try to express myself as good as I can, even in boxing or fashion, football, I try to be me as much as I can. And if I feel good about the way I do things, that is the most important.” 

It is a lesson he tries to impart to Forge’s growing group of young attackers as they are coming up, to embrace what makes them different and what has gotten them to this level already.

“You can try to improve and do better, but don’t change your nature,” he said. “If you feel like you have to do a backheel do it, if you miss we run together to fix it. But when you feel something, do it.” 

The feeling that he has most enjoyed since coming to Forge. however? Winning. That is what initially attracted Badibanga to Hamilton, and after the team came from behind in extra time to stun Cavalry in last year’s final, he said the reason they were able to do that is because winning is in the team’s DNA. A season later, and that clearly hasn’t changed.

“Winning is like a way of living, when you are used to win, at certain points you become a winner, so you behave like it, and that’s it,” he said.

If Badibanga can continue to create moments of magic in the orange of Forge, more big wins will surely follow. And as Forge travel to BMO Field in Toronto for the second leg of the Canadian Championship on August 27, Badibanga will be the name on the lips of every fan in attendance.

All highlights courtesy OneSoccer