Appreciated at Last: Joel Matip’s Rise to World Class (translated article from 11Freunde)

I found this pretty cool German article (https://www.11freunde.de/artikel/joel-matips-aufstieg-die-weltklasse) about Joel while being bored at work, and I translated it because I thought this sub might be interested.

Appreciated at last: Joel Matip’s Rise to World Class

At Schalke, fans became nervous when he had the ball. At Liverpool, he was a tag-along for quite a while. But now, Joel Matip has won the Champions League and is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

When Joel Matip leaves the house, he always stops and checks his pockets: Phone? Check! Keys? Check! Lionel Messi? Check! At least that’s how a couple of Liverpool FC fans, who posed with this banner [LINK: https://imgur.com/a/MUqQZqz] in Madrid before the Champions League final, think it goes. The fact that of all Liverpool players, these English fans chose a picture of Matip, often underappreciated in Germany, only surprises at first sight: Not least because of Joel Matip, who put Lionel Messi “into his pocket” in the second leg of the semifinal, they saw their team go to the Champions League final for the second time in a row, where Matip also played a decisive role in defeating Tottenham.

Matip made the most clearances in the Champions League final

Just like he took Messi out of the game at Anfield, he made sure that Harry Kane was not able to find his way into the game at the Estadio Metropolitano. Matip had an outstanding 14 clearances for the Reds. To put things into perspective: With six clearances, Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld ranked second in the final. Even Virgil van Dijk, regarded as the world’s best centre-back at the moment, only cleared the ball five times. Maybe it is because of Virgil van Dijk that Matip, despite his strong performances and his towering height of 1.95m, has been playing under the radar in the public eye. Since van Dijk arrived at Anfield in January 2018, the Dutchman has become the best player on his position due to his overpowering physique and force. Highlight videos of van Dijk are titled “The Monster” or “Beast of a Centre Back”.

Beanpole instead of beast

Joel Matip, however, is not a monster, not the type for spectacular sliding tackles or checks. When strikers try to get past him, they face completely different challenges: Outstanding positioning, great heading ability and incredibly long legs that allow him to catch up with strikers even when they already think they’ve made it past him. Additionally, he creates chances with his passing, albeit being risky at times. And if there’s no one to pass to, he dribbles the ball up the pitch with confidence. Matip’s willingness to take risks may come from his difficult time with Schalke. When he had the ball during Schalke matches, fans in the arena often got nervous. Sometimes, this nervousness turned to hostility. Only when he announced his transfer to Liverpool in February 2016, some people began to realize how much of a loss this departure would mean.

Not only on the pitch, but also everywhere else, Matip’s appearences are defined by sobriety. In Interviews, he is modest, sometimes even shy. “Not that much”, he answered when asked what he felt after winning the most important title in European club football. At least he ended up stating that it was a “wicked feeling” (“geiles Gefühl”). When he admitted that the team would “have a couple of beers” after the final, it almost felt like an emotional outburst by his standards.

Appreciation instead of underestimation

These days, almost every article about Matip makes it a point to mention that he has become underrated. His reputation as a “hidden gem” is no more – underestimation has turned into appreciation. After the semifinal against Barcelona, Matip’s mentor Norbert Elgert, who was a youth coach at Schalke for many years, states: “Joel has become a world-class player.” Naturally, Liverpool wants to extend the centre-back’s contract early, according to various reports. It seems like the beanpole from Bochum needs to get some bigger pants so that many more strikers will fit into his pockets in the future.