Throughout the remarkable campaign last season, there were many vital season-defining moments, such as Salah’s wonder goal against Chelsea, Alisson’s save against Napoli which resulted in Liverpoolknockout stages of the Champions League and that night at Anfield versus the great Barcelona.
When you look at Liverpool’s squad, you think of the fervent front three and the colossal Virgil van Dijk. There is no denying that when the team sheet is announced on a matchday, those are the positions the fans look at straight away.
Owing to Van Dijk’s phenomenal and astonishing campaign last season, one can sometimes forget the other players around him. For instance, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane shared the Golden Boot, and Alisson won the Golden Glove, while Van Dijk was named PFA Player of the Year. In light of those fantastic achievements, it glosses over other teammates’ performances.
There is one particular Liverpool player who sometimes does not get the appreciation he deserves. He is composed, has brilliant awareness and is impressive when dribbling out from the back.
He was born in Bochum, Germany, and started his football career at SC Weitmar 45, staying there for two years before joining VfL Bochum. He represented Bochum’s youth academy for three years before he was finally scouted by Bundesliga giants FC Schalke 04 in 2000. After spending 16 precious years at the club and winning the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup, he was finally approached by a transitioning Liverpool team, spearheaded by former rival manager Jurgen Klopp.
Joel Matip joined in 2016 on a Bosman from Schalke and was among the first of many signings under Klopp as the boss began his reign at Anfield. He had a slow start as a Premier League defender and was questioned by many fans throughout the season.
As the years went past and Liverpool started improving as a squad, slowly but surely, Matip was going down in the pecking order of central defenders. The purchase of the imperious Van Dijk and the prospect of a young and fresh Joe Gomez consolidated Liverpool’s centre-back pairing.
However, the injuries to Dejan Lovren and Gomez left Klopp with no choice but to use Matip next to Van Dijk. Surprisingly, the Cameroonian emerged into his own. Each game, he exceeded expectations, and we started to enjoy his trademark manoeuvre, which is dribbling from the back and into the midfield.
Matip is unique, exceptional and outstanding. After his dominant display against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, where he kept quiet one of the most potent strikers in world football in Robert Lewandowski, he showed everyone why he still plays a key part in this terrific Liverpool side. After this encounter, he blossomed and has not looked back since.
Matip made 22 appearances for Liverpool in the Premier League last season. Furthermore, he kept nine clean sheets, won 66 aerial battles and had a 67% tackle success rate, which was equally as impressive.
Many people believed that Liverpool would need new centre-halves this summer to complement Van Dijk because of Gomez’s injury record. But, when we required Matip to play, he showed nothing but skill, leadership and class.
He played a crucial part in the Champions League last season, most notably assisting Divock Origi for the winning goal in the final to secure number six. It is high time to acknowledge and respect this unsung hero.
