I'm liking the sound of this lad more with each article I read. Good reader of the game, front foot defender, great header, good passing ability, scores goals, can play left back and defensive midfield, what's not to like
'Liverpool recruit Matip has got brains as well as brawn'
19:00, 1 Jul 2016
Updated 20:04, 1 Jul 2016
By Chris Beesley
Reds defender is ideal for Klopp, says Bundesliga expert Jorg Jakob.
New Liverpool recruit Joel Matip has got the brains as well as brawn to succeed in the Premier League reckons Bundesliga expert Jorg Jakob.
Standing at a towering 6ft 5in tall the Bochum-born Cameroon international certainly has the physical presence to be a big hit with the Reds but there is also plenty of silk to go with the steel in his game.
Jakob, who writes for Germany’s leading sports magazine Kicker, said: “Joel’s definitely someone who remains balanced in his defending and tackling style.
“He doesn’t give away too many fouls which is important in modern football and for Gegenpressing. You get the ball and open the attack and you don’t have to foul with the tackling, just get the ball the right way and he’s a good passer.
“Joel has also scored some goals, especially from set pieces as he’s good in the air too.”
With question marks over Mamadou Sakho, Martin Skrtel seemingly heading for the exit door and Kolo Toure already having been shown it, Jürgen Klopp has got issues in the centre-back berth but Jakob believes Matip is the ideal candidate to step into the breach.
He said: “Joel is just what you want from a modern defender and is a major personality.
“Of course you need more toughness defending in the Premier League than the Bundesliga that’s for sure.
“But there’s a lack of football technique among some of the defenders in the Premier League so he should stand out there and I think he fits really well into the idea of how Jürgen Klopp wants to play.
“He can get on the ball and is stable behind the midfield but plays with other guys in front of him as well.
“We’ve seen him play at full-back too plus the ‘number six’ role as well which means you have to be quite intelligent and able to read a game as well.”
Another plus point is that Matip has such a likeable character that none of Schalke’s fans turned on him after it was revealed he was quitting the club for nothing to join the Reds.
In the early years after Bosman-style free transfers were introduced for players whose contracts were expiring, local lad Steve McManaman came in for a rough ride from some sections of the Anfield crowd after it emerged he was heading for Real Madrid.
Jakob reveals that similar outbursts have become commonplace at Ruhr rivals Dortmund but Klopp’s new recruit has been spared such treatment.
He said: “Matip is experienced already and he has played Champions League as well, not only one season, and they qualified for the semi-finals in 2011 and he was already in the side then as a teenager, scoring against Inter on that journey.
“He keeps calm and even though he is still young he has played a lot of games. What speaks volumes for me was that when it was announced that Joel Matip was leaving Schalke and going to Liverpool there wasn’t a bad word said about him.
“In recent years it has become all too common to criticise players when they leave. It’s worse in Germany than it was some years ago.
“I think people can still make a difference, even if it’s a foreigner coming over for one or two years to play a bit, get the money and then move on.
“Of course you’re very sad if you lose a young player who has come up through the ranks at your team and you thought he might become a one-club man but I think everyone appreciated what Matip did and it makes sense that a guy who has got the quality is making the next step in international football.”
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