Joël Matip

Job Joël André Matip (born 8 August 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Liverpool.

Joël Matip
Matip with Schalke 04 in 2015
Personal information
Full name Job Joël André Matip[1]
Date of birth (1991-08-08) 8 August 1991
Place of birth Bochum, Germany
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 32
Youth career
1995–1997 SC Weitmar 45
1997–2000 VfL Bochum
2000–2009 Schalke 04
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2011 Schalke 04 II 4 (1)
2009–2016 Schalke 04 194 (17)
2016– Liverpool 85 (4)
National team
2010–2015 Cameroon 27 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:52, 21 June 2020 (UTC)

He began his professional career with Schalke 04 in 2009, and was part of their teams that won the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup in 2011. He totalled 258 competitive appearances and 23 goals before moving to Liverpool on a free transfer in 2016, where he won the UEFA Champions League in 2019, starting in the final. He also won the UEFA Super Cup in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020, Liverpool's first league title for 30 years.

Born and raised in Germany, he represented his father's Cameroon at international level and played for them at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cups of 2010 and 2014.

Club career

Early career

Born in Bochum, Matip began his career with SC Weitmar 45 before joining VfL Bochum in 1997.[3] After three years in VfL Bochum's youth teams, Matip was scouted by Schalke 04 in July 2000.[4]

FC Schalke 04
Matip with Schalke 04 during a pre-season training session, in July 2010.

Matip made his professional debut on 17 October 2009 in a Regionalliga against 1. FC Saarbrücken.[5] He made his Bundesliga debut for Schalke on 7 November 2009 against Bayern Munich, in which he scored the game-tying goal and was subsequently named man of the match.[6][7]

On 2 March 2010, Matip signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Schalke 04.[8]

In January 2012, Schalke announced that Matip signed a two-year contract extension running until 30 June 2016.

On 23 February 2013, Matip scored both goals as Schalke recorded an important 2–1 victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf, securing the club's second win in 12 games.[9]

Liverpool

On 15 February 2016, Matip announced signing a four-year pre-contract agreement to join Liverpool on a free transfer, following the expiration of his contract with Schalke.[10]

On 1 July 2016, Matip officially became a Liverpool player, taking the shirt number 32, whilst Cameron Brannagan, who previously wore 32 took number 25.

2016–17 season

Matip made his debut for Liverpool on 23 August 2016 against Burton Albion in the League Cup in a 5–0 win for the Reds.[11] He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–2 Premier League win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on 29 October.[12] Matip was voted as Standard Chartered Player of the Month for his performances in November.[13]

Matip was withdrawn from the fixture against Manchester United on 15 January 2017, as Liverpool were yet to get full clarity from FIFA over his eligibility, and also as a result of the Cameroon Football Federation failing to confirm that Matip can therefore play club football during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.[14][15] Overall, Matip was considered as a key player to improving Liverpool's defence, which had received extreme criticism prior to the season,[16] during the 2016–17 season.[17][18]

2017–18 season
Matip (left) playing for Liverpool during a Champions League game against Spartak Moskva, 26 September 2017.

On 1 October 2017, Matip was criticized for his poor performance against Newcastle United, being deemed at fault for Newcastle's goal.[19] On 4 November, Matip scored his first goal of the 2017–18 season, scoring in a 4–1 win over West Ham United at the London Stadium.[20] On 27 January 2018, Matip scored an own goal in a 2–3 home defeat to West Bromwich Albion in the fourth round of the FA Cup.[21] On 31 March, during the match against Crystal Palace, Matip suffered a thigh injury. On 3 April, Liverpool announced that he would have to undergo surgery to fix it, and that he will miss the rest of the season.[22]

2018–19 season

Matip suffered another muscle injury in July 2018 during a tour of the United States,[23][24] but recovered to be named an unused substitute in a 2–0 away win over Crystal Palace on 20 August.[25]

On 13 December 2018, Matip suffered a broken collarbone after the 1–0 win against Napoli.[26] The injury saw him miss another 6 weeks of the season. Despite the showing of interest by new Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri,[27] Matip remained at Liverpool for the rest of the season, establishing himself in the starting eleven. On 1 June 2019, Matip assisted Divock Origi's goal in the 87th minute of the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final, which saw Liverpool defeat Tottenham 2–0 to win the title.[28]

2019–20 season

On 4 August 2019, Matip scored Liverpool's goal in the 2019 FA Community Shield. Liverpool lost the game 5–4 on penalties.[29] On 24 August 2019, Matip scored his first Premier League goal of the season, opening the scoring in a 3–1 home win over Arsenal.[30] On 18 October 2019, he signed a contract renewal until 2024.[31]

International career

Matip was called up on 23 December 2009 by Cameroon for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations but he later declined to take part in the tournament.[32][33]

On 2 March 2010, aged 18, Matip opted to play his international football for Cameroon, after meeting up with the national team ahead of a friendly against Italy on 3 March 2010.[34] He made his first appearance in the match against Italy and went on to play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup for Cameroon. He was also part of the Cameroon national football team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup where he played twice and scored against the host team Brazil.[35]

In January 2017, Matip was selected for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations but rejected the call-up.[36] It was later revealed that Matip retired from the national team when he was still at Schalke, but had not followed FIFA procedure by informing the Cameroonian Football Association via letter.[37] While the confusion was cleared up by FIFA, Matip could not play for Liverpool. He subsequently missed a Premier League tie against Manchester United and an FA Cup third round match against Plymouth Argyle.[38][39] Without his presence, Cameroon won the tournament.

Matip cited his reason for his resignation was his unhappiness with the national team set up and his bad experience with the coaching staff.[36][40]

Personal life

Matip was born to a German mother[41] and former Cameroonian footballer Jean Matip.[42] He is the brother of the fellow Cameroon international Marvin Matip[43] and is a cousin of Joseph-Désiré Job.[44] He attended the Gesamtschule Berger Feld.[45]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 21 June 2020[46]
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Schalke 04 II 2009–10 Regionalliga 31————31
2010–11 Regionalliga 10————10
Total 41————41
Schalke 04 2009–10 Bundesliga 20320———223
2010–11 Bundesliga 26040—11[lower-alpha 2]11[lower-alpha 3]0421
2011–12 Bundesliga 30331—13[lower-alpha 4]11[lower-alpha 3]0475
2012–13 Bundesliga 32310—6[lower-alpha 2]0—393
2013–14 Bundesliga 31330—8[lower-alpha 2]1—424
2014–15 Bundesliga 21211—3[lower-alpha 2]0—253
2015–16 Bundesliga 34320—5[lower-alpha 4]1—414
Total 19417162—4642025823
Liverpool 2016–17 Premier League 2910030——321
2017–18 Premier League 25120008[lower-alpha 2]000351
2018–19 Premier League 22100108[lower-alpha 2]000311
2019–20 Premier League 9110001[lower-alpha 2]02[lower-alpha 5]1132
Total 8543040170211115
Career total 28322192406344137329
  1. Appearances in DFB-Pokal and FA Cup
  2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. Appearances in DFL-Supercup
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. One appearance and one goal in FA Community Shield; one appearance in UEFA Super Cup

International
Cameroon[47]
YearAppsGoals
201060
201130
201240
201360
201471
201510
Total271

Honours

Schalke 04

Liverpool

Individual

References
  1. "Squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  2. "Joel Matip". Premier League. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  3. "Joël Matip" (in German). FC Schalke 04. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  4. "Matip, Joel" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  5. "Sonntagsschuss bricht das Genick" (in German). reviersport.de. 17 October 2009. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  6. "Wieder kein Sieg! Bayern weiter in der Krise" (in German). bild.de. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  7. "Man of the Match: Joel Matip" (in German). goal.com. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  8. "Schalke starlet signs new deal". ontheminute.com. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  9. "Schalke 04 2–1 Fortuna Düsseldorf". ESPNFC. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  10. "Schalke confirm Joel Matip to join Liverpool F.C. in summer". theguardian.com. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  11. "Liverpool hit five to see off Burton in EFL Cup". LiverpoolFC.com. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  12. Matip, Joël. "crystal-palace-vs-liverpool-live-match-day-blog". www.liverpoolfc.com. LiverpoolFC.com. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  13. "Joel Matip scoops Player of the Month award". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  14. "Liverpool FC statement on Joel Matip". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  15. "Why can't Joel Matip play for Liverpool? Explaining the confusion". FOX Sports. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  16. Bascombe, Chris (15 September 2017). "Jurgen Klopp: Stop criticising Liverpool's defence - I trust them to improve". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  17. "Liverpool FC 2016/17: Overall Season Player Ratings". This Is Anfield. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  18. "Stats prove Liverpool's defence are improving, and that Joel Matip is key". This Is Anfield. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  19. Winter, Lewis (1 October 2017). "Newcastle vs Liverpool: Jamie Carragher blames Joel Matip for Joselu goal". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  20. "West Ham v Liverpool, 2017/18 | Premier League". www.premierleague.com. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  21. "Liverpool 2-3 West Bromwich Albion". BBC Sport. 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  22. "Liverpool confirm Joel Matip injury". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  23. "Jürgen Klopp offers Joel Matip injury update". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  24. "Joel Matip injury update". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  25. "Crystal Palace 0-2 Liverpool: James Milner and Sadio Mane score as Reds move to six points". BBC Sport. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  26. "Liverpool problems grow as Matip out for 6 weeks". ESPN.com. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  27. 161385360554578 (14 May 2018). "Claudio Ranieri 'wants Liverpool defender' to be his first Fulham signing". talkSPORT. Retrieved 14 May 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. McNulty, Phil (1 June 2019). "Tottenham Hotspur 0–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  29. "Community Shield: Liverpool 1-1 Man City". BBC Sport. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  30. Phil McNulty (24 August 2019). "Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal: Mohamed Salah scores twice for Reds". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  31. "Joel Matip: Liverpool defender signs new deal until summer 2024". 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  32. "CAN 2010 : La liste des 23". fecafootonline.com. 22 December 2009. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  33. "Matip für Afrika-Cup nominiert" (in German). reviersport.de. 23 December 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  34. "Joel Matip signs for Schalke and decides on Cameroon". BBC Sport. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  35. Match report
  36. "Africa Cup of Nations: Liverpool's Joel Matip among seven to snub tournament". BBC Sport. 20 December 2016.
  37. Hunter, Andy (17 January 2017). "Liverpool's Jürgen Klopp seeks legal advice over Joël Matip stalemate". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  38. Dobson, Mark (20 January 2017). "Fifa gives Liverpool green light to play Joël Matip against Swansea". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  39. "Can football players unilaterally retire from international duty? The Joël Matip & Allan Nyom cases - LawInSport". www.lawinsport.com. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  40. "Matip: My Cameroon career 'is finished'". ESPN.com. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  41. "Joel Matip ist auf dem Sprung" (in German). reviersport.de. 24 October 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  42. "Die Schultüte" (in German). Matthias-Claudius-Schulen Bochum. January–March 2006. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  43. "Youngster Matip trifft beim Debüt" (in German). kicker.de. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  44. "Marvin Matip – der Löwe von der Ruhr" (in German). FIFA.com. 14 December 2004. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  45. Prince-Wright, Joe (21 September 2017). "Liverpool's Joel Matip: "I have no doubt about our way of playing"". NBC Sports. NBC Universal. Retrieved 24 July 2018. He graduated from the now famous Gesamtschule Berger Feld school which has German internationals Mesut Ozil, Julian Draxler, Manuel Neuer and Benedikt Howedes among their alumni.
  46. "J. MATIP". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  47. "Joël Matip". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  48. "MSV Duisburg 0:5 FC Schalke 04: Takt. aufstellung" [MSV Duisburg 0:5 FC Schalke 04: Tactical lineup]. Kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  49. "Borussia Dortmund 3:4 FC Schalke 04: Takt. aufstellung" [Borussia Dortmund 3:4 FC Schalke 04: Tactical lineup]. Kicker (in German). Olympia-Verlag. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  50. "Premier League: 2019/20: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
    "Liverpool: Squad details: 2019/20". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
    "Premier League Handbook Season 2019/20" (PDF). Premier League. p. 56. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  51. Rose, Gary (14 August 2019). "Liverpool 2–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  52. Carroll, James (7 October 2019). "Joel Matip named PFA Player of the Month for September". LFC. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  53. "Mane, Oshoala named African Footballers of 2019 at CAF Awards". CAFOnline.com. CAF. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.