he was. there's potential.Is he good?
[article]
Matip is a front-footed, aggressive centre-back who prefers to step out of defence and take the initiative before dangerous attacks build up close to the Schalke penalty area, with his main strengths—beyond his versatility—being his pace and aerial prowess; the former, in particularly, lends him perfectly to his role alongside the more reserved Matija Nastasic, for example, as Matip is able to recover quickly to aid his team-mates.
The Cameroon international also boasts reasonable technical ability and is able to recycle possession confidently,averaging 52.1 passes per 90 league minutes so far this season and completing 83.7 per cent of those attempted—this is in a similar region to Liverpool's first-choice centre-backs, Mamadou Sakho (64.6, 89.6 per cent) and Martin Skrtel (53.1, 85.5 percent), suggesting he could adapt quickly.
However, while Matip's aggressive style is commendable, at 24 he is still typically rash in his decision-making when stepping out of defence, with a narrow tactical outlook often finding him throwing himself into challenges too early, which hampers his consistency.
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Plenty of time. He can get the train over.He doesn't seem very good in the air which is a worry
Plenty of time. He can get the train over.
If we can also sign Yahole to partner him, I think we're madeWill you be satisfied with Matip?
Or would you prefer to go all out for Mashaft?
Will you be satisfied with Matip?
Or would you prefer to go all out for Mashaft?
Ideally, you'd want both.
Indeed. Though Mashaft does have a habit of playing the balls deep.
He doesn't seem very good in the air which is a worry
Just went through these two seasons' games lineups in transfermarkt to see which side he usually plays on. I didn't count it but my impression is that he plays as the LCB about 60% of the time. Depends on who he's paired with:
When paired with Neustadter, he's always LCB.
When paired with Howedes, he's always RCB.
When paired with anyone else, he's almost always RCB.
In a back three, it's split - about half of the time the LCB, and the other half, he's the central CB.
@Markeh - he was injured a bit last season with abductor problems and a bruised foot. Played all 17 league games for Schalke so far this season.
Matip sprays it all over the place.