Joel Matip is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for the English Premier League (EPL), Liverpool FC. Matip comes from a family with a certain footballing pedigree, as other members of his family have been involved with the sport in the past. We will discuss his body statistics as well as other facts you may not have known about one of Anfield’s towering central defenders.
Joel was born on August 8, 1991, in Bochum, Germany, the son of Eva-Maria and Jean Matip. His father Jean is Cameroonian and played for the national team. His mother is German. Joel has a brother named Marvin.
Born in Germany, Matip began his youth career by joining SC Weitmar 45 and later moved to VfL Bochum in 1997. After three years with VfL Bochum, where he honed his defensive skills, he was soon scouted by the biggest team in Gelsenkirchen, Schalke 04.
Matip soon left Bochum to join Schalke, from where his career flourished. In a game against FC Saarbrücken, Matip made his professional debut for Schalke. In his debut in the German top group, he delivered a Man of the Match performance against Bayern Munich on November 7, 2009. He crowned this impressive performance with a goal. Matip was an integral part of the Schalke team from the 2009-10 season to the 2015-16 season. He spent seven seasons in the Veltins-Arena, where he played 194 appearances in the league and scored 17 goals. His total number of appearances for Schalke 04 is 258, with a total of 23 goals scored.
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When his contract with Schalke expired in the summer of 2016, he moved to the red side of Merseyside to join Liverpool after signing a pre-contract agreement earlier this year. He made his debut for Liverpool in August 2016 with a 5-0 battle against Burton Albion in a league cup match. He scored his first goal for Liverpool on 29 October in a league match against Crystal Palace.
He finished his first season with 32 appearances and a single goal. The next season he scored his only legitimate goal of the season in a 4-1 win over West Ham United. Matip later succumbed to a thigh injury that required surgery to repair, which would leave him out of the game for the rest of the season, including Liverpool’s final appearance in the Champions League. He ended the season with 35 appearances and one goal.
Joel Matip made his national team debut at the age of 18. He decided to play for the birth nation of his father Cameroon and not for Germany. He made his debut in the match against Italy during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He took part in the 2014 World Cup, but when he was called up to play internationally for the 2017 African Cup of Nations, Matip decided not to participate. In early 2017, Matip became involved in a dispute with his national association that resulted in certain disciplinary measures being taken against him.
Height, Weight, Body Measurements
For a modern central defender, height is a major factor and plays a decisive role in air duels. For a defender of his size, Joel Matip is very skilled with the ball at his feet and elegant in possession. Matip stands at an impressive height of 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 89 kg.
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Other Facts About Joel Matip
Matip stands as one of the biggest players in his club and measures well over 6 feet, exactly – 6 feet 5 inches.
Joel has an older brother named Marvin Matip. Marvin plays for the German team, Ingolstadt, and also plays as a central defender.
Just like Joel, his older brother also represented the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.
Marvin and Joel are not the only members of their family to wear the national colors. Their cousin Joseph-Desire Job has won over 50 international games in an international career that has spanned well over a decade.
During his time at Schalke 04, he scored an average of one goal every 10 games, which is a decent return for the middle half.
At the time of his signing in Liverpool, he was the second Cameroonian to play for the Reds after national hero Rigobert Song.
He started his professional career at the age of 18 with a goal at his debut.
Matip defeated his current coach Jürgen Klopp in the cup final when Schalke defeated Borussia Dortmund on penalties and thus won the DFL Supercup 2011/12.
