Cameroonian defender Joel Matip

Joel Matip is the central defender who spent most of his career in the German Schalke. He was born in Germany, but by nationality he is a Cameroonian and stands for the corresponding national team. Joel Matip most recently moved to English "Liverpool", where he was invited by Jurgen Klopp.

Carier start

Joel Matip was born on August 8, 1991 in Germany. Already in three years he was enrolled in the football academy of the club "Weitmar 45", where he went in for sports for four years before being screened in the largest club of his hometown - "Bochum". The boy was accepted, and in a new place he spent three more years, and in 2000 he was in Gelsenkirchen "Schalke", one of the strongest clubs in Germany. There, Matip spent nine long years of hard training and speaking for youth teams of different age categories. In 2009 Joel Matip reached his majority and Schalke signed a professional contract with him. This is how the Cameroonian career began in Germany.

The game for Schalke

Joel Matip - football player, who did not immediately get a chance in the "Schalke". The first year he periodically called in the basis of the club, having played only 24 matches and scoring three goals. But even then it became apparent that Matip is a defender with a great future and incredible talent. Therefore, from the next season, he already took the place at the heart of the "Schalke". Over the next six years in the club, he played in 234 games, scored twenty goals and in 2011 helped his team win the German Cup, and after that to win the German Super Cup.

Joel Matip, whose photos were in all German sports magazines, was not particularly well known in other countries, it continued until Jürgen Klopp, former coach of Dortmund Borussia, started working in England. It was he who called Matipa at Liverpool, but Schalke did not want to let go of one of his leading players. For a long time negotiations were held on extending the contract with increasing wages, but the Cameroonian insisted on his own. Already in the winter of 2016, when half a year remained until the end of the contract, Joël signed a preliminary agreement with Liverpool, and in the summer became a full-fledged player of the English club.

Going to Liverpool

Thus ended more than fifteen-year history of Matip and "Schalke", many players prefer to stay in their home club for a long time, and even for the whole career, but Joel decided to make a difference in his life. As a result, he as a free agent was in "Liverpool", where he immediately received a place in the first team. To date, he spent seven games for the club, each of them from whistle to whistle. The Cameroon contract with the English club is designed for four years, but the defender is only twenty-five years old, so he still has a lot of time ahead to make great strides with Liverpool.

National team appearances

For the national team of Cameroon Matip currently played 23 games, scoring one goal in them. He debuted in March 2010 in a friendly game against the Italian team, and after four friendly matches, Joel was in the application for the 2010 World Cup. He came out at the base for the first match against Japan, but was replaced in the 63rd minute. At the World Cup in 2014, he was also included in the application, conceding the first match, Matip played the remaining two, scoring his only goal for the team at the gate of the Brazilians. The last time Joel was called to the Cameroon national team in September 2015 for a qualifying match against the Gambian national team, in which the Cameroonians won 1: 0. Since then, the defender in the application team did not fall. He himself refuses to represent the country on the international arena every time, although he is the strongest Cameroonian football player to date.