Nemanja Matic – A complete solution to Chelsea’s midfield

With none of their title competitors making any moves in the transfer market yet, Chelsea are about to complete their first signing of the winter transfer window. And this time, it is a familiar face returning to Stamford Bridge after he was sold to Benfica almost 3 years ago. Nemanja Matic will don the blue shirt of Chelsea again, having appeared for them thrice during his first spell back in 2009. The tall Serbian will certainly feel at home in the Blue colors, and will be aiming to replicate his performances from the past 3 seasons for Benfica.

Matic in Blue during the title winning 2009-10 season under Carlo Ancelotti.

This sort of signing might depict Chelsea in bad light, but there are two sides to this story. Firstly, Chelsea, who lost Carvalho to Real Madrid, were in need of a central defender in January 2011, and were reluctant in including Matic in the deal for David Luiz. Matic was serving his loan spell at Vitesse and he was way down in the pecking for a midfield spot in the Chelsea first team, falling behind Lampard, Mikel, Essien and Ramires. But, Benfica insisted on a return in form of a player, and Matic was allowed to join them. The Serbian’s valuation in the market was roughly around 3 million pounds at that time.

Though, Chelsea might not have projected Matic’s rapid development back in 2011 when they let the Serb go, it is a sort of positive development, both for the Blues and for the player. If Matic had stayed at Chelsea, he might not have had the kind of developmental exposure which teams like Benfica offer. At the maximum, he might have become a mainstay in the Chelsea lineup under Di Matteo last season, but not with the technical improvements in his play that he now possesses.

List of teams who had their scouts watching the Benfica-Porto game on Sunday.

On the other hand, Portugal is renowned as a young player’s paradise, as it serves as an ideal platform for talented youngsters to hone their skills before moving to their dream clubs. Matches in Portugal are scouted regularly by almost every top club in Europe. The recently leaked list of scouts sent to watch the Benfica-Porto game is an example. It might be a bit harsh on the Portuguese League when their best players move to other countries, but that is how football works these days. Benfica allowed Matic to find his feet and discover himself in a defensive midfield role. He rose to prominence last season, appearing 45 times in all competitions for Benfica and cementing his role as the anchorman. His performances caught the eye of top clubs’ scouts and everyone knew Matic would be moving to another club soon. Chelsea had competition from Manchester United and Liverpool for the Serbian’s signature, but the previous relationship with the London club weighed too much for him to discard the other two.

Style of Play

On first sight, Matic comes around as a tall, sturdy player, giving an impression of a centre-half. But his preferred position is defensive mid, just ahead of the two centrebacks. He can be put in the similar bracket with the likes of Yaya Toure, Marouane Fellaini, Alex Witsel and Steven N’Zonzi in terms of build and physical presence in midfield. At 1.94 meters, Matic provides many avenues for Chelsea to explore and minimize their shortcomings on the pitch. Obviously, the first weak point that comes to the fore is his lack of pace. Though, he occasionally likes to venture into advanced positions, staying deep in midfield, playing an anchorman role is his usual forte.

It is in this deep role that he excelled at Benfica and became a central figure for them to dominate games both in the domestic and Europa league. His composure on the ball and his rapidly developing passing technique and range will be a forward step from Mikel for the Blues, Not that Mikel will be neglected. The key attribute that catches the eye is his impeccable ability to read the game faster than anybody else. For a league which is played at a high intensity, quick game reading will evidently be held in high regard in England. This quickness in his game transcends into his ability to play with more creativity.

Nemanja Matic’s goal which stood second in the race for the Puskas Award 2013.

He justified his technical ability with a wonderful goal, which got nominated for the Puskas award. Matic’s goal stood second behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s monstrous strike. So, he can not only provide threat from set pieces with his height, but is also capable of scoring some blinders from outside the box. A complete package indeed.

Where does he fit in at Chelsea?

As examined in an earlier article on Chelsea’s season, Jose Mourinho had his team evolving into a functional unit, bringing about an identity, which was lost with an infinitely revolving managerial door. The midfield and striker positions were identified as the areas needing reinforcement and Marco Van Ginkel and Samuel Eto’o were signed to fill those gaps. Our focus will be in midfield for now.

Van Ginkel won’t be back until next season.

Van Ginkel was central to what Mourinho was planning for Chelsea this season. He certainly saw what the Dutch international was capable of and signed him straight away, out of the blue. Chelsea had 5 midfielders at the start of the season. But an injury to Dutchman in September brought things back to square one. Chelsea pulled through the next 4 months with 4 midfielders, which might seem to be sufficient for 2 positions on the pitch. But, an out of form Essien, and a not-so-flexible Mikel, forced Mourinho to use Lampard and Ramires in almost every match.

Moving forward, Chelsea might not have the services of experienced players like Lampard and Essien from as early as next season. And judging from the words of Mourinho, his aim is to build a team for the next season, The need for another midfielder was imperative. A midfielder, who can add a new dimension to the team unlike the current crop. Fredy Guarin was sounded as the one solving the problems, but was never a good option as Guarin can be thought of as another Ramires, only with a better right foot.

Nemanja Matic though, was a viable option. As discussed above, he brings a new set of qualities to the Chelsea team and influences the squad in a positive way. From a tactical point of view, Matic should walk right into the Blues first XI, not only nullifying the glaring weaknesses in midfield, but providing a dominating threat. Mourinho has used many formations this season, but the 4-2-3-1 has been preferred mostly. He has favored a fluid system, with both players in the double pivot operating as floating players. Later in the season, Mikel was used alongside Ramires or Lampard, to add stability as Chelsea were conceding a lot of goals. Until now, the partnership of Mikel with Lampard or Ramires has proved useful, but there was no significant bite to it. Mikel was too slow in carrying the momentum and lacked the necessary range in passing.

Ramires and Matic battling it out in the Europa League final.

Though we can argue in Mikel’s favor that Chelsea don’t play a particularly wing-play brand of football for him to spray balls onto the wings, it still is a deficiency. With Nemanja Matic, it is almost certain that Mikel will lose his place in the starting XI, but will be a part of the rotation policy. Matic can be easily paired with either of Essien, Lampard or Ramires, as all those 3 players offer attacking threat and will complement the Serbian well. The Matic-Ramires combo seems to be more rewarding as you get to experience a more complete midfield package. We can deduce more on the combos once we get to see them in action.

Another favorable development with Matic in midfield could be the regular appearance of Juan Mata in the starting XI, atleast once a week. Juan Mata has not been played frequently this season due to his lack of defensive abilities. The presence of Matic could eliminate such a need, and Mata could be deployed in a free role, initially occupying the no.10 position. Oscar’s role in that no.10 position, was to drop into the holes left by the runners from midfield and pulling the opponent defensive midfielder out of position. This, was when Chelsea played with dynamic midfielders, who were not that great in positional play. While it maybe a long shot for Mata to dethrone Oscar from the no.10 position, Mourinho will obviously think about the situation of the Spaniard, ahead of the World Cup.

Another area where Chelsea will immensely improve is set pieces. Only a few players in the Premier League stand above 1.90 meters, and at that height, there will be considerable increase in the threat from headers. Matic will not only be able to negotiate long balls while defending, but will be helpful for Chelsea in dominating set pieces. All in all, this signing might not be good business in a financial point of view, but it undoubtedly puts the club in the right direction going into the next decade.