Player profile: Nemanja Matic (Benfica)

If you asked any Liverpool fan around this time last year “what do you think the strongest area of current Liverpool squad is“, the almost unanimous answer would be “midfield“. Joe Allen was in great form, Steven Gerrard had reinvented himself in deeper role, Henderson and Shelvey were two young players beginning to show their potential, Lucas Leiva was on his way to recovery and addition of Nuri Sahin gave that squad a cultured, intelligent presence.

Fast forward one year, word „midfield“ would be the answer to the question “what do you think the weakest area of current Liverpool squad is“. Injuries have almost halted Allen’s progress at Liverpool, Gerrard is looking exhausted due to age combined with amount of playing time for both club and country, Lucas is struggling to reach his highest level, Henderson is frequently used out of position to plug holes left by injuries to key players plus Shelvey and Sahin have been moved on after failing to impress Brendan Rodgers.

Given the state of Liverpool’s midfield, it was obvious that the club would begin the search for a commanding presence of genuine quality. One of the names that has recently come up in respected sports news outlets in Portugal is Serbian international Nemanja Mati?.

Profile

Full name: Nemanja Mati?

Date of birth: 1 August 1988

Place of birth: Vrelo, Serbia

Position: Defensive/central midfielder

Mati? is a composed central midfielder blessed with height (6’4’’) and strength and good technical qualities. While capable of playing in a box-to-box role, he is best used in a more withdrawn role where he can provide cover for his defence and platform for his team’s midfield and attack. His career so far has been something of a rollercoaster but one that is on the up at the moment. After playing for lower-tier Serbian clubs Kolubara and Jedinstvo Ub, virtually getting no recognition in his home country, he was snapped up by Slovakian club Košice as a 19-year old, where he featured on a regular basis, catching the eye of Chelsea scouts and earning himself a transfer to London club in 2009. That year, he also played at UEFA Euro under-21 Championship, where he was in fantastic form against his Italian counterparts but unfortunately got heavily injured in that game and had to miss next six months with broken metatarsal bone in his foot.

As it was the case with a lot of Chelsea youngsters, Mati? got loaned out to Dutch club Vitesse in the summer of 2010, where he impressed. However, in January 2011, Benfica demanded that Mati? be transferred to them as a part of the deal that saw David Luiz move to Stamford Bridge. He soon worked his way into Benfica’s starting eleven and became an integral part of it after Axel Witsel was sold to Zenit St. Petersburg. Season 2012/13 was the one when he made everyone pay attention to him with series of excellent performances at the heart of Benfica’s midfield in a highly promising campaign that ended unfortunately for Benfica, with them surrendering league title and losing two cup finals in space of last two weeks of that season. However, Mati?’s contributions to their season were promptly recognised as he was named league’s Player of the Year, having already been awarded a new contract that would keep him at Estádio da Luz until 2018. The player himself, however, refused to confirm that he would fulfill his contract, alerting a few household names such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Liverpool.

Strengths

Of his qualities, his physique is the easiest one to notice. Blessed with a frame more suited to European no. 2 in basketball than to a football player, he rarely gets pushed off the ball and has huge advantage in aerial challenges. Owing to the fact that he has played as a more advanced midfielder in his youth, his nimble feet and technique are other great assets of his, as he has duly demonstrated in Benfica team that favours technically gifted players. However, his biggest qualities actually lie in his mind. He is a disciplined and composed player who will do everything to keep the ball in his team’s possession even under severe physical pressure, an aspect of game in which he is uncannily reminiscent of former Kop hero, Xabi Alonso. Mati?’s football intelligence also stands out – he will rarely be seen making a wrong pass or playing a bad one in haste. While his passing range is nowhere near Alonso’s or Gerrard’s, he will sometimes venture forward into a position from which he can release a teammate with a clever through ball or a flick from his stronger, left foot. He also chips in with a decent amount of goals for a player of his role, with the most notable being his already classic volley against arch-rivals Porto.

Weaknesses

While by no means a dirty player, Mati? can be overzealous in physical challenges, which leads to him getting frequently booked. His current record for Benfica stands at 24 yellow cards and 1 red card in all competitions in less than two years, while he recently got dismissed in Serbia’s game against Croatia after getting two bookings in rather quick succession. Given that he doesn’t possess great pace, he will have to work on the timing of his challenges, especially when isolated one-on-one, in order to improve on his booking record. Lastly, his buy-out clause stands at whopping 38 million pounds (45 million euros) and his contract lasts until 2018, which means that Benfica won’t let their latest prized asset go cheaply, so it is expected that this will force many suitors to look elsewhere in order to find better value for money.

Conclusion

Would Nemanja Mati? improve Liverpool’s midfield? On the evidence of last two years, it is a resounding “yes“. He would slot in at the heart of Liverpool’s midfield and enable Brendan Rodgers to field both “2-1“ and “1-2“ formations of preferred midfield trio and improve his team’s ability to take control of games, regardless of whether opposition favours physical or technical approach. Also, it would solve the problem of lack of options and lack of competition in Liverpool’s midfield and between him and Lucas, defensive midfield issue would be settled for long term. Whether Liverpool’s hierarchy can successfuly negotiate any potential deal for him under current circumstances remains to be seen.