Job Joël André Matip (born 8 August 1991) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a centre-back for club

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. Matip began his professional career with

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

in 2009, and was part of their teams that won the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

and DFL-Supercup in 2011. He totalled 258 competitive appearances and 23 goals before moving to Liverpool on a free transfer in 2016, where he won the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

in 2019, starting in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. He also won the

2019 UEFA Super Cup The 2019 UEFA Super Cup was the 44th edition of the UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match organised by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa Leag ...

and the

2019–20 Premier League The 2019–20 Premier League was the 28th season of the Premier League, the top English professional football league, since its establishment in 1992, and the 121st season of top-flight English football overall. The season started on 9 August 2 ...

. Born and raised in Germany, Matip represented

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

at international level. He played for them at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

s of 2010 and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, before announcing his international retirement in 2015.

Club career

Early career

Matip began his career with SC Weitmar 45 before joining

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seasons in the Bundeslig ...

in 1997. After three years in VfL Bochum's youth teams, Matip was scouted by

in July 2000.

Schalke 04

Matip made his debut on 27 October 2009 in a

Regionalliga West The Regionalliga West is a German semi-professional football division administered by the Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. Being the single flight of the Western ...

match against

1. FC Saarbrücken 1. FC Saarbrücken (german: 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken e. V.) is a football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. The club began its existence as the football de ...

. He made his

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

debut for Schalke on 7 November 2009 against Bayern Munich, in which he scored the game-tying goal and was subsequently named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

. After his successful introduction to the first team, Matip remained a regular starter for Schalke in defensive midfield for the remainder of the 2009–10 season, scoring two further goals against 1. FC Köln and

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

. On 2 March 2010, Matip signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Schalke 04. In the 2010–11 season, Matip made his

debut as Schalke reached the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in the club's history. On 5 April 2011, he scored his first Champions League goal in Schalke's 5–2 quarter final win against title holders

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums i ...

. On 21 May 2011, Matip appeared as a 72nd-minute substitute in Schalke's 5–0

2011 DFB-Pokal Final The 2010–11 DFB-Pokal season came to a close on 21 May 2011 when Duisburg played against Schalke 04 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. For the first time since 2004, a team from the 2. Bundesliga reached the final. Schalke 04 won the cup for the ...

win over

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jerseys, the club was on ...

at the

Olympiastadion Olympiastadion is the German, Finnish and Swedish word for Olympic Stadium and may refer to: * Stockholm Olympic Stadium, the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics (though mostly referred as simply ''Stockholms Stadion'') * Olympiastadion (Berlin), the ...

. On 23 February 2013, Matip scored both goals as Schalke recorded an important 2–1 victory over

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

, securing the club's second win in 12 games.

Liverpool

2016–17 season

On 15 February 2016, Matip announced signing a four-year pre-contract agreement to join

on a free transfer, following the expiration of his contract with Schalke. He made his debut for Liverpool on 23 August 2016 in a 5–0 win against

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...

in the

2016–17 EFL Cup The 2016–17 EFL Cup was the 57th season of the EFL Cup, formerly known as the Football League Cup, featuring all 92 clubs from the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL). It began on the week commencing 8 August 2016 and concluded w ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–2 Premier League win over

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

at Selhurst Park on 29 October. Matip was voted as Liverpool's Player of the Month for his performances in November. Matip was withdrawn from the fixture against Manchester United on 15 January 2017, as Liverpool were yet to get full clarity from FIFA over his eligibility, and also as a result of the Cameroon Football Federation failing to confirm that Matip could therefore play club football during the

2017 Africa Cup of Nations The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2017 or CAN 2017), known as the Total 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champions ...

. Overall, Matip was considered as a key player to improving Liverpool's defence, which had received extreme criticism prior to the season, during the 2016–17 season.

2017–2019

On 1 October 2017, Matip was criticised for his poor performance against Newcastle United, being deemed at fault for Newcastle's goal. On 4 November, Matip scored his first goal of the 2017–18 season, scoring in a 4–1 win over

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

at the

London Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is located ...

. On 27 January 2018, Matip scored an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

in a 3–2 home defeat to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

in the fourth round of the

2017–18 FA Cup The 2017–18 FA Cup (also known as the FA Challenge Cup) was the 137th edition of the oldest recognised football tournament in the world. It was sponsored by Emirates, and known as The Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. 737 clubs were accep ...

. On 31 March, during the match against Crystal Palace, Matip suffered a thigh injury. On 3 April, Liverpool announced that he would have to undergo surgery to fix it, and that he will miss the rest of the season. Matip suffered another muscle injury in July 2018 during a tour of the United States, but recovered to be named an unused substitute in a 2–0 away win over Crystal Palace on 20 August. On 13 December, Matip suffered a broken collarbone after the 1–0 win against

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. The injury saw him miss another six weeks of the season. Despite the showing of interest by new Fulham manager

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in ...

, Matip remained at Liverpool for the rest of the season, establishing himself in the starting eleven. On 1 June 2019, Matip assisted

Divock Origi Divock Okoth Origi (born 18 April 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club AC Milan and the Belgium national team. Origi began his career at Lille, and scored on his professional debut for them in 2013. A ...

's goal in the 87th minute of the 2019 Champions League final, which saw Liverpool defeat

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

2–0 to win the title.

2019–20 season

On 4 August 2019, Matip scored Liverpool's goal in the

2019 FA Community Shield The 2019 FA Community Shield (also known as The FA Community Shield supported by McDonald's for sponsorship reasons) was the 97th FA Community Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and ...

. Liverpool lost the game 5–4 on penalties. He scored his first goal of the Premier League season on 24 August, opening the scoring in a 3–1 home win over Arsenal. On 18 October 2019, he signed a new contract with Liverpool until June 2024. His 2019–20season was plagued by injuries, and Joe Gomez quickly took his place as

Jürgen Klopp Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world. Klopp spent most of his playing ...

's preferred centre-back to partner

Virgil van Dijk Virgil van Dijk (born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Considered one of the best defenders in the world, Van Dijk is known for his strength, lea ...

. His first injury occurred in a Premier League match on 20 October 2019 against rivals Manchester United. He returned in late January 2020, making just one league start before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was injured again on 21 June 2020 during a

Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is the association football, football matches between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it ...

against Everton, with the club later revealing he would not be able to feature for the rest of the season.

2020–2022

On 28 January 2021, Matip was substituted at half-time against Tottenham Hotspur, and it was revealed that he suffered ankle ligament injury and would miss the remainder of the 2020–21 season. On 23 February 2022, Matip scored his first goal of the 2021–22 season in a 6–0 win against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

. He was named

Premier League Player of the Month The Premier League Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 10 ...

for February on 11 March.

2022–23 season

On 13 September 2022, Matip scored his first Champions League goal for Liverpool with a late header in a 2–1 win against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

in the 2022–23 Champions League.

International career

Matip was called up on 23 December 2009 by

for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations but he later declined to take part in the tournament. On 2 March 2010, aged 18, Matip opted to play his international football for Cameroon, after meeting up with the national team ahead of a friendly against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on 3 March 2010. He made his first appearance in the match against Italy and went on to play in the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

for Cameroon. He was also part of the Cameroon squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup where he played twice and scored against the host team

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, the team's only goal of the tournament. In January 2017, Matip was selected for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations but rejected the call-up. It was later revealed that Matip retired from the national team when he was still at Schalke, but had not followed FIFA procedure by informing the Cameroonian Football Association via letter. While the confusion was cleared up by FIFA, Matip could not play for Liverpool. He subsequently missed a Premier League tie against Manchester United and an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

third round match against Plymouth Argyle. Matip cited his reason for his retirement was his unhappiness with the national team set up and his bad experience with the coaching staff.

Style of play

Strong and clever, Matip is known for his ability to dribble up the pitch to create momentum and was sometimes lauded as one of the best defenders in the world in his prime.

Personal life

Matip was born in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, to a German mother and former Cameroonian footballer Jean Matip. He is the brother of the fellow Cameroon international Marvin Matip and is a cousin of Joseph-Désiré Job. He attended the Gesamtschule Berger Feld. He married long-term partner Larissa Stollenwerk in the aftermath of Liverpool's 2020 Premier League title, and in June 2021 they welcomed their first child, a son.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Cameroon score listed first, score column indicates score after each Matip goal''

Honours

Schalke 04 *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

* DFL-Supercup: 2011 Liverpool *

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

: 2019–20 *

: 2021–22 * EFL Cup: 2021–22 * FA Community Shield:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

: 2018–19; runner-up: 2021–22 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Individual * PFA Player of the Month: September 2019 *

: February 2022 *

CAF Team of the Year The CAF Team of the Year is an annual football award given by the Confederation of African Football during the CAF Awards. In 2007, the CAF did not choose the team of the year, but rather the best ten players of the last fifty years. The ten pla ...

: 2019

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matip, Joel 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Bochum Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia Cameroonian footballers German footballers Association football defenders FC Schalke 04 players FC Schalke 04 II players Liverpool F.C. players Regionalliga players Bundesliga players Premier League players FA Cup Final players UEFA Champions League winning players Cameroon international footballers 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Cameroonian expatriate footballers German expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in England German expatriate sportspeople in England People educated at the Gesamtschule Berger Feld Citizens of Cameroon through descent Cameroonian people of German descent German people of Cameroonian descent Sportspeople of Cameroonian descent