Welcome to the «Returning Players» series of Last Word on Football. In this issue, we take a look at Nemanja Matic.
Matic made his way to Slovak team MFK Kosice as an attacking midfielder in 2007 before signing for Chelsea for £ 1.5 million in 2009. He would go on to make 154 appearances for the Blues, but failed to gain attention in his first stint at the club.
Returning Players – Nemanja Matic
First spell on Chelsea
Matic was brought to Chelsea by Carlo Ancelotti, but the Italian used him sparingly. He arrived with an injury from the European Under-21 Championship and struggled to convince Ancelotti that he was worth playing afterwards.
The Serbian made his debut against Wolves, coming in as a substitute in the 69th minute in a game Chelsea won 4-0 in November 2009. He failed to achieve the impact Ancelotti wanted, and would play just one more time that season.
Teams in which Matic played in the middle
Chelsea decided it was best if the then 22-year-old was loaned out to Dutch Vitesse Arnheim in August 2010. Having played regularly in the Netherlands, Ancelotti still seemed to have no plans for the midfielder.
Portuguese giants Benfica saw something in Matic that Ancelotti did not see and brought him to Lisbon as part of an exchange that saw David Luiz heading to Stamford Bridge in January 2011.
Jorge Jesús initially selected Matic to play as a central or offensive midfielder, since until then he had only played there. He didn’t have much of an impact on the club, often sitting on the bench behind Javi Garcia.
When Benfica sold Garcia to Manchester City and Axel Witsel to Zenit St. Petersburg in the summer of 2012, a new containment midfielder was needed in the squad. Instead of signing a new player, Jesús handed this role over to Matic.
This was the turning point in the midfielder’s career as he began to show his true class in his new position. The combative and consistent defensive midfielder we know today began to develop at Benfica.
After impressing the club and slowly becoming one of the key players at the Sport Lisboa Stadium, Matic faced Chelsea in the 2013 Europa League final. A late header from Branislav Ivanovic saw his former team win 2-1, but he had been Benfica’s best player at night in the eyes of many.
Soon after, Matic received the First Liga Player of the Year award. José Mourinho then returned to London and had set his sights on bringing Matic back to Stamford Bridge.
In January 2014, he returned to his old team to bring Chelsea their first Premier League title since the year he left the club.
Return to Chelsea
Matic had a full debut to remember against future champions Manchester City. He instantly made his € 25 million transfer fee look like a bargain, putting on an imposing performance in a 1-0 ‘Mourinho Masterclass’ win at the Etihad.
The newest member of Chelsea’s backbone showed everything he will soon bring to Chelsea during this game, showing off tactical nous and physical power to nullify City’s world-class attack, in a game that saw him hit the crossbar with venomous effort. from 30 yards.
Leaving out players like John Obi Mikel and Ramires, Matic would soon create a partnership with summer signing Cesc Fabregas, who saw Chelsea develop a midfield with all the characteristics Mourinho wanted. The pair became untouchable in the starting lineup, as Matic’s attributes as a driving force in midfield complemented Fabregas’s playing capabilities from deep.
The pair led Chelsea to a dominant victory for the Premier League title in 2015, earning Matic a spot on the PFA Team of the Year. His team faltered the following season, leading to José Mourinho being fired, which also saw the beginning of the end of his association with Fabregas.
Matic remained an important player for Gus Hiddink and for Mourinho’s permanent successor, Antonio Conte. Matic was once again a key part of a team that won the Premier League title. This time he was seamlessly matching defense and attack with N’golo Kante in Conte’s new 3-4-3 Chelsea.
Having been such a key part of Chelsea’s recent success, the board decided it was time to cash in on the Serbian international in 2017. The club received a fee believed to be around £ 40 million from Manchester United for the 28-year-old. .
Matic met former coach José Mourinho at United. The defensive midfielder played a similar role with United as he had with Mourinho’s Chelsea, creating a complementary partnership with United safety playmaker Paul Pogba. He remains with the Red Devils and still contributes to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
He ended his time in London with seven goals and 19 assists in 154 appearances. The Serbian won an FA Cup in his first season alongside two Premier League titles.
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