Mathieu to shore up Barcelona defence
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
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It has been five years since FC Barcelona signed a centre-back, but with the arrival of Jérémy Mathieu, the hope is that a troublesome gap has finally been filled.
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Jérémy Mathieu, capped twice by France, has joined FC Barcelona from Valencia CF in a reported €20m deal.
The former Toulouse FC defender becomes the club's fifth signing of the summer under new coach Luis Enrique following the arrivals of Marc-André ter Stegen (VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ivan Rakitić (Sevilla FC), Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad de Fútbol) and Luis Suárez (Liverpool FC).
It has been five years since Barcelona last signed a centre-back – Dmytro Chyrgrynskiy from FC Shakhtar Donetsk – and in the meantime the position has thrown up several difficulties for the Catalan outfit. Midfielders Javier Mascherano, Sergio Busquets and Alex Song all played there last season, while full-back Adriano has also stepped in to fill the void on a number of occasions.
It is understood that upon joining the club Luis Enrique made a centre-back one of his top priorities, and he will be hoping new arrival Mathieu can hit the ground running.
The 30-year-old, who has signed a contract until 2018 with the option of a further season, made 176 appearances over five seasons for Valencia and will bring experience to a back line that has recently lost club captain Carles Puyol, who retired in May. Mathieu also has significant European pedigree, having featured in the UEFA Champions League for the east-coast side and played a starring role as they reached the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League semi-finals.
"He's displaying the best form of his career and the best form of any defender in the Spanish Liga right now," former Valencia coach Juan Antonio Pizzi said of Mathieu in May.
Standing at 1.92m tall, Mathieu is known for his aerial prowess in both boxes, scoring four goals last season. Previously a left-back, Mathieu shifted to a central role following his move to Spain in 2009. His comfort and ability in both positions will be a substantial asset to the Blaugrana.
Perhaps surprisingly, he has been capped just twice by Les Bleus, most recently in June 2013 against Brazil, when Didier Deschamps deployed him as a left-back – his position throughout the early part of his career. The former Under-21 international started out with FC Sochaux-Montbéliard in 2002, for whom he played 97 times. In 2005, he switched to Toulouse.
Following his presentation on Thursday, Mathieu will join up with his team-mates as Barcelona prepare to begin a new era under the stewardship of Luis Enrique.