Matheus Cunha- Joining Wolves in January

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Matheus Cunha- Joining Wolves in January

Post by Cjay »

From Sky Sports Germany
24 games worth of minutes this season for Bundesliga strugglers Hertha BSC and 7 goals and 6 assists.

Overall his Bundesliga record is quite impressive, 44 games worth of minutes,14 goals and 10 assists.

Has played in the Europa league also.

Only 21 years old.

Versatile forward, can play as a number 9, as a 10 or as a left winger.

https://totalfootballanalysis.com/playe ... is-tactics

https://totalfootballanalysis.com/artic ... is-tactics
Last edited by Cjay on Tue Dec 20, 2022 3:34 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by Carrick Dave »

Plus he’s Brazilian, so he might be good to have about for Raphinha too, particularly if Costa leaves.

Lots of European interest apparently but €30m is a lot of penny bubblies.
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by Smudge3920 »

Certainly looks the part, some cracking goals there... and it is always nice to have a couple of attacking Brazilians in the team... 32 mill? be nice if they could shave some of that off but hey....21 years old , very tempting ...
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by SG90 »

Would be class, but expensive and where would he play exactly?
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by Cjay »

SG90 wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 8:05 pm Would be class, but expensive and where would he play exactly?
Seems he can play left wing.

Can also play at an attacking midfielder or a number 9.

Would give versatility and us options?
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by SG90 »

Cjay wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 8:45 pm Seems he can play left wing.

Can also play at an attacking midfielder or a number 9.

Would give versatility and us options?
But we're spending £11m on Harrison. I don't see who'd be dropped in his favour.
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by Cjay »

SG90 wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 8:48 pm But we're spending £11m on Harrison. I don't see who'd be dropped in his favour.
Harrison to become a bench player?

He can play cm to so could be in for Dallas or Klich?

Either way it adds depth at least
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by justaname »

Hello from Berlin...

Do you have any questions about what kind of player he is or what his time at Hertha has been like?
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by Smudge3920 »

justaname wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 9:13 pm Hello from Berlin...

Do you have any questions about what kind of player he is or what his time at Hertha has been like?
yep spill everything :) ....and welcome
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by SG90 »

Cjay wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 8:52 pm Harrison to become a bench player?

He can play cm to so could be in for Dallas or Klich?

Either way it adds depth at least
Didn't know he could play as an 8.
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by justaname »

Smudge3920 wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 9:15 pm yep spill everything :) ....and welcome
That could be a long post then :)

So yeah, he's mostly played as a left winger or as a second striker for us, but he's definitely more of a free roaming player. Don't expect someone who'll hug the sideline and send in lots of crosses.

2020 really started off well for him. He was the standout player for the Selecao Olympic team, scoring 5 goals during the qualifying tournament in January. He then arrived at his new club in Berlin and continued to score one goal after another.
This is probably the part where I have to point out that Hertha has been a pretty dysfunctional team for the past 2 seasons, the typical club that gets an investor, buys a bunch of overpriced players and then flirts with relegation because the pieces don't fit.
Cunha immediately took a central role and made sure the team secured a mid-table spot. He scored 12 times in his first 21 games and I was convinced that he'd have a Firmino-like career, getting to play for the national team and then joining a bigger club.
But then something went wrong. I'm still not sure what it is. He got called up for the national team but didn't play, he was dealing with a groin injury, the team started losing way too many games, he missed a rather embarassing penalty....all these little things seemed to add up and he somehow found it increasingly difficult to find the back of the net. He's now scored a single goal in the past 17 matches.
It's not that that he's been particularly poor either. Whoscored still has him ranked as the 9th best Bundesliga player this season and he's definitely the player opposing teams have to gameplan for. But you can tell he's overthinking things, he's frustrated cause he's trying to save the season by himself and it's not working and unfortunately he's developed some Neymar-esque antics every time he gets fouled.
All this has led some fans to argue that he might be hindering the team's development and might be be better off elsewhere. I disagree, I just think he needs better players to play with and a stable environment. I'm also unsure if he actually wants out. There have been several articles linking him with other clubs but he seems to be rather happy in Berlin. His wife gave birth last year too so there's a bit of an emotional connection to the city.
As far as asking price goes Hertha is currently one of the richer teams in Germany but that of course wouldn't help if the player wants out. Anyone getting him right now might be buying low but of course that implies that his amazing run last year was the norm and not an outlier.
To make matters even more complicated Hertha is getting a new sporting director next season and they also may switch coaches. So it's a bit difficult to predict what's gonna happen.
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by Smudge3920 »

justaname wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 9:45 pm That could be a long post then :)

So yeah, he's mostly played as a left winger or as a second striker for us, but he's definitely more of a free roaming player. Don't expect someone who'll hug the sideline and send in lots of crosses.

2020 really started off well for him. He was the standout player for the Selecao Olympic team, scoring 5 goals during the qualifying tournament in January. He then arrived at his new club in Berlin and continued to score one goal after another.
This is probably the part where I have to point out that Hertha has been a pretty dysfunctional team for the past 2 seasons, the typical club that gets an investor, buys a bunch of overpriced players and then flirts with relegation because the pieces don't fit.
Cunha immediately took a central role and made sure the team secured a mid-table spot. He scored 12 times in his first 21 games and I was convinced that he'd have a Firmino-like career, getting to play for the national team and then joining a bigger club.
But then something went wrong. I'm still not sure what it is. He got called up for the national team but didn't play, he was dealing with a groin injury, the team started losing way too many games, he missed a rather embarassing penalty....all these little things seemed to add up and he somehow found it increasingly difficult to find the back of the net. He's now scored a single goal in the past 17 matches.
It's not that that he's been particularly poor either. Whoscored still has him ranked as the 9th best Bundesliga player this season and he's definitely the player opposing teams have to gameplan for. But you can tell he's overthinking things, he's frustrated cause he's trying to save the season by himself and it's not working and unfortunately he's developed some Neymar-esque antics every time he gets fouled.
All this has led some fans to argue that he might be hindering the team's development and might be be better off elsewhere. I disagree, I just think he needs better players to play with and a stable environment. I'm also unsure if he actually wants out. There have been several articles linking him with other clubs but he seems to be rather happy in Berlin. His wife gave birth last year too so there's a bit of an emotional connection to the city.
As far as asking price goes Hertha is currently one of the richer teams in Germany but that of course wouldn't help if the player wants out. Anyone getting him right now might be buying low but of course that implies that his amazing run last year was the norm and not an outlier.
To make matters even more complicated Hertha is getting a new sporting director next season and they also may switch coaches. So it's a bit difficult to predict what's gonna happen.
Thanks for that...
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by The Subhuman »

SG90 wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 8:48 pm But we're spending £11m on Harrison. I don't see who'd be dropped in his favour.
Bamford surely
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Re: Matheus Cunha

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I would rather take the other Matheus from WBA. At least he has PL experience and you sort of know what you get no?
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Re: Matheus Cunha

Post by Mountain »

Leeds recent history of buying £20 million "highly rated" former Leipzig players to replace Bamford is fairly awful...
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by Cjay »

justaname wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 9:45 pm That could be a long post then :)

So yeah, he's mostly played as a left winger or as a second striker for us, but he's definitely more of a free roaming player. Don't expect someone who'll hug the sideline and send in lots of crosses.

2020 really started off well for him. He was the standout player for the Selecao Olympic team, scoring 5 goals during the qualifying tournament in January. He then arrived at his new club in Berlin and continued to score one goal after another.
This is probably the part where I have to point out that Hertha has been a pretty dysfunctional team for the past 2 seasons, the typical club that gets an investor, buys a bunch of overpriced players and then flirts with relegation because the pieces don't fit.
Cunha immediately took a central role and made sure the team secured a mid-table spot. He scored 12 times in his first 21 games and I was convinced that he'd have a Firmino-like career, getting to play for the national team and then joining a bigger club.
But then something went wrong. I'm still not sure what it is. He got called up for the national team but didn't play, he was dealing with a groin injury, the team started losing way too many games, he missed a rather embarassing penalty....all these little things seemed to add up and he somehow found it increasingly difficult to find the back of the net. He's now scored a single goal in the past 17 matches.
It's not that that he's been particularly poor either. Whoscored still has him ranked as the 9th best Bundesliga player this season and he's definitely the player opposing teams have to gameplan for. But you can tell he's overthinking things, he's frustrated cause he's trying to save the season by himself and it's not working and unfortunately he's developed some Neymar-esque antics every time he gets fouled.
All this has led some fans to argue that he might be hindering the team's development and might be be better off elsewhere. I disagree, I just think he needs better players to play with and a stable environment. I'm also unsure if he actually wants out. There have been several articles linking him with other clubs but he seems to be rather happy in Berlin. His wife gave birth last year too so there's a bit of an emotional connection to the city.
As far as asking price goes Hertha is currently one of the richer teams in Germany but that of course wouldn't help if the player wants out. Anyone getting him right now might be buying low but of course that implies that his amazing run last year was the norm and not an outlier.
To make matters even more complicated Hertha is getting a new sporting director next season and they also may switch coaches. So it's a bit difficult to predict what's gonna happen.
Thanks for that.

What would you say his biggest strengths and weaknesses are?
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by mothbanquet »

justaname wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 9:45 pm That could be a long post then :)

*snip*
Wow, if only we could rely on journalists to be this in-depth. :roflmao:

Great post mate, and thanks for taking the time to give such a thorough analysis. Very interesting regarding his mindset but he is still young and has the rest of his career ahead of him. Maybe Bielsa will be just the man to give him focus and take his abilities to the next level?
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Re: Matheus Cunha

Post by Carrick Dave »

Cunha actually sounds like an ideal Bielsa project - I read somewhere that Pereira isn’t big on doing the dirty defensive work so I don’t know if he’d fit in too well at Leeds.

Great post justaname.

IBWT.
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

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Cjay wrote: Wed May 19, 2021 10:13 am What would you say his biggest strengths and weaknesses are?
He's a decent dribbler, likes to get the ball early and then beat his man to create dangerous situations. He's often trying to find someone for a quick one-two but he prefers taking the shot to providing an assist. A lot of his goals have come from shots around the edge of the penalty box, that seems to be his sweet spot.
His work rate is decent but he commits too many silly fouls. He's already had 9 yellow cards this season so he needs to work on that.
His biggest weakness seems to be his mentality. He's a true competitor but he visibly gets frustrated when things don't go his way. His body language then becomes negative and that's when you can usually expect a completely unnecessary foul or him trying to be the hero when he'd be better off involving his teammates more.
Some people believe his ceiling is "star player on a midtable team" because he wouldn't get enough touches on a bigger team. One should always keep in mind that he's still pretty young though. Some of those flaws could be worked on as he matures. And he seems to be a really good kid, so I think he'll have a good career.
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Re: Matheus Cunha.

Post by Cjay »

justaname wrote: Wed May 19, 2021 11:30 am He's a decent dribbler, likes to get the ball early and then beat his man to create dangerous situations. He's often trying to find someone for a quick one-two but he prefers taking the shot to providing an assist. A lot of his goals have come from shots around the edge of the penalty box, that seems to be his sweet spot.
His work rate is decent but he commits too many silly fouls. He's already had 9 yellow cards this season so he needs to work on that.
His biggest weakness seems to be his mentality. He's a true competitor but he visibly gets frustrated when things don't go his way. His body language then becomes negative and that's when you can usually expect a completely unnecessary foul or him trying to be the hero when he'd be better off involving his teammates more.
Some people believe his ceiling is "star player on a midtable team" because he wouldn't get enough touches on a bigger team. One should always keep in mind that he's still pretty young though. Some of those flaws could be worked on as he matures. And he seems to be a really good kid, so I think he'll have a good career.
You ever considered becoming a scout? :)

Thanks for that its nice to get a complete overview.

Sounds like he is a good prospect that needs polishing. Would be worth trying for at the right price but wouldn't want to overpay and as you said earlier your club are quite wealthy so will hold out for a good price.
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