Among the ideas for Milan’s midfield, the name of Mats Wieffer also appears, protagonist in the last two seasons with the Feyenoord shirt, with whom he won the Eredivisie in 2023. We will not admire him at Euro 2024 as he is one of the many Dutch players who got injured on the eve of the tournament. Let’s get to know him better in this sheet:
SAME YOUTH AS REIJNDERS
Mats was born on 16 November 1999 in Borne, a small municipality (21 thousand inhabitants) in the Twente region. The country is also the birthplace of his national teammate, striker Wout Weghorst. He shares his path in Twente’s youth team with AC Milan player Tijjani Reijnders, but unlike the Rossoneri he has never made his debut in the first team, despite the long journey.
THE UNCERTAIN BEGINNING
His physique doesn’t help him initially. At 16 he was only 165 cm tall, physically he looked 14. And physically stronger boys were chosen. Not being able to win duels based on his strength, Mats developed some qualities that would come in handy in the following years: reading the play in advance and refining his technique. His physical growth was late but sudden: at 18 the boom took him to his current height of 189 cm. Wieffer stated in an interview: “Suddenly my legs were so long that I had to get used to them, I couldn’t play football.” He reaches the second team of Twente and begins to study a plan B in case things go wrong. At 20, Wieffer enrolled in civil engineering and gave himself a time limit. Two more years of football to understand if he can have a career.
THE ESCALATION: EXCELSIOR, FEYENOORD, NATIONAL
The club doesn’t seem to aim for it, leaving it to zero at Excelsior, Rotterdam’s third most important team after Feyenoord and Sparta. Two years of gaining experience in the second division, winning promotion to the Eredivisie on the pitch in an incredible play-off against ADO Den Haag (an assist and a goal in an endless penalty lottery) in 2022. A season that earned him the call of Feyenoord with Wieffer who took the starting shirt as early as January 2023 and never let go, becoming the protagonist of the victory in the Eredivisie. In March 2023 he even received the call to the national team and since then he has become a player highly regarded by Ronald Koeman who, however, will not be able to enjoy it at Euro 2024 due to an injury that knocked him out.
THEY CALLED HIM BAMBI
During his time at Excelsior, his then teammate Robin van der Meer renamed him “Bambi” after the famous fawn protagonist of Walt Disney’s fairy tale. This is due to the gait and the frail appearance. When he arrived at Feyenoord they immediately worked on his physique, developing a plan to strengthen his muscle mass. This combined with a diet which, as admitted in an interview by Wieffer himself, was based on the intake of chicken and salmon: “I had to eat between 160 and 180 grams a day, every day, after training.”
TECHNICAL FEATURES
189 cm tall and 78 kg, Wieffer is a defensive midfielder, capable of providing important coverage to the team. Feyenoord’s “Dutch-style” midfield includes two midfielders and a more advanced player, Wieffer has always played in the midfield or possibly as a right midfielder, teaming up with Kokçu or Timber in the first season. The coexistence with the more offensive Kokçu has often led him to be the tip of the balance for the team’s balance at Feyenoord. His best quality is his flexibility: Wieffer is a modern midfielder, capable of acting as a midfielder in a two-man midfield, the box-to-box in a three-man midfield and possibly the playmaker and even the central defender. A natural right-footed player, despite not being muscular, he still has a physical structure that allows him to also excel in the aerial game. Good dribbling and ability to manage the ball, in short he is not just a breakout midfielder. And in fact the scores from last season prove it: 6 goals scored and 4 assists.
A LEADER
Mats Wieffer showed a very strong personality and mental balance to play at the highest levels. Even though he hasn’t had a career as a child prodigy up to now, Wieffer has had significant growth, with his years at Feyenoord preparing him for the big leap. Also thanks to coach Arne Slot, architect of the boom of the glorious Rotterdam club.
HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH TODAY?
There was a time when Mats Wieffer could come to Italy for a really affordable price. We are talking about the times when the midfielder played for Excelsior and there was little desire on the part of our clubs to risk, even at extremely low prices, for a player from the Dutch second division. Feyenoord, so to speak, paid him just over 500 thousand euros. His valuation today is around 25-30 million. Feyenoord has him under contract until 2027 with a salary of 210 thousand euros net per season.
PERFORMANCES AGAINST THE ITALIANS
13 April 2023, Feyenoord-Roma 1-0: “Protagonist in every sense of the match, he gets a yellow card, causes the penalty kick which is then missed by Pellegrini and comes close to getting a second yellow card several times. The goal is a pearl, instead pardoned by race director”. Rating 6.5
20 April, Roma-Feyenoord 4-1: “He acts as a real barrier, staying in the area on several occasions to help the defense when Roma attack with greater conviction. Better in the first half.” Rating 6.
18 June 2023, Holland-Italy 2-3: “Insufficient performance in both phases. In difficulty when it should contain the Italian actions and not very proactive”. Rating 5.5
26 October 2023, Feyenoord-Lazio 3-1: “He helps Timber in the setting phase, as well as giving an excellent hand in pressing on the opposing ball carriers. From one of his assists, Giemenez unlocks the match. He drops in the second half, but his performance remains very positive.” Rating 6.5
7 November 2023, Lazio-Feyenord 1-0: “Too often late, he never seems to find the time to intervene and lacks measure. He tries to make up for it by showing up in the opponent’s area, but with no luck”. Rating 5.5
15 February 2024, Feyenoord-Roma 1-1: “Decisive with his decisive flash in the last match played a year ago at De Kuip, he appears again in the shooting area but this time it doesn’t hurt. On the other hand he extends his tentacles to recycle balls “. Rating 6.5
22 February 2024, Roma-Feyenoord 1-1, 5-3 dcr: “Very positive start from the number 20 who then, as the minutes pass, suffers from the close presence of Pellegrini. Better when he raises his position, after Stengs’ exit”. Rating 6.
