Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is one of the central stories of a Champions League match between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
You are not alone if you are wondering how on earth it has happened. But maybe we should not be as surprised.
In the UK, we are often obliged to see the Premier League as the best and final, while we almost discount other leagues and competitions just because they are not as accessible to us as the English top flight.
Some of the biggest matches in football, decided by some of the most unexpected players …
Welcome to the list, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
– 90min (@ 90min_Football) 13 August 2020
Thus, Choupo-Moting must be defined as ‘that guy who played for Stoke’, while his time in England was in reality a rather insignificant stopping difference in an otherwise enviable career.
Before joining the Potters on a free transfer in 2017, he was seen as a consistent striker in the Bundesliga. He started in Hamburg and started his career by moving to Mainz in 2011, where he created a relationship with Thomas Tuchel who would later return to pay dividends.
He promoted his reputation by moving to Schalke in 2014 and a hat trick from Stuttgart set the tone for two strong seasons. He was a player who was truly feared throughout his time in Germany, known as much for his powerful dribbling in wide positions as his clinical finishing ability.
Choupo-Moting beats Marco Reus to a nod Stefan Matzke – sampics / Getty Images
An injury-ravaged 2016/17 season prompted him to seek a fresh start, and always keen to broaden his horizons and try something new, he was persuaded by Mark Hughes to join Stoke – a move he does not regret despite the way it ended. .
“I love languages and like to gain experience abroad, and I have always wanted to play in the Premier League,” he said, quoted by Stoke-on-Trent Live. “The year there was a lot of fun – although unfortunately we were relegated in a bitter way.”
His only season with Stoke turned out to be chaotic. Two of his five goals for the club came in a 2-2 draw with Manchester United, but some early promises gave way to a disastrous form run during the second half of the season.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting starts so that the Stoke squad relegated from the Premier League 2017-18 had players who played in the Champions League quarterfinals and / or semifinals 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2021. https://t.co/OrbcqAVKQC
– Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) April 7, 2021
Mark Hughes was sacked after an FA defeat to Coventry City, and they went 13 games without a win between January and May.
Net result: relocation.
Choupo-Moting had been a first team regular throughout his only season in England, but despite his contract running until 2020, he did not want to hang out to play in the championship.
So when he got the chance to reunite with Tuchel, who had just taken the reins in Paris Saint-Germain, he did not take much convincing.
Choupo-Moting celebrates winning the French Cup with Thomas Tuchel | Jean Catuffe / Getty Images
Stoke were in a mess both on and off the pitch and were just content to get their salaries out of the book. However, Tuchel set up a dirt-cheap deal for a player he knew he could trust – Choupo-Moting had scored 20 goals in 74 games after taking him to Mainz.
He knew he would never be a starter in a Paris side that boasted an obscene amount of talent. Tuchel had Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani at his disposal, but Choupo-Moting was still a regular in the squad and a regular from the bench.
He was a much more important part of Tuchel’s first two seasons in France than you might think. His winner in stoppage time from the bench against Atalanta sent PSG into the Champions League semi-final, and he finished with nine goals and three assists; a goal mix for every 171 minutes he played with the Ligue 1 champions.
His role was not fashionable but it was functional, and soon another superpower would end up at his door. Now 31, he had experienced everything in football: he had scored goals in three different countries, he had played an extensive amount of European and international football, and he was just the player Bayern needed to provide protection for Robert Lewandowski.
And so he earned the fifth permanent transfer of his career … all without a fee changing hands.
Since joining Bayern, Choupo-Moting has proven its worth. He has played into Hansi Flick’s plans in the absence of Robert Lewandowski and continues to emerge with important goals: he only scored against his former side in the first stage of the quarterfinals.
All that is planned this season, Choupo-Moting will take his hands on a league title for the third season in a row, while he may well become European Champion when the campaign is out.
He is also the best player ever whose name fits perfectly in the theme of the tune Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Probably.
Not too bad for a Stoke City refusal.
