The Amazing Johan Manzambi
Nestled in the south-west corner of Germany, Freiburg SC have a unique proximity to two of Europe's most prominent footballing and talent-developing nations: France and Switzerland. The city of Freiburg im Breisgau - tucked between the snaking Rhine river and the western fringe of the Black Forest - is within driving distance of numerous major urban areas, including Strasbourg, Colmar, Basel, Bern and Zürich.
As such, unsurprisingly, the Swiss are the most represented foreign nationality in Freiburg history, amassing near 500 appearances in total. Their alumni includes former Bayern midfielder Alain Sutter; Roman Bürki, who went on to play six season at Borussia Dortmund; and senior internationals Amir Mehmedi and Gelson Fernandes. But, in time, Freiburg's latest Swiss star will likely prove their best.
Signed from Geneva-based Servette as a 17-year-old in 2023, Johan Manzambi has worked his way from the Freiburg II team - competing in the third division, then fourth, a couple of years ago - to breaking through as a first-teamer in the back end last season. Turning 20 years old last October, he has flourished into one of the Bundesliga's breakout talents during the current campaign and made an immediate impression in the senior Swiss national team as well, practically skipping the U-21 side altogether. His pathway has been peppered with eye-catching moments, not least a handful of exceptional goals and outstanding individual performances. The Swiss' stock is rising extremely quickly, and for very good reason.
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I have a penchant for a 'proper midfielder'. By 'proper midfielder', I mean a midfielder who can do everything - and Johan Manzambi can do everything. He doesn't specialise in a couple of skills, need a certain role, require a particular teammate or a specific system to facilitate his game: instead, he has a broad and dynamic repertoire of attributes that enable him to function in different spaces and contribute to every phase of play.
One non-negotiable criteria for a 'proper midfielder' is probably the simplest, yet most underappreciated: running. Manzambi is an impressive athlete. He moves with an obvious grace yet has the power, speed and intensity to put in the hard yards over short, medium and long distances. His physique is lean and flexible, his legs stretch into stride quickly, he's able to bounce through contact. He is very quick to shift through the gears when he gets going, too, bursting off the back foot, and does so with a distinct smoothness.
If I had to pinpoint the specialist skill of the Manzambi set, it's his ability to move with the ball. He has the qualities to make defenders miss in tight spaces and drive play forward over big distances. His smooth speed is a significant advantage when it comes to carrying the ball, but he also has the technical talent and awareness to manipulate the ball deftly - mainly using his right foot - and slink his way through congested areas to power out the other side. Manzambi coordinates all of those little attributes to impressive effect.
But his game isn't dominated nor restricted by this tendency to carry the ball, as it often is for others. Some outstanding ball-carriers struggle to adapt to different situations, but Manzambi isn't among them. I particularly like his big-picture awareness. He's great at opening with his first touch to access forward angles - owing to his coordination of athleticism, technical talent plus switched-on scanning - and he's quick to play the pass to find the free man. He spreads play with crisp sideways passes and has an incisive edge to jab balls through lines into moving teammates.
Not only does Manzambi contribute to multiple phases, he sequences them together. His tackles lead to dribbles, then carries, then passes that lead to shots; by the end of such a sequence, he's moved deep possession all the way up the pitch, often on his own. One specific instance from a UEFA Europa League match against FC Utrecht plays in my head over and over again: with Utrecht breaking forward, Manzambi recovers into his own third and extends a stretchy leg to hook the ball out. He gets up, nutmegs a defender with his right foot, then slams a pass into a teammate with his left. He bursts forward in the same movement, leaving his tracker in the dust, and breaks beyond a high defensive line. An overhit pass forces him to swing wide to retrieve the ball on the left wing, yet he gets his eyes up swiftly and finds a crisp killer pass to a runner which generates a goalscoring chance. Manzambi flipped the pitch, from tackle to shot, and everything in-between he facilitated in the space of 15 seconds.
Those stretchy legs are a feature of his ability as a defender. Above all else, they allow him to cover big distances without the ball to ensure he recovers position, chases down in transition and tracks runners. They're also extremely advantageous when hassling and tackling: his length naturally shuts down angles for those in possession and he's able to impact the ball from unusual angles and distances in challenges, be it lunging into a tackle or stepping across to seal.
Manzambi has enamoured me, and cemented his status as a 'proper midfielder', with one final element - goal threat. His propensity to crack shots off from the edge of the box, and arrive onto crosses and cutbacks inside the penalty area, makes him a constant danger. He's not content with hanging around the edges; he hits spaces with timing and intent, and has the pure ball-striking ability to score from all kinds of distances and angles. He even has a knack of getting his head to crosses, especially from set-pieces. His dozen goals in 39 first-team appearances for Freiburg is a very decent return - and there's plenty of scope for him to add more.
As soon as I saw Johan Manzambi, I knew I was watching a premium talent. I love his all-phase skillset, but he moves with a style, swagger, and purpose that's a little harder to quantify but just fits at the elite level. It's easy to see how his entire profile - the box-to-box athleticism, slinky ball-carrying, big-picture awareness, defensive effort, and more - can and will scale up to a team competing for the biggest prizes.
Premier League, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, LaLiga - take your pick. Manzambi's next step will be at the biggest and best. Freiburg have plucked their most precious gem yet from Switzerland, and they'll get their just reward in the World Cup summer to come.
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