Rabbi Matondo hits back at Rangers as Hannover teammates blown away by £3m misfit

The story of Rabbi Matondo’s Hannover career, since arriving on loan from Rangers in the winter transfer window, has been a tale of ‘close but not quite’.

To borrow a quote from Hannover’s official website, Rabbi Matondo enjoyed an ‘almost perfect’ debut in Germany’s second tier.

A stunning solo effort mere moments after coming off the bench looked to give the Welshman’s new side the win at home to Hamburg. That was, however, until Jean-Luc Dompe scrubbed the sheen of Rabbi Matondo’s mesmerising finish to level the scores at 2-2 before the end.

Making his first Hannover start a few days later, the Rangers loanee again stood out head and shoulders above most on the pitch. Another fine individual display still wasn’t enough, however, as Andre Breitenreiter’s team were again held to a draw, this time by Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Considering the circumstances behind his switch to the Niedersachsenstadion – Rabbi Matondo had been frozen out by Philippe Clement at Ibrox while missing much of the season through injury – Breitenreiter was wary of demanding too much too soon.

Matondo’s flying start, then, is maybe beyond the expectations of even the most optimistic Hannover supporter.

Rabbi Matondo continues to impress after leaving Rangers for Hannover

“Rabbi Matondo is a player with great quality,” smiles former Schalke coach Breitenreiter. “He did really well.”

Having not played over 80 minutes in a single game since August, Matondo’s influence understandably waned as exhaustion set in against Fortuna Dusseldorf. A point Breitenreiter was keen to make when asked why he subbed off the winger – Matondo finished second in the fans’ Man of the Match poll – just past the hour mark.

But if this is what a half-fit Matondo can do, just imagine the influence he could make with more minutes in his legs and more time on the training pitch.