Nelson Weiper: Is the Mainz youngster the leader of a new German generation? – scout report

A homegrown player from 1. FSV Mainz 05 was able to get a taste of the Bundesliga for the first time this weekend: centre-forward Nelson Weiper came on as a substitute in the 86th minute against SC Freiburg. Despite the 2-1 away defeat, it remains a historic day in the 17-year-olds young career and one that coach Bo Svensson may well be counting on more often in the future.

Nelson Weiper played his first game on the eighth matchday of the 2022/23 season (1st October 2022), for 1. FSV Mainz 05. The team lost to SC Freiburg 1-2. He was substituted in and played as a midfielder for a total of four minutes in this game. In terms of total touches, the 192 cm-tall forward had one individual ball possession. Furthermore, he had two tackle challenges in this match. Weiper covered a distance of 1 km during his total playing time in this game. In doing so, the player, with shirt number 44, had a total of five sprints.

This tactical analysis provides an in-depth scout report of 1. FSV Mainz 05’s Nelson Weiper, and examines the 17-year-old’s playing style and characteristics. In addition to understanding how and where Weiper plays, this analysis will also identify the style of tactics where he is most likely to thrive. Is he the next player to make his way into professional football under Bo Svensson?

Player Profile

Nelson Weiper is a product of 1. FSV Mainz 05 youth academy. He has been in phenomenal form last season. He scored 19 goals in 17 games for Mainz youth teams and 10 goals in just 11 games for Germany U-17. He is considered to be one of the leaders of an extremely interesting generation of German players born in 2005 which includes, among others, Arijon Ibrahimovic, Sidney Raebiger, Tom Bischof, Paul Wanner, Dženan Pejčinović, Laurin Ulrich, and Noel Aseko Nkili. Nelson’s brother Henrik is also a footballer – he plays for Kickers Offenbach and represents Albania at the U-19 level.

Weiper is a prime example of a striker that interprets his role as a target man. The target man is a physically strong player, capable of holding on to the ball when under pressure and able to lay off passes to teammates in better positions. The target man is excellent at offensive headers, and is a good player to use in combination with classic wingers when playing long balls to play out of pressure, and when applying a direct or even one-route passing style. One example of a target man might be Sebastien Haller from Borussia Dortmund.

His heatmap shows that he is focusing on the central areas of the pitch. Here, he can create chances for himself or his teammates. He tends to drop deeper in build-up play to receive long balls. Afterwards, he can pass to his teammates on the wings to contribute to Mainz’s game.

Weiper is a tall player. Given his height of 192 cm, he has a very good body mass ratio, physical strength, power, stamina, and natural fitness. Additionally, he feels comfortable in contact situations. For a player of his size, he provides excellent pace, footwork and coordination.

Physique

Weiper possesses significant upper-body strength and knows how to use this in the game. Weiper also knows how to use his body to shield the ball from defenders thanks to his technique, strength and ball control. This is important in order to process passes from midfield. He even exudes an enormous presence in the box (6.53 touches in the box per 90).

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