Super subs come in the form of all different types of players. The traditional goal-scoring, striker sub. A play building, maestro of the midfield. A veteran that’s been relegated to a smaller role or a youngster looking to make his mark.

You can view the other installments of our series looking at Super Subs from the 2014 World Cup here.

When you’re a £28,510,000 ($44,000,000)1 transfer to storied Manchester United, you’re not expected to come off the bench for your national team. That’s just the spot that Marouane Fellaini is in after Belgium’s first 2014 World Cup match.

After starring for five years (2008-2013) with Everton in the Barclay’s Premier League, including 177 appearances, 33 goals and 26 assists, the imposing midfielder jumped to Man U and saw his star begin to fade. Fellaini only earned 21 caps to go with zero goals and four assists; to go with a horrid showing in the UEFA Champions League.2

The 6’4″ attacking mids’ play for his club resulted in a spot on the bench for his country. Belgium has an extremely talented set of midfielders on the squad and Fellaini’s spot on the first-team was given to Moussa Dembélé… for the time being.

Down 1-0 beginning in the 24th minute, Belgium Head Coach Marc Wilmots used his final substitute for the match by bringing Fellaini in for Dembélé in the 65th minute. As has been par for the course for so many subs this World Cup, Fellaini proved to be the difference maker just minutes after hitting the pitch.

Though Fellaini came in as an attacking midfielder, he played from touch line to box and took hold of the target man responsiblities for fellow sub, Divock Origi. On this play, that looks strangely like a free kick but came from normal play, Fellaini got one-on-one with Algerian center back Rafik Halliche, and simply directed the cross from Kevin De Bruyne into the back of the net for the equalizer goal.

Despite having two more scoring chances, the offensive side of the ball was not the only contributions that Fellaini brought with his appearance. As mentioned, he was playing a very forward position on attack but was also tracking back on defense well, especially after tying the game. Here is one such example.

Completing a fantastic game from Belgium’s substitutes, Dries Mertens gave the Red Devils the lead by a score of 2-1. Fellaini didn’t fall completely back into the defensive back field after taking the lead. In the 83rd minute, Fellaini almost recorded his second goal of the game on another header, but this time he was turned away by Algerian goalkeeper Rais M’Bolhi.

While the above chance is another great example of Fellaini’s strength, physicality and positioning; the GIF below shows him making a well timed run to let Origi find him in the box. If the first touch is a bit more controlled then Fellaini has a quality chance at net.

Three chances to score, converting once, and contributing on the defensive side with well-timed tackles and interceptions is exactly what a super sub should be doing in limited minutes. It took Fellaini just five minutes on the field to notch his first marker of the game and recorded two more chances in a five minute period late in the game.

This type of form is what Louis Van Gaal will hope that Fellaini brings back with him from Brazil as a first-team player for Manchester United and what Wilmots will hope he can bring to every second half that he finds himself in.