“I wish Juan Mata played for anyone else so I could truly love him.”
That was the text I got from my friend, a Liverpool fan who obviously disdains everything Manchester United. This was after Mata lofted a perfect ball for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to slot home in United’s 1-0 win over St. Etienne in the Europa League round of 32.
It was almost the perfect way to sum up Juan Mata, who is a joy to watch on so many levels but when his career comes to an end we will look back at him at the most ultimate enigma. He’s a player with undeniable talent, a player that had a 19 goal season along with an astonishing thirty-five assists and was certainly worth the £35 million Manchester United paid for him. But since leaving Chelsea he’s never really settled in to a permanent role.
Mata is a curious player because for a player of his skill-set, he came to the Premier League at the exact right time, but also the exact wrong time. Had Mata come to the league 15 years earlier, the physicality of the league would have been too much for a player like Mata. The tradeoff as to when he arrived, is that these days no one can actually figure out what position Mata plays.
Announce Juan Mata with the squad at Wembley. @ManUtd
https://t.co/etpaaTl9Yt— ManUtdMindset (@ManUtdMindset) February 25, 2017
Fifteen years ago, nearly the entire league played a 4-4-2. Mata, not known for his defensive or holding midfield abilities, would have been placed as one of the two central midfielders that gets up and down the field with ease. I know this because no one has ever accused Paul Scholes of being a defensive midfielder, and he spent years playing the position along side more defensive minded players like Roy Keane or Michael Carrick.
However, once Mata left Chelsea, the Premier League was becoming different. Teams no longer were willing to play with just one holding midfielder. Mata joined David Moyes’ Manchester United side that played an ultra-defensive 4-4-2 with two holding midfielders and often two wingers that were on the more conservative side. That meant when Mata played, he was banished to the far right touchline which limited his effectiveness.
Under Louis van Gaal, it rarely got better with Mata forever being unable to lock down a permanent role with the team despite fantastic performances.
This is ultimately the biggest problem with Juan Mata. In the modern game, he doesn’t really have a position. He’s not a winger and he doesn’t have enough pace to really play out wide. There are many that call him a number 10 but he isn’t really one of those either. A number 10 has to be able to drop into midfield to facilitate the play, which Mata can do no problem. But a number 10 also has to be able to push up and play off the striker, which is not one of his strengths. Mata is far better in the middle of the field with two players in front of him, a position that doesn’t exactly exist anymore.
https://youtu.be/NQNh_pMh4wM
Perhaps that’s why Mata has been unable to lock down a permanent spot in the team in his 3+ years at Manchester United despite being one of the most talented players on the team. Both Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have shuttled him around the field, using him as a number 10, a wide player in a 4-3-3, or the right winger in a 4-2-3-1. Mata makes it work wherever he is, which is a testament to his ability but since none of these spots are his truly natural position, he’s been just inconsistent enough for the managers to justify dropping him.
Add that to the insane amount of depth United have at those positions and Mata isn’t seeing the field nearly enough as he should be. This problem doesn’t just affect Mata at the club level. Internationally, Mata has never really caught on with Spain for many of the same reasons, there’s just so many other players.
There is no Manchester United fan who dislikes Mata. No one will ever see his name on the team sheet and groan. But if asked to name the best XI that United could put out on the field, many will omit Mata, almost as if they forgot about him.
Imagine that, one of the most talented players at a club where the fans forget they have him because he’s in the team so infrequently. Welcome to the curious life of Juan Mata.
