For Juan day only, Mata is in charge of MUTV
Juan Mata: United fans’ favourite, World Cup winner, all-round nice guy, and now… MUTV producer!
Mata has included a variety of programmes, that have been influenced by his experiences as a youth at Real Madrid, and in England with Chelsea and, of course, United.
Juan’s schedule will start at 10:30 BST and run until 17:30 BST. After an hour’s break, we’ll start the whole thing over again, with the second instalment running until the early hours of Thursday morning. Find out what the midfielder has decided to watch…
Earlier this season, Juan took part in an episode of UTD Podcast and enjoyed the experience so much he wants supporters to have another chance to watch it.
“I think podcasts are nice,” he explained. “They’re becoming trendier and there are a lot of people who listen to them when on a walk, or before bed, or when they’re cooking.
“Doing mine, I really enjoyed it and they came to my dad’s restaurant Tapeo & Wine. We had a good time and we had a nice conversation about my career, about my experiences in Spain, in England, and at Manchester United.
“It was very nice because during an interview with a journalist, you speak about the last game and the next game, but this was more like a conversation; it was more like speaking with my friends or family.
“It felt very nice to go through all of my career. I think it’s a really nice experience and I’ve seen that other team-mates have done it. It’s a format that I recommend.”
We asked Juan to select a game from this season, and he opted to go for January’s Emirates FA Cup third-round replay against Wolverhampton Wanderers, when our no.8 popped up with the only goal of the match.
“In the previous game [at Molineux] it was 0-0, and, at Old Trafford, it was also close,” he reflected. “We could only score one goal and it was important for us to go through to another round in a special competition."
Mata’s inch-perfect chip in this clash was nominated for our January Goal-of-the-Month award, and the midfielder talked us through the excellent strike.
“I got the ball and had a lot of space in front of me, and I just tried to get to the goal as quick as possible, so the defenders couldn’t catch me,” Juan recollected.
“Then I tried to get my body in front of the defender so he couldn’t get to the ball, and, if he did, he might have fouled me and given away a penalty.
“I was waiting for the keeper to make a move so I could decide what to do, and he moved closer to me so I didn’t have a lot of space. In the last second, when I saw that he was close to me, I just chipped it and, luckily, it went in.
“Sometimes you chip it and it doesn’t go quick enough and the defender can get it, or it can go over the goal, but, thankfully, this time it was okay and it went in.”
ERIC CANTONA: REFLECTIONS OF AN ARTIST
Mata’s third choice was a documentary on ‘The King’ and he has already explained in greater detail about his special relationship with Eric.
CLASSIC MATCH: UNITED 4-3 REAL MADRID (2002/03)
As part of his MUTV Takeover, Juan selected a classic match from our archives, and he opted for an unforgettable European encounter against his one of his former clubs.
“I picked that game for various reasons,” he said. “I remember watching that game as a kid. I remember that Ronaldo - the Brazilian one - had an amazing game and scored a hat-trick.
“Even though he was a rival player, when he was substituted, everyone at Old Trafford clapped for him. That was amazing - I know how amazing our fans are every week and that moment shows how special our supporters are.”
Although this win meant United actually exited the competition, Juan believes the quality on show that night is more than enough reason to rewatch this epic tussle.
“I remember David Beckham scored that game - he scored a great goal but it wasn’t enough. Even though United didn’t qualify, I remember it as one of the top European games because it was between two of the biggest clubs, and it was played with an incredible group of players on the pitch who were both going for the win.
“Of course, United were pushing to qualify but, with Ronaldo, Real were making it very difficult to qualify. I’m sure United fans weren’t happy to not qualify but they appreciated the game itself.”
As a youngster, Mata came through the ranks at Real and he reflected on training with the likes of David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and, of course, Ronaldo.
“He is not just one of the best strikers to have played the game, but one of the best players overall,” Juan said.
“Also, he showed so much resilience when he had two very bad injuries in his knees in the peak of his career, and he came back and scored many goals. Without a doubt, he is one of the best players I have seen and one the best players I have trained with - I didn’t play with him, but I trained with him quite a bit.
“I’d definitely put him near the top of my list of the best players in football. In that game at Old Trafford when he scored three goals, he was just great.”
If you’re in the mood for watching goals on repeat, Juan has got you sorted. The 32-year-old’s fifth choice is every single strike from the 2012/13 season - Sir Alex Ferguson’s last year in charge at Old Trafford.
“I’m going to choose the campaign 2012/13 for very obvious reasons,” he explained. “It was a campaign that Manchester United won the Premier League. It was a campaign when a few United players were absolutely outstanding, like Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick - I think he had one of his best seasons that year.
“On a personal level, it was a very good season for me. I was at Chelsea and scored a few goals in the Premier League and we ended up winning the Europa League. It was a very good season for Manchester United and many of the players were in the Team of the Season, so I thought it was a good idea to combine them both.”
To finish things off, the Spaniard has decided to merge his experiences from United and Real together, by watching Ruud van Nistelrooy during his pomp.
Our former no.10 netted 150 times during his stint as a Red, but Juan has opted to watch all of Ruud’s goals based on a memorable trip to Ukraine.
“I went for Ruud because I don’t think I have watched all his goals, and he scored many,” said Juan. “He was an incredible striker and I think he scored all bar one of his United goals inside the box, which shows that he was just a pure striker.
“I also had a great experience with him when I was on a trip to Ukraine [with Real Madrid]. Ruud was on that trip and I remember on the flight to Kiev I was sitting next to him and he started to speak to me, asking me what was my name, how old I was and what I wanted to achieve in my career.
“I remember him being very humble and nice, and he gave me motivation and confidence. It was very nice to see a player of his calibre speaking to me, a kid at the time, and speaking to me in a nice manner. That’s why I also want to pick his goals.”
Juan also revealed what was his favourite van Nistelrooy goal for United: “There was one when he takes the ball just in the middle of the pitch and dribbles past about five players. It was Fulham.
“I don’t think it’s easy to be better at finishing than Ruud van Nistelrooy,” he added. “It wasn’t just his accuracy, but he was powerful. He used to finish like a storm, so the goalkeeper didn’t have a chance.”
MUTV CHOICES IN FULL:
10:30 & 18:30- UTD PODCAST: JUAN MATA
11:30 & 19:30- 2019/20 MATCH: UNITED 1 WOLVES 0
13:30 & 22:00- ERIC CANTONA: REFLECTIONS OF AN ARTIST
14:30 & 23:00- CLASSIC MATCH: UNITED 4-3 REAL MADRID (2002/03)
16:15 & 00:45- 2000 PL GOALS: 2012/13
16:30 & 01:00- ALL THE GOAL: VAN NISTELROOY