The pair had “no relationship” at Chelsea but have struck up a winning bond at Manchester United ahead of their return to Stamford Bridge on Sunday
For some, the arrival of Jose Mourinho at Manchester United this summer was a sure-fire sign that Juan Mata’s days at Old Trafford were numbered. Having transformed the Spaniard from a two-time Chelsea Player of the Year into a bit-part figure begging to leave Stamford Bridge, there seemed little doubt that Mourinho’s presence would again spell bad news for Mata in Manchester.
The early signs seemed to bear out that opinion, particularly when Mata came off the bench in the Community Shield against Leicester City only to himself be replaced in the dying moments by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Mata trudged off with a face like thunder, with coach Silvino Louro doing his best to console the playmaker in the aftermath of a very public snub. While it appeared Mourinho had laid a marker down for what may be in store the manager later apologised publicly, insisting that it was a necessary evil as the Premier League champions bombarded his side in the air in a bid to fight back from 2-1 down.
Since then, though, Mata has not only remained a United player but has featured in a far greater role than many expected and is likely to start behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic once more as he returns to Chelsea with United on Sunday. Having somewhat fortuitously netted the club’s first Premier League goal under Mourinho in the opening-day win at Bournemouth, the 28-year-old has become an increasingly important figure in the Portuguese manager’s plans.
It is a far cry from the scenario which saw his playing time at Stamford Bridge vastly reduced under Mourinho to the point where only a parting of the ways could resolve the situation. At the time, the boss insisted that Oscar was a better option for his Chelsea system and Mata needed to do more to prove his worth.
“It is one thing to play with Ramires and Oscar closing down opponents on each side, and Mata as a number 10 behind a striker with his clever assists, clever passes and fantastic actions because he has great talent,” said Mourinho during those difficult months for Mata at Chelsea.
“But it is another thing to adapt to the way we want to play. In this moment, Oscar is my 10 and if anyone tells me Oscar has not been Chelsea’s best player this season I’d have to disagree. I have to prove to the fans that I am good. Now Mata must do the same.”
Yet by January he was a Manchester United player, heading for Old Trafford in a £37.5 million move which David Moyes hoped would rescue his ailing Reds side. He would later look back on his experience under Mourinho with a degree of bitterness, claiming: “For better or for worse, we had no relationship. There was no dialogue. I was not happy.”
But having spent the first two-and-a-half years of his time at United largely playing off the right side of the attack, Mata has been given far more chances to shine under Mourinho. The decline of Wayne Rooney, along with Mkhitaryan’s troublesome thigh injury, has helped pave the way for Mata to make the No.10 spot his own.
And he has revelled in the position, playing a huge role in United’s more energetic persona of the past few weeks. But for the deliberately defensive performance against Liverpool last Monday for which Mata was left on the bench, United have laid on a far higher level of football of late with the Spaniard at the heart of so much of that play.
Mourinho recently put Mata’s greater presence in his plans at United down to the former Valencia star having found his “natural habitat”, and insisted it was the player’s choice – not his – to end the relationship at Chelsea in 2014.
“First of all, I didn’t sell him. My job is not to buy and sell. My job is to coach, to work on the pitch and to advise my board about the transfer policy. Secondly, it was Juan that asked to leave and when a player asks to leave I think always you have to think twice.
“And the third point is that my idea for football with the squad and objectives we had at Chelsea is one thing, and the squad I have at Man Utd and the profile and what I try to do with this club is a completely different situation.
“So Juan at Chelsea in my project was one player, and Juan in my project at Man United is another thing. Chelsea were playing in a defensive block when we won the title in 2014-15, and it’s one thing having players for that and another having players trying to play in a different way and we are trying to play in a different way. He is very adaptive with his qualities. He has found a very good natural habitat with us.”
Given his lack of chances to play in the middle under Moyes and Louis van Gaal, Mata might have been forgiven for deciding to cut and run at the first sign of Mourinho taking the reins at Old Trafford in the summer. But instead his response has been exceptional.
Finally given the opportunity to dictate United’s attack from the centre, Mata has helped to transform them into an exciting proposition for the first time in years. It is testament to his form that few can see any way back for Rooney any time soon, and the talk of Mourinho having it in for the Spaniard has died down completely.
Mata and Mourinho return to Stamford Bridge on Sunday more united than they have ever been.
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Reviewed by Tboixy
on
October 23, 2016
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