I just got back from a few days in Spain celebrating my
other half’s 50th – the weather was uncharacteristically cold and wet giving us
the perfect excuse to spend many an hour eating (of course I watched the Hull game, another clean sheet, congrats Petr Cech on the his record breaking 209 clean sheets and to Eden Hazard for being awarded his third consecutive 'Man of the Match'). One of our regular haunts was a traditional
Spanish bar which not only had delicious tapas but also housed a couple of
large plasma screens constantly broadcasting football games. Not surprisingly the clientele was
predominantly male and the atmosphere was intense; concentrated silence interspersed with raucous
excitement. It was the perfect place for
any football fan! Whilst plucking succulent,
fleshy leaves, dripping in melted butter, from my ember grilled artichoke, I
noticed the image of a boyish Fernando Torres, donning the distinctive red and
white stripe of the Athletico Madrid shirt.
The TV channel was doing the usual fill before a match, showing
historical clips from previous meetings of the two sides – which happened to be
Athletico and Barca. Seeing images of a
young and happy Torres in his native land, looking like he was going to conquer
the world, reminded me of the drama surrounding the Chelsea Spaniards…..
We have all got used to the hype surrounding Fernando Torres
and his erratic form since he moved to Chelsea.
What has come as more of a shock to the footballing world is Mourinho’s
treatment of Juan Mata, the two time winner of the Chelsea Player of the Year
award. There are daily speculations of when Mata will leave Chelsea and which club he will be joining.
In contrast to the adulation afforded to Mourinho by Chelsea
fans, Spanish fans don’t think much of the Portugese Manager after his stint at
Real Madrid, where he managed to alienate almost all the players, starting with
the legendary Iker Casillas. The general
consensus is that Jose hates all things Spanish (as would be expected of a
Portugese!). In fact when Mourinho
returned to Chelsea last Summer, the Spanish tabloids ran stories on how his
first move would be to get rid of Torres, Mata and Azpilicueta (the fourth Spanish
musketeer, Oriol Romeu went under the radar as he was on a season long loan to
Valencia). My younger daughter’s Spanish
boyfriend also felt compelled to regularly reinforce these speculations. So I must admit it came as no surprise to me
when Mourinho benched the Spaniards at the start of the season. (There is also a rational explanation for
such a decision – Spain had reached the finals of the Confederations Cup in
Brazil and the players had missed out on
a necessary rest period – ironically Fernando Torres won the golden boot for
scoring the most goals during the tournament!)
With time and Jose’s inclusion of Torres and Azpilicueta (or
Dave as he is fondly known by the fans) in the team, I have decided that Juan
Mata’s ‘Spanishness’ is not the problem!!
If anything, when Mourinho started selecting Dave as left back
(even though his natural position is right back), in preference to Ashley Cole,
one could almost make a case for Jose favouring the Spaniards.
The question dividing the footballing community is what is
Mourinho’s issue with Mata?
Mourinho himself has made it clear that he prefers Oscar in
the number 10 position. He has also
commented on Mata’s failings in a defensive capacity. It seems reasonable that Mourinho would want
his players to be effective all over the pitch and not just in the top
third. I have to be honest and admit
that I myself have had my own issues with Mata.
Firstly, my older daughter, who is at least a foot taller
than the Spanish play maker, is absolutely obsessed by him – she says things
like ‘I want to have his babies!’ – I can’t mention any of her other desires as
they are quite X-rated. As a result of
this strange fascination, it is hugely annoying to watch any Chelsea match with
her featuring Mata. I have endured two and a half
years of her screeching ‘Juuuuuuuuuaaaaaaannnnnnn’ in the highest pitch her
vocal chords will permit, every time the Spaniard even approaches the
ball. The side effects of her obsession
have been the fact that Mata’s presence on the pitch has been highlighted for
me whether he is living up to his reputation as a ‘magician’ or falling short
of it.
My second issue with Mata has arisen as a result of this added
scrutiny brought on by my daughter’s obsession.
Having watched him so closely, I found myself criticising him more and
more often. At times he looked as fragile as a feather, blowing over at the
slightest contact. Mata's insistence to use his favoured left foot, often resulted in his taking too many touches and missing important chances. I don’t dispute he has
an amazing touch but there were times
when he would repeatedly lose the ball and not be able to win it back. Until Mourinho’s arrival this season I thought
I was going mad because all anyone would say about Mata was how amazing he was –
no one seemed to be watching the same player as I was. On the flip side, having recognised Mata’s
failings, I never thought they were enough to justify his continuous presence
on the bench.
August 27th 2011 – Stamford Bridge – Chelsea v Norwich - 67 minutes
Juan Mata makes his debut - 90 + minutes
Juan Mata goes on to score his first goal for Chelsea – I was at the Bridge –
it was a sunny afternoon and Mata was full of promise (as was AVB and the other
debutante Romelu Lukaku!) - football is
a fickle world…..
Talking of fickle – I’m off to Stamford Bridge tomorrow – Chelsea
is hosting Manchester United with David Moyes at the helm. I honestly don’t know which way it will go
but am ever hopeful…..
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