A Real Madrid youth player, Mata left the club looking for opportunities. He find one at Valencia, playing along with David Silva and David Villa. After both left the club, it was clear Mata would also take the next step in his career, signing for a Premier League club. A major target for Liverpool and Arsenal, he ended up signing for Andre Villas-Boas at Stamford Bridge after Chelsea's late bid succeeded. He scored on debut for Chelsea, and for most of AVB's time at the club, he was their best player. Slightly sidelined by Roberto Di Matteo's tactics towards the end of the season, he still finished with the Fan's Player Of The Year award, a maiden Champions League medal and the FA Cup.
After playing in both Euro 2012 and the Olympics, Mata started the season slowly, outshone by glamour signing Eden Hazard, who had had a full summer's rest. After Chelsea requested Vicente Del Bosque to give him an international break off, Mata kicked on. His form improved magnificently, with the performance at White Hart Lane a particular highlight. Hazard had been shoved out left, Oscar out right. Goals against Arsenal and Manchester United followed. Nobody at the Bridge could doubt who the main man was. It was the Matador.
18 goals in all competitions is phenomenal for a player who usually drifts out wide or moves deeper to collect the ball. The sheer volume of playmakers possessed by Spain has caused Mata to be ignored a bit. Nobody has created more goals than him in the league this season (10). At the hub of the new Chelsea, Mata has provided creativity, technical ability and vision which hasn't been provided by any other player in the Abrahamovic era. Not a showoff- he rarely performs any tricks-or much of a dribbler, Mata allows his fellow attackers to provide the direct running and physicality. He specializes in picking out a pass. Any Chelsea spell of possession usually has him in the thick of it. His performances have come despite playing in a team very much in transition, with 2 managers with varying approaches and despite the fact that both Ba and Fernando Torres have been rubbish. Imagine what he would have done if Van Persie or Falcao were at the end of his crosses. He avoids controversy, allows people like Hazard to hog the limelight and just gets on with it. Averaging 2.7 key passes per game in the league, he has virtually been Chelsea's only consistent performer this season. Despite the punishing schedule and the fact that he had no summer break, Mata's energy has never declined. Unlike Robin Van Persie, he hasn't had a Championship-quality team around him. In fact, minus him, this might be Chelsea's worst team of the 21st century. Unlike Gareth Bale, his brilliance hasn't come in just half a season, it's been from start to finish. Unlike Suarez, he doesn't bite people and his humility is admirable. He's outshone Hazard anyways.
The frightening part is that he's still only 24 and if Chelsea do get Falcao in the summer, Mata's service will not go as wasted as this year. He's taken over from Frank Lampard as Chelsea's main man in the middle of the park, and with both Hazard and Oscar having a season under their belt next term, the sky's the limit for a player who's just born in the wrong time when it comes to his national team. At a time when English football is bombarded with other Spanish passers like Santi Cazorla and David Silva, Mata shines above the rest.
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