Juan Mata
- Current club: Manchester United
- Date of Birth: 28 April 1988
- Birthplace: Burgos, Burgos, Spain
- Position: Midfielder, Attacking midfielder
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“Age Cannot Wither Her, Nor Custom Stale Her Infinite Variety”, Antony and Cleopatra (1607),1 Elizab
“Age Cannot Wither Her, Nor Custom Stale Her Infinite Variety”, Antony and Cleopatra (1607),1 Elizabethan dramatist, William Shakespeare Unbiased observers argue that the managerial regime of Manchester United’s former Norwegian striker, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was unsuccessful due to the absence of wingers. Terrifying opposition defences with their unpredictability, players out wide cause panic. Defenders unable to deal with the calculated confusion created, United’s wings’ devastating skills were utilized by forwards queuing up to put the ball into the net. Although Welsh right wing, Daniel James, came on against Villarreal in the Europa Cup Final of 2021 at Lechia Gdańsk’s stadium, Poland, it was only in the 116th minute, when the team were struggling to score, after South America’s then 33 year old Uruguayan center forward, Edinson, “‘ead in, son”, Cavani, struck in the 56th minute to level the contest, 1-1, before penalties decided it for the Spaniards, 11-10, after extra time. Given attacking wing play was what made United famous and successful, the absence of either left or right wings in the team, despite Solskjaer’s moving in early October, 2020, to secure Uruguay’s talented Facundo Pellistri for £8 m from Montevideo’s Peñarol, to be yet another disused right wing, this time on loan to Spain’s Deportivo Alavés, relegated from Primera to Segunda División (Second Division) after Pellistri began there (2020-21), was a scandal contributive to bringing about the board’s decision to let Solskjaer depart. Although Solskjaer, a hero for that late winning goal, 2-1, against German side, Bayern Munich, in the 1999 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League Final at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium, Spain, had taken United to the Europa Cup Final, it wasn’t enough. Caretaker manager, England midfielder, Michael Carrick, coach after his exalted playing career at Old Trafford’s ‘Theater of Dreams’ stadium, gave way to Germany’s recent Leipzig boss, Ralf Rangnick, a former Association for Active Games - Verein für Bewegungsspiele (VfB) - defensive midfield player with Stuttgart II (1976-9), that is, VfB Stuttgart reserves, and England’s non-league Southwick (1979-80, while studying English and Physical Education at Sussex and Stuttgart Universities), and first team coach of VfB Stuttgart (1999-2001), Bundesliga, winning the 2000 Intertoto Cup, a then annual summer competition amongst European clubs, taken over by UEFA’s professional soccer organization from 1995, adding to the managerial credentials causing United’s board of directors to appoint Rangnick as interim manager. Headed by its American Co-chairmen, Joel and Avram Glazer of the owning US’ family, since the club was bought in 1991, after its shares were floated on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), for £800 m by businessman Malcolm Glazer’s holding company, First Allied Corporation, owner and renter of shopping malls in the States, whose borrowing of £500 m to buy United was, perhaps cruelly, a financial debt to be paid by the club. Founded in 1961, and called the UI Cup in the German-speaking world, originally conceived as the International Football Cup (IFC), the UEFA Intertoto (UI) Cup had been a competition for clubs that didn’t qualify for the UEFA Cup which, founded in 1971, as a replacement for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1955-71) for teams from European cities promoting trade, and whose qualifying wasn’t dependant on any other factor, preceded its rebooting in 2009 as the UEFA Europa Cup. As clubs that would have competed for the IC gained entrance to the Europa Cup qualifying stages, it was discontinued in 2008, although the idea of a soccer tournament held in cities to promote trade would appeal to business. The International Champions Cup (ICC), for example, initially played for by invitation to clubs outside the United States of America, and won in 2014 by Manchester United at the Sun Life stadium, Miami Gardens, East coast state of Florida, on August 4th, in the Final against Liverpool, 3-1, with goals on 55 minutes, thanks initially to a left-footed cross-shot from England center forward, Wayne Rooney, inside the 6 yard box past ‘keeper, Belgium’s Simon Mignolet, on 58 minutes, cancelling out an early penalty on 14 minutes from England’s midfield creator-destroyer, Steven Gerrard, after United center back, Phil Jones, brought down England left winger, Raheem Sterling, 1-1, and then a left-footed drive from Spain’s left sided midfielder, Juan Mata, in a central positioned around the 20 yard box, 2-1, before a right-footed strike in a similar position from England right wing, Jessie Lingard, on 88 minutes, 3-1: a money spinner, rather than a genuine competition. Like the Intertoto Cup, where toto is German and means ‘betting pool’, each of the participants contributes to a pot of money to be won, through turnstile receipts at the stadium gate, for example, thereby encouraging betting, that is, wagers over who’ll win, which is itself a business activity. Rather than a first tier club trophy, as the UEFA European Cup Winners Cup (ECWC) was, for the European nations domestic Cup winners to participate in from 1960, it largely replaced the non-UEFA recognized Mitropa (1927-40), or Central European Cup , competed for until 1992, when the reformed Russian Federation’s withdrawal from Eastern European territories, held since the official closure of hostilities on May 8th, 1945, by teams from among the successor nations to the failed Austro-Hungarian Empire, after World War I (1914-18), despite being renamed the Zentropa Cup (1951/55-92), after WWII (1939-45), with Hungary’s ‘Iron Eagle’, Vasas FC, of the capital city Budapest’s district XIII, Angyalföld, ‘Earth Angel’, most successful during the political ‘Cold War’ (1947-91) détente with communist Russia, over its perceived illegal occupations of satellite slave nation states, co-opted as Republics of the Soviet Union of Socialist Republics (USSR), winning six Zentropa Cup titles (1956, 1957, 1962, 1965, 1970, and 1983), but UEFA’s ECWC too was rashly scrapped as a tournament in 1999, in favor of having domestic Cup winners qualifying as entrants to the UEFA Cup, a second tier trophy to the UEFA Champions League (UCL), while the Zentropa, the ECWC and the UI were consigned to redundant status as ‘pots’ of an obsolescent third tier. The original ECWC was the brainchild of the Mitropa Organizing Committee, although recognized as a UEFA competition from 1963, the Mitropa never was. Like the UI and the ICC, it didn’t meet the professional sports body’s qualifying and controlling standards. However, United’s tacit approval of the ICC, itself abolished in 2020, after the p implementation of workable industry fixture lists was handicapped by global pandemic, and the club’s willingness to participate in the American financial ad venture suggests UEFA’s preoccupation with legitimate qualifying competition rounds mightn’t be sound business practice to the Glazers, while Rangnick’s willingness to compete on a business footing for the UI and its crowds of summer holidaymakers helped secure his with the board. Moreover, that UEFA abolished the Inter-City Fairs and Intertoto Cups, while ignoring vested business interest in the developmental potential of the former Zentropa, Latin (1949-57), and Balkan Cups (1961-94) in Eurasia, as a part of the West’s ‘Cold War’ policy towards the USSR and its former ‘client states’, suggests a huge investment potential bilked by UEFA, which could have been refinanced and profitably reflated as a tier competition for business, rather than as a primarily prestigious professional UEFA-style trophy. However, Dutch manager of Ajax Amsterdam, Erik ten Hag, a center back, who won the 1990-91 Eerste Divisie (Second Division) with De Graafschap, and the 2000-01 KNVB (Royal Dutch F.A.) Cup with Eredivisie (First Division) Twente, as a player, was deemed a better managerial prospect than Rangnick. Bringing as he did to Ajax, as their manager, the Eredivisie championship and KNVB Cup double in 2018-19, ten Hag was appointed to guide Manchester United’s 2022-23 season’s campaigning. The arrival of England right wing, Jadon Sancho, bought by Solskjaer for £75 m from German Bundesliga team, Borussia Dortmund, for the start of the 2021-22 season, had augured well for the future, and Solskjaer also engineered the return of Portuguese right wing, Cristiano Ronaldo, from Italian soccer giant Juventus of Turin for £20 m, after Ronaldo had left twelve years previously to join other expensive ‘Galácticos’ at Spain’s Real Madrid, where he won another four UEFA Champions League Cups in 2014, ’16, ’17, and ‘18. Even though then 36 years of age, Cristiano brightened the loyal red support at the prospect of seeing once again the skills of the genius who, scoring 18 league goals in 27 (3) appearances that 2021-22 season, often as an ad hoc center forward, when no one else could be relied on for goals, had been instrumental in winning the 2008 European Champions League Final at Russia’s Moscow Luzhniki stadium, against England’s Chelsea of London, 6-5, on penalties, after Ronaldo‘s own headed goal put United ahead, 1-0, before England midfielder, Frank Lampard, equalized to send the match into extra time, 1-1, and the penalty decider ultimately decided by Welsh winger, Ryan Giggs, on as a substitute in the 87th minute for goal scoring England midfielder, Paul Scholes, who struck the ball into the net, past Czech ‘keeper Petr Čech, after Chelsea’s England center half, John Terry, with a chance to win it for the Blues, 5-4, thanks to a rare failure to score from the 10 yards spot from Ronaldo, had slipped on his arse in the rain, and saw his shot hit United’s Dutch ‘keeper Edwin van der Sar’s post. It had been 2-2, with Argentine center forward, Carlos Tevez, formerly of Boca Juniors (2002-05) and Corinthians of Brazil (2005-07), first being replied to by captain of Germany’s central midfielder, Michael Ballack, who’d lead his team to the 2008 European Championship Final, 0-1, against Spain, at the Ernst-Happel stadium, Vienna, Austria, named for Rapid Wien’s center back (1943-56, 1956-59), who in 1970 managed Feyenoord of the Dutch Eredivisie to European Champions Cup success, a feat he achieved again in 1983 with Hamburg SV of Germany’s Bundesliga. Brazilian defender, Juliano Belletti, before the expectant Luzhniki crowd, on as a substitute in the 124th minute for Chelsea’s French defensive midfielder, Claude Makélélé, replied to Carrick’s successful penalty, before Ronaldo’s miss allowed Lampard to make it 2-3 in favor of Chelsea. England’s right sided midfielder, Owen Hargreaves, bought from Bayern Munich at the beginning of the season for £17 m, got United’s 3rd, 3-3, before Chelsea left back, England’s Ashley Cole, made it 4-3 to the London team. Although Brazilian winger, Nani, that is, Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha, on in the 101st minute for Rooney, got United’s 4th, 4-4, Terry then had that disaster when he could have won it for the Blues, 5-4. Brazilian midfielder, Anderson, that is, Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira, on as a 125th minute substitute for right back, England’s Wes Brown, who’d sent in the cross for Ronaldo’s headed opener on 26 minutes, got United’s 5th in the now ‘sudden death’ penalty phase, 5-4, and after Salomon Kalou’s strike, on as substitute for French left winger, Florent Malouda, in the 92nd minute, 5-5, Giggs’ successful spot kick in reply to that of the Ivory Coast forward, 6-5, meant that French center forward, Nicholas Anelka, on as a 99th minute substitute for England’s Joe Cole on the right of Chelsea’s midfield, had to score to level the contest, but his penalty kick was saved by ‘keeper Edwin to give United their third Champions League title, 6-5. It was the addition of Brazil’s left footed Antony, that is, Antony Matheus dos Santos, that signaled a future with a replacement for enduring Welsh left winger, Ryan Giggs, 24 seasons and two UEFA Champions League victories (1999, and 2008), between 1990-91 and 2013-14, when Giggs was even player manager, after Scot’s legend, Alex Ferguson, who’d taken the club to the last 13 of its league titles since his appointment from Aberdeen on December 6th, 1986. Antony, arriving for £82 m from Ajax, where Erik ten Hag had been his manager, at the commencement of the 2022-23 term, gave United as many attacking options as before Ferguson’s retirement, although ten Hag also moved for the creative midfield vision of Denmark’s 30 year old Christian Eriksen, coming on a free transfer from ‘The Bees’, English Premier league outfit, Brentford Town, as the new United manager also strengthened his defence, with center back, Argentine Lisandro Martinez, coming from Ajax for £48 m, left back, Tyrell Malacia, again coming from Ajax for £15 m, and Brazilian defensive midfielder, called Casemiro, which is a nickname differing from his family’s, translating variously as ‘Emír’, and/or ‘Destroyer’, that is, Carlos Henrique Casimiro, coming from Real Madrid for £70 m. Ronaldo’s refusal to come onto the field as substitute against London’s Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League game of Wednesday, October 19th, 2022, seemed fateful to the crowded onlookers. The team won, 2-0, through goals from Brazil’s midfielder, Fred, that is, Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos, and Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes, a deep-lying center forward in the style of former United and England captain, Robert Charlton, winner of the European Cup in 1968 against Portugal’s Benfica, 4-1, with two from Charlton himself, the second a rare header from ‘Bobby’, who had won the 1966 World Cup with England, also at Wembley stadium, London, 4-2, against Germany. But Cristiano’s days and nights in the red shirt now seemed numbered. Despite Sancho’s relative paucity of goals for the team, just 3 league goals in 20 (9) appearances in 2021-22, in comparison with the Portuguese’s prolific marksmanship, age was on his side at 22 years.
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