“I look at someone that was not particularly quick, strong or tall.”
Juan Mata has named the best footballer he has played alongside, and it can’t have been an easy choice. The midfielder has played alongside some brilliant players for Spain, Valencia, Chelsea and Manchester United.
He played alongside the brilliant David Silva at Valencia, with Eden Hazard at Chelsea and he worked with Zlatan Ibrahimovic at United. The 29-year-old has also played alongside some world class players at international level for Spain.
Mata, during a very interesting interview with Donald McRae in The Guardian, chose Andreas Iniesta as the best footballer he has played alongside, and it’s difficult to argue with that choice. The Barcelona midfielder is one of the best players of his generation and possibly the best Spanish footballer ever.
Mata compares Iniesta to Zinedine Zidane, whom he trained with for Real Madrid, when he was a young player in the club’s reserve team.
“If I consider the best footballer I played with, I look at someone that was not particularly quick, strong or tall. Iniesta. When we played for Spain he always passes the ball to you in the right moment. He always makes you better. It was the same with Zidane. His individual qualities were incredible. When I was in Real Madrid reserves I used to train with Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, Raul. All great players but Zidane made everyone look better.”
He also detailed the qualities he values in a footballer, and the most important attribute a player can possess.
“For me good football is not about how many skills you show or how many players you beat,” Mata said.
“It’s about making the right decision every time you have the ball. I see players that make 100% right decisions – Iniesta and Xavi – but there are also good English examples. Scholes, Lampard and Gerrard made many more right decisions than wrong decisions. You see so many players with physical qualities. They are quick and strong but they don’t make the right decisions. So for me the most important thing is to do what the game asks from you in the moment.”
The United midfielder primarily speaks about his “Common Goal” project during the interview. The initiative aims to see one percent of football’s entire industry donated to charity, and Mata has already pledged one percent of his own salary to the project.
