Monday 24 March 2014

Mata's Monday Blog

Hi everyone, 

As you can imagine, today I’m very pleased about the two games we have played this week… We won both and that is really important; a boost of morale ahead of the next games! This is football and, whether you like it or not, you don’t get much time to enjoy the victories or mourn for defeats, so I think it is vital to remain mentally strong and focused on our goals. 

That is how we are going to approach to the last stage of the Premiership. As if every game was a final. On my previous post I appealed to the winning spirit that has, historically, made United a big club, and I could experience that in situ on Wednesday night. It was a thrilling game, with the fans chanting and the team scoring goals to produce a great comeback and get into the quarter-finals. 

And I realised that a Champions night in Old Trafford is different, as I had been told. With two goals in the first half -one of them just before the break- and one more after half-time we managed to get through and get confidence back. Obviously Robin played the leading role with his hat-trick but also, unfortunately, because he got injured. He is a key player for us and I hope he has a speedy recovery so he can help us in the last few games. 

We have been drawn against Bayern Munich, which brings great memories here of the Champions won in Barcelona in 1999. We will have to ask Ryan Giggs about that game and what we can do to beat them! It’s going to be very tough, they are having an amazing streak in the Bundesliga and play very good football. They are a fantastic team and the favourites to win the title, but we will try to beat them and reach the semi-finals. 

The week ended the same way after winning at West Ham, a game to be remembered for Rooney stunning goal from the halfway line. I was asking him for the ball, but I think he chose the right option… Spectacular Wayne! The team has got confidence and now there is an exciting challenge ahead: our derby against City on Tuesday. It will be the first one for me and I’m looking forward to it. You can already feel in the streets that special atmosphere. 

Moreover, the next weekend we will play in Old Trafford again, this time Aston Villa. We must get better results at home; in the away games we are the best team so far. 

In Spain, where the Champions League draw put Barça and Atlético together, everybody was waiting for the Clásico, even more after Atlético’s victory at the Villamarín. And it lived up to the expectations. What a superb match: great goals, frantic pace, intensity and, as it happens in this kind of games, controversy. 

The fight for the title is absolutely exciting now after Barça’s win… From Real Madrid, Di María had a great performance, same as Benzema. From Barça, Iniesta (he is such a pleasure to watch) and Messi made all the difference with their goals. 

Lastly, on another subject, I would like to recommend to you a documentary that I watched recently in a hotel on one of those nights before a match: “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”. Very good! If you like sushi as much as I do you will love it. And you will get hungry 

 Hugs to all of you, I wish you another great week! 

Juan
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