Juan Mata
Juan Mata has warned his Manchester United teammates that Unai Emery is bound to have a surprise in store for them in the Europa League final. United can lift their first trophy since they last won the Europa League in 2017 in Gdansk on Wednesday, but they will have to overcome Villarreal to do so. Mata worked with the manager for three years during his time at Valencia and has provided some insight into what United can expect in the match.
Juan Mata said: “I improved a lot with him. I grew as a player and a person. I was quite young, around 21, 22, 23 years old. He improved me as a player and made me feel important in Valencia, playing every single game. He’s a methodic manager, hard-working, professional, preparing for every single game like a final. We will have to be ready because I’m sure he’ll come up with something different, some kind of surprise from their team, tactically or from set pieces. It doesn’t matter how many you’ve been lucky enough to play, it always feels like a gift to be in a European final. They become more special because you realise how difficult it is to get there. There was a moment in my career, especially in the beginning, where everything happened so quickly. I played many important games and finals so quickly, so you don’t realise, at the time, how difficult it is until you are in a period where you don’t reach into a final for some time. Arriving to FA Cup finals, Champions League, Euro championships, World Cups, all in a small period of time, it felt amazing but it wasn’t until afterwards I realised how difficult that was. Now again, to be able to be in another final I think we always treasure this moment before the final, going there, training there, feeling that we are going to play a very important game but, of course, it’s very important that we go with the mindset of winning because arriving to a final and not winning is not something that you want. Hopefully, for many of the guys that we have in the dressing room that have never won a trophy with this club, it’s the beginning of many. It’s a great feeling to win trophies in football but it’s very special to win with this club.”
