Name: Juan Mata
Nationality: Spanish
Position: Striker
Former Clubs: Valencia
D.O.B: 28/04/1988
Squad Number: 10

Juan Mata became the third Spaniard to arrive at The Bridge in 2011. Joining World Cup winner Fernando Torres and Oriol Romeu who arrived from FC Barcelona in early August. The departure of Yossi Benayoun to Arsenal left Mata’s favourite number 10 jersey available for him to fill.

He didn’t take long to settle in and scored on his debut at The Bridge. After coming on as a substitute versus Norwich, Mata slotted home the third and final goal in a 3-1 home victory.

In the summer of 2007, Mata departed the Bernabeu to join Valencia; after coming through the Real Madrid youth system. In his first season at the Mestalla, Juan scored in the Copa Del Rey Final and found himself receiving the clubs Young Player of the Year. After 4 years at Valencia, scoring 43 goals in 179 appearances, Mata decided that Stamford Bridge was his future. Despite interest from several others, new Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas was able to convince the youngster The Bridge was the place for him to play his football.

After making his Spanish debut in 2009, Jaun was part of the Spanish national team who won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, making a substitute appearance after replacing fellow Blue Fernando Torres. Upon joining The Bridge Mata had represented his country 12 times. However, he was an experienced under-21 international and captained Spain to the European Championships in 2011. In the tournemeant he found himself in the team of the tournament after many impressive displays.