Mata: Emery helped me grow up to reach the Europa League final was a gift for me

Live on 25 May – Before the Europa League final match against Villarreal, Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata was interviewed on the club's official website. In the interview, Mata warned United that Villarreal boss Emery would prepare one or two secret weapons, having worked with Emery for three years while playing for Valencia more than a decade ago, and has a deep understanding of the way he coaches, and this final is also Emery's record fifth Europa League final.

Mata explains: "<b>Under his coaching, I improved a lot and started to grow into a real player. I was very young, probably around 22 years old. He improved my abilities as a player and made me feel important at Valencia and to be able to play in every game. </b>He is a methodical coach, hardworking, professional and prepares for every game like preparing for the final. We have to be ready because I'm sure he'll come up with something different, some secret weapon from their team, whether it's tactics or set-pieces. ”

The match in Gdansk, Poland, will be the first time in Villarreal's history that he has reached a European final, Mata added: "We have to be ready, I think it's the most important game in their team's history and we need to realise that they're going to give everything and even more. Villarreal is a club that has done positive things in the last 15 to 20 years, both on and off the pitch, a very organised club. ”

In analysing the strength of the opponents, Mata said: "Now Villarreal, their head coach is Emery, is a very organized team, with players that I know very well. I've played with some of the players in their squad, centre-back Raul Albior, we've played with the Spanish national team in Valencia, Daniel Parejo is a great midfielder and Paco Alcasser is a very good goalscorer. They have great striker Geraldo Moreno, a great midfielder, and very good centre-back Paulo Torres, one of the goalkeepers, Sergio Asenjo - who was also my teammate in Spain at U21. I know them well and they have beaten a lot of strong teams in the Europa League this season, like Arsenal. ”

Despite winning many important titles, Mata still refers to such occasions as a "gift", saying: "<b>No matter how lucky you are, it will feel like a gift to get to the European final. They will become more special because you realize how difficult it is to get there. </b>In my career, especially at the beginning, everything happened so fast and I played a lot of important matches and cup finals very quickly, so you didn't realise how difficult it was until you got into a stage where you couldn't get to the final for a while. Getting to the final of the FA Cup, the Champions League, the Champions League, the World Cup in a very short time made me feel great, but it wasn't until later that I realized how difficult it was. Now I can go to another final that is worth cherishing, and we will go to Poland to train and participate in this very important competition. Of course, it's very important to have the mentality of the whole team winning together, because getting to the final and failing to win is not what you want. ”

"<b>Hopefully, for many of the players in our dressing room who have never won a trophy for the club, this is just the beginning. Winning a trophy in football is a great feeling, but winning with the club is a special feeling. </b>”

（tumanques）