Mata on the rise with Valencia

The rise to prominence of Valencia CF youngster Juan Manuel Mata continues apace and with his club currently battling for trophies on three fronts and Spain seeking another big tournament win this summer at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the midfielder has his work cut out for him in the coming months.

Impressive figures 
At just 20 years of age, the left-sided attacking midfielder has already won many admirers in this his second full season in the Valencia first team. Coach Unai Emery has started the youngster in every Liga game so far this term and the former Real Madrid CF youth team player has rewarded his manager's faith with six goals and six assists in 18 Liga games. The son of a former Real Burgos CF winger, Mata says he is "less of a 'Chupón' " – glory hunter – with the ball than his father was and his energetic bursts forward and calculated finishing are becoming trademarks of his game. "I like to play instinctively; without thinking," the student of marketing and physical education said.

Great expectations
FC Barcelona may be looking ever more likely to win the Liga, but the race for UEFA Champions League places could well go down to the wire and fourth-placed Valencia will certainly be one of the teams in contention to make a return to European football's top tournament. "The Champions League is the European competition par excellence and we are fighting this season to qualify for it," Mata admitted before outlining Valencia's ambitions in this season’s UEFA Cup. "Our aim is to win it. There are big teams in this competition but we have the determination to win again after our success a couple of years ago." Los Ché face FC Dynamo Kyiv in the last 32 with the first leg in the Ukraine scheduled for 18 February.

International future
Such has been Mata's progress that he received a call up to the senior Spain squad for the recent friendly with Chile. He may have failed to come off the bench during his nation's 3-0 win in November but he declared himself happy to wait for his chance. "Of course it’s a dream for every young player to one day play for Spain but right now I'm happy playing with the Under-21s. I'm still only 20 so I’m not in any great hurry." A winner at the UEFA Under-19 European Championship in 2006, an experience the midfielder described as "a dream come true," Mata will be hoping to achieve more glory at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Sweden next June where Spain will face Germany, England and Finland in the group stage.

To watch this interview in the uefa.com Magazine, click here.