In the latest The Players' Tribune offering,
Juan Mata reflects on his journey through
football, and why he's giving one per cent
of his salary to collective fund Common
Goal.
By Juan Mata

Writing on The Players' Tribune, Manchester
United's Spanish midfielder Juan Mata tells us
why he's giving something back...
Today, I am launching something that I hope will
help to change the world, even if only in some
small way. And I hope that other footballers
around the world will help me in this goal. But
before I tell you about it, I must tell you what
football means to me.
To do that we have to start with something that I
will never forget.

I can still see the cross coming in. I can see the
ball bouncing off Thomas Muller's head, looping
over Petr Cech and then hitting the crossbar and
going in. And then I remember the sound. I
couldn't even hear myself think … it was just
pure electricity.
Bayern Munich had scored in Munich, in the 83rd
minute of the 2012 Champions League final to
go up 1-0 on Chelsea - my team. I don't know if
I've ever heard a sound like that before.
A few seconds later, I was standing at the
center circle of the Allianz Arena, waiting for the
Bayern players to stop celebrating the goal that
they thought had just won the match. Didier
Drogba, my Chelsea teammate, walked up to me
to restart play. Didier never had his head down -
never looked discouraged - but now he did. And I
couldn't understand why. We had gone through
so much to get to the final. Our manager had
been sacked a few months before, then we had
come from behind to beat Napoli in the round of
16, then we had survived with 10 men at Camp
Nou in the semifinals. And now … what? It was
over?
I put my hand on Didier's shoulder and said,
"Look around, Didier. Look where we are. Please,
don't worry. Keep believing … just believe."
For some reason I just kept thinking, We are
destined to win this thing.
I'm a pretty quiet person, and I think when Didier
saw me encouraging him to keep going, he
couldn't help but smile.
"I put my hand on Didier's shoulder and said,
'Look around, Didier. Look where we are. Please,
don't worry.'"
He said, "OK, Juan. Let's go."
We were surrounded by 50,000 screaming
German fans, but down on the pitch, Didier and I
knew that we just needed a chance. And five
minutes later, we got one. We won a corner. I
lined up over the ball and Didier came running to
the near post. You remember, yes?
I think every Chelsea fan remembers Martin
Tyler's call.
" Drogbaaaaaaaaaaaaa! They've pulled the rabbit
out of the hat again! Chelsea will just not let go
in the Champions League!"
After we scored that equaliser … I just knew.
Even when we went to penalty kicks, I still knew.
And when Didier stepped up to take the final
penalty, I was sure he was going to score. I think
the expression on his face after the ball went in
said everything. He didn't know whether he
wanted to cry or laugh. He was overwhelmed,
like we all were.
And as soon as the craziness died down I
immediately thought of my family. Every one of
them was there in the crowd that night: my dad,
mom, grandparents, friends. I knew the penalties
must have been stressful for them - especially
my poor grandmother.
Later on, someone told me that she had been so
nervous that she actually had to hide in the
bathroom toward the end of the match.
As we were celebrating, I looked around at my
teammates, and I saw the beauty of football. A
keeper from the Czech Republic. A defender
from Serbia, and another from Brazil. Midfielders
from Ghana, Nigeria, Portugal, Spain and
England. And, of course, one incredible striker
from Cote D'Ivoire.
We came from all over the world, from different
circumstances, and spoke many different
languages. Some had grown up during wartime.
Some had grown up in poverty. But there we
were, all standing together in Germany as
champions of Europe.

The way we had come together from all over the
world to work for a common goal was more
meaningful to me than the trophy. To me, that is
something that can change the world for the
better.
I am very lucky. I was born into an incredibly
supportive family in northern Spain. My father
was a former footballer - a tricky winger. He was
left footed, like me, but (I will admit) he was
faster. He loved to dribble at players. I
remember watching video cassettes of his old
matches at our house in Oviedo. Watching him
play made football look fun. That's how I wanted
football to be for me, too.
And that's how things were for me as a kid - it's
how I was raised. Even though my father was a
footballer, I was never forced to play football. My
parents, Juan and Marta, wanted me and my
sister, Paula, to experience everything life had to
offer.
The first autograph I ever signed wasn't because
I was good at football. It was actually because I
was really good at trivia - like general academic
questions, but harder. When I was 13 I was
chosen for a team to go to a regional
competition where we had to answer around
200-300 questions. We ended up winning, and
the next day all the younger kids at school
wanted our autographs.

A few weeks later, my trivia team went on a trip
to Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein and
Switzerland. That trip was my first time really
getting to see how people in other countries
lived. At such a young age, it gave me a different
perspective on the world. I didn't know
everything. But I knew that I wanted to see
more.
When I was 15, football gave me that chance.
I had just finished a match with my local region
team, Asturias, and my dad was taking me home
like he usually did. But this time, we went a
different way. We pulled into a parking lot where
only one other car was parked. There was a man
waiting for us … and I recognized him. He was
one of the head scouts for Real Madrid. I'd seen
him at a few of our matches.

My father spoke with him for a couple of
minutes, and then he came back to the car and
told me that Madrid wanted to sign me. I was so
overwhelmed … I didn't really know what to think.
Madrid? Real Madrid? Wants me?
I spent the next few days talking it over with my
family. It was hard for my mom and dad to just
send me off to a big city like Madrid, but our
family has this saying: "Sometimes the train
doesn't come twice in life."
On that day, it had come for me. And I knew that
it might never come again.
I also spoke with my grandfather, who was my
biggest fan. He was the one who had taken me
to training sessions and matches when my
parents were busy. He had watched every single
one of my matches, too. He told me to follow my
heart, and that my dream of being a professional
footballer required risks.
When people talk about football, it's usually
about money or trophies. But football also
provides something else to young people. It
provides real-life experience. And sometimes real
life is difficult.
At Madrid's youth academy, I learned how to live
alone and to be away from my parents for weeks
at a time. When you're on your own, you discover
things about yourself. I thought a lot about all of
the hard work and the sacrifices that my parents
and grandparents had made to get me to where I
was. And I realised that I had a responsibility to
them to work hard and make the most of my
chance. But at a club like Madrid - which at the
time had players like Beckham, Figo, Zidane, Roberto Carlos and many others - it can be hard
to do that.
So in the summer of 2007, I signed with
Valencia. I wish I could tell you that my time
there was perfect, but it wasn't. I think we
changed managers three times in my first
season. I was a 19-year-old, surrounded by all
these players in their mid-30s. My family was
worried for me. Especially my grandfather. He
came to a lot of matches in Valencia. And when
he wasn't there, he would watch on TV. He
never missed a match of my professional career.
I remember calling him one night when I was
struggling, and I'll never forget what he said to
me.
"Your football and your career, Juan, they give
me life. I feel so proud and I am filled with hope
when I watch you."


That call had a tremendous impact on me - and
on the way I thought about football. What I was
doing in my career wasn't just about me . It was
about us. I was playing because I brought joy to
people in different ways than just by scoring
goals. My grandfather was the living embodiment
of this feeling, and after I realised that I made
sure to keep that thought with me at all times.
I think of my four years at Valencia as my
"master's degree," because that's where I
learned the art of football and gained valuable
perspective on life.
My time in England was like the real world that
comes after university. It was filled with
tremendous highs - two club Player of the Year
trophies at Chelsea and a Champions League
title. But also some lows. My third year in
London was difficult. I fell out of favour in the
squad and I began to question my own ability.
But I never felt any bitterness toward anyone.
That's not how I was raised.
I care deeply about relationships. In football, this
can be tricky. When I left Chelsea for
Manchester United, I still cared about the club. I
wanted to make sure they got an appropriate fee
and that I could maintain my connection with the
people in London. And I hope I did that.
But I'm a Red Devil now. And I wouldn't have it
any other way. There are great clubs in the
world, and then there is Manchester United. I
learned pretty quickly what that meant. In my
second season with United, I scored a bicycle-
kick goal against Liverpool at Anfield, and today -
no matter where our team is in the world - it's
almost always the first thing people ask me
about. I come from a small town in Spain, where
maybe a few thousand people saw me score
goals, but now I score goals that people see
whether they live in Oviedo or Los Angeles - or
Beijing or Melbourne. The United family is
worldwide, and almost every day I am reminded
of the power football has to unite people all
around the world.
My love for United supporters has grown every
year I've been in Manchester. I'm glad to have
given them moments like that one against
Liverpool. But in February, I needed the people
of Manchester to help me.
My grandfather - who had still never missed a
professional match of mine - was really sick. I
remember FaceTiming with him when I was on
the bus after we had beaten Saint-Etienne 1-0 in
France in a Europa League match. His voice was
weak… I could tell that he was struggling. His
words came out slowly, but he told me that my
assist to Henrikh Mkhitaryan during that match
had been great.

That was probably the most special assist of my
life. Because it was the last one my grandfather
ever saw. A few days later, he passed away.
You know when something important happens in
your life and you remember exactly where you
are? I remember everything from that match and
the bus ride home. And I hope that when I see
my grandfather again we can speak about it.
I flew to Spain to go to his funeral a short time
later. When I came back to Manchester and
turned on my phone, I saw all the messages
from the United supporters on social media - and
it meant the world to me. I wish I could have
hugged everyone who reached out to me.
We won the next match we played, a league cup
fixture against Southampton. But afterwards, I
felt a little … hollow. I didn't have my grandfather
to share the victory with. One of the things in
football, and in life, that I'm most proud of is that
I have been able to share my greatest moments
with my family. But in that moment, when I
desperately wanted to speak with my
grandfather, I couldn't. So instead I began to
reflect.

I thought about everything football had given me.
And I thought about what I wanted my legacy to
be. I knew how lucky I was to have the
opportunities I'd had - and that not everyone has
a family like mine. And even though I've been
engaged with charities before, I knew that I
wanted to do something more. I want to make
sure that other kids get the chances I had.
So starting today, I am pledging 1 per cent of my
salary to Common Goal, a collective fund - run by
the award-winning NGO streetfootballworld - that
supports football charities around the world. It's
a small gesture that if shared can change the
world.
I'm asking my fellow professionals to join me in
forming a Common Goal Starting XI. Together we
can create a movement based on shared values
that can become integral to the whole football
industry - forever.
I am leading this effort, but I don't want to be
alone.

One of the first lessons I learned in football is
that it takes a team to accomplish your dreams.
We live by this mantra on the pitch, yet we don't
see it enough in the social space. Common Goal
is creating a collaborative way for football to
give back to society. It's the most effective and
sustainable way that football can deliver long-
term social impact on a global scale. Football
has the power to do this, but we need to act
together.
The focus now is on contributions from players,
but the long-term goal is to unlock 1% of the
entire football industry's revenues for grassroots
football charities that strengthen their
communities through sport.
Just last month, I travelled to Mumbai, India, to
see one such charity. We went to a slum just
outside the main city, and at first it was very
hard to comprehend the level of poverty. No
child should have to live like that. Seeing the
conditions, my spirits were a bit down.
But then we started interacting with the local
kids. Their English wasn't great, and I'm not sure
all of them even knew that I was a football
player, but we communicated through laughter
and the sport. If I smiled, they smiled. If I ran,
they ran.

They knew we were there to help, and there was
this tangible energy in the air. And, I think, in the
same way that I gave my grandfather life - these
children were giving me life.
So now I would like to call upon my fellow
footballers to help. We have so many
opportunities simply because we play a
children's game. We are so lucky to live a
dream. Let's come together and help kids
everywhere experience that same light and joy.
By doing so we can show the wider football
industry that Common Goal needs to happen and
that it will happen, because it's right.


http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/10973588/juan-matas-common-goal-why-man-utd-midfielder-is-giving-back

intresting piece and wishing him the best #COMMON GOAL