Juanín Mata & David Villa at El País

David Villa and Juan Mata both gave interviews to El País recently, I think as part of their La Liga preview (which finally starts this weekend, yay!!!).  They both touched briefly on the national team, so here are those parts, some of which are very cute (Juan on Iker, David on Puyi).  Plus, I really like the pictures that accompanied the interviews!

Juan Mata:

On the World Cup: the World Cup enriched me because I could experience in first person what pressure really was like.  And I learned from teammates that had been there a long time, but lived it like it was their first time.

On Iker: I spoke with him and he told me that he gets nervous before each game.  Before the final, I noticed that he wasn’t speaking much and that he was very tense.  When the game ended, he began crying like a kid, and we shared a hug I will never forget: this was Iker Casillas, who had won everything with the national team and with his club, and here he was crying like this was the first trophy he had ever won.

On the night before the final: that night, we all went to sleep with a knot in our stomach.  That’s how you can tell whether a footballer is good: regardless of the pressure, he acts the same way as he usually does.

On his World Cup experience: I’m happy to have debuted, to have won and I hope it won’t be my last World Cup.

Keep reading for more from Juanín and David…

On del Bosque: he knows a lot about football, but his best virtue is knowing how to manage the players that are cracks in their clubs.  We are all very close.

On the departure of Marchena: it’s a shame that he left, because as a person and a captain, he was a heavyweight in the locker room, and on the national team he helped me a lot.  Villarreal gained a wonderful player.

David Villa

On his nickname: I like being called Guaje, more than David or Villa.  It means “kid” in bable, and in mining areas, it refers to the helper of the miner.  I like it when I’m called by this nickname, since it reminds me of home.

On goals: I more or less keep a tally of the goals I’ve scored.  If I start to think about it, I can come up with all of them in one afternoon.  You don’t forget about goals.  At least, I have never forgotten a goal.

On Xavi & Iniesta: they’re good people.  We know each other very well.  On the field, I know what they’re thinking and they know what they can expect of me.  It’s obvious that I arrived (at Barcelona) with this advantage.  The ability of Xavi to find the weak point of the defense, to find you with a long or short pass, is a luxury for a forward.  Xavi tricks you, you see him with the ball and you think, he doesn’t see me, it’s impossible, but he sees you, he always sees you and he knows perfectly where you want it, and he gives it to you there.  It’s impossible for a forward not to have occasions to score with teammates like Xavi or Iniesta.

On Puyol: Puyi has some strengths that negate some of mine; we’re antagonists.  He’s fast, he doesn’t give you space, he latches on to you.  I’m very happy that I don’t have to play any more against Barça or against Puyi.  [Adorable, no?]

If you’re a Barcelona fan, definitely go read the rest of the interview!  It’s a great one.