Matija Čop (26 January 1797 – 6 July 1835), also known in German as Matthias Tschop, was a Slovene linguist, literary historian and critic.

Biography

Čop was born in the small Upper Carniolan town of Žirovnica, in what was then the Habsburg Monarchy (now in Slovenia), into a relatively wealthy peasant family. He was sent to Ljubljana for primary and secondary schooling and then studied philosophy at the lyceums of Ljubljana and Vienna for three years. In 1817, he returned from Vienna and attended a priest seminary until 1820, when he left it to became a secondary school teacher in Rijeka, Croatia. In 1822 he moved to Lvov (then also part of the Austrian Empire), when he started working as a teacher at the local lyceum, but was soon promoted to assistant professor at the Lvov University.

In 1827 he returned to Ljubljana, when he was offered a job as a secondary school teacher again. In 1828, he accepted the post of librarian at the Lyceum, which he held full-time after 1831.

During his time in Ljubljana, be became a close friend of the poet France Prešeren. He served as his tutor, providing him with information on contemporary developments in European literature.

In 1835, at age 38, Čop drowned while bathing in the Sava river. Prešeren dedicated his major poem ''Baptism at Savica'' to his late friend.

Influence

Although he did not publish much original work during his lifetime, Čop had a great influence on the later development of Slovene culture. Unlike such contemporaries as the linguist Jernej Kopitar and the poet Stanko Vraz, Čop believed in the possibility of the development of a distinctive Slovenian national culture. He can thus be seen as the predecessor of the Slovenian national awakening in the second part of the 19th century. His broad cosmopolitan education enabled him to recognise the poetic talent of France Prešeren, which remained unnoticed by most of his contemporaries, and to advise him on stylistic and linguistic issues.

Today, Čop is generally regarded as one of the most important Slovenian intellectuals of the 19th century. Several streets, schools and other institutions throughout Slovenia bear his name, among them the fashionable Čop Street in Ljubljana.

Sources

Fedora Ferluga Petronio, ''Jernej Kopitar - Matija Čop''. Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta, 1996.

Janko Kos, ''Matija Čop''. Ljubljana: Partizanska knjiga, 1979.

See also

Franc Serafin Metelko

Peter Dajnko

Romantic nationalism

External links

Category:1797 births Category:1835 deaths Category:Slovenian literary historians Category:Slovenian linguists Category:Slovenian literary critics Category:Slovenian philologists Category:Deaths by drowning

es:Matija Čop fr:Matija Čop it:Matija Čop pl:Matija Čop ru:Чоп, Матия sl:Matija Čop sr:Матија Чоп sv:Matija Čop

name	France Prešeren
birth date	December 03, 1800
birth place	Vrba, Carniola, Habsburg Monarchy (now in Slovenia)
death date	February 08, 1849
death place	Kranj, Kingdom of Illyria, Austrian Empire (now in Slovenia)
occupation	Poet
movement	Romanticism
notableworks	The Baptism at the Savica Waterfall
influences	Petrarch, Goethe, Schiller, Adam Mickiewicz, Dolce stil novo, Virgil, Valentin Vodnik, brothers August and Friedrich Schlegel, Luís de Camões
influenced	Josipina Turnograjska, Josip Stritar, Simon Jenko, Simon Gregorčič, Anton Aškerc, Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette, Josip Murn, Oton Župančič, Alojz Gradnik, Edvard Kocbek, France Balantič, Dominik Smole
website	}}

France Prešeren () (3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a Slovene Romantic poet. He is considered the Slovene national poet. Although he was not a particularly prolific author, he inspired virtually all Slovene literature thereafter.

Biography

Early life and education

He was born 3 December 1800 (Saturday) in the Upper Carniolan village of Vrba, then part of the Habsburg Monarchy (today in Slovenia), to a relatively well-to-do peasant family. Already as a child, he showed considerable talent, so his parents decided to provide him with a good education. At the age of eight, he was sent to elementary schools in Grosuplje and Ribnica, run by the local Roman Catholic clergy. In 1812, he moved to the Carniolan provincial capital of Ljubljana, where he attended the State Gymnasium. Already at a very young age, he learned Latin, Ancient Greek, as well as German, which was then the language of education, administration and high culture in most areas inhabited by Slovenes. In Ljubljana, Prešeren's talent was spotted by the poet Valentin Vodnik who encouraged him to develop his literary skills in the Slovene language. As a high school student, he became friends with the future philologist Matija Čop, who would have an extremely important influence on the development of Prešeren's poetry. In 1821, Prešeren enrolled at the University of Vienna, where he studied law, against the wishes of his mother who wanted him to become a priest. In Vienna, he became acquainted with the western canon from Homer to Goethe, but he was most fascinated by Dante and the Italian trecentists, especially Petrarch and Boccaccio. He also read contemporary Romantic poets, and he was even fired from the teaching post at the Klinkowström's Jesuit institute for having lent a booklet of banned poetry to his friend Anastasius Grün.

Later life

After acquiring a law degree in 1828, he returned to Ljubljana, where he got employment as an assistant in the firm of the lawyer Leopold Baumgartner. He was constantly striving to become an independent lawyer by putting in as many as six applications, but he was not successful. In 1832, he shortly moved to Klagenfurt in the hope of furthering his career, but returned to Ljubljana after less than a year. In the spring of 1833, he met Julija Primic, the daughter of a rich merchant, who would become the unfulfilled love of his life. In 1834, he began working as an assistant to his friend Blaž Crobath who gave Prešeren enough free time to engage in his literary activities. In the same year, he met the Czech romantic poet Karel Hynek Mácha and the Slovene-born Croatian poet Stanko Vraz and had long and fruitful discussions on poetry with them.

Around 1836, Prešeren finally realized that his love for Julija would never become mutual. The same year, he met Ana Jelovšek, with whom he entered into a permanent relationship. They had three children, but never married. Prešeren supported Ana financially and treated her as his rightful mate, but engaged in several other love affairs at the same time. He also spent a lot of time travelling throughout Carniola, especially to Lake Bled, from the scenery of which he drew inspiration for his poems. In 1846, Prešeren was finally allowed to open his own law firm and moved to Kranj with his family. He died there on 8 February 1849. Upon his deathbed he confessed that he had never forgotten Julija.

In general, Prešeren's life was an unhappy one. He was confronted with constant rejections, had an unstable sentimental life, and saw most of his closest friends die tragically. He lived in confrontation with both the civil and religious establishment, as well as with the provincial bourgeoisie of Ljubljana. His talent was far too high to be fully acknowledged by the contemporary culturally backward society of Slovenia. He fell victim to severe drinking problems and tried to take his life on at least two occasions. The motive of "the hostile fortune" is a frequent one in his works.

Work

Early period

Prešeren's first serious poetic attempts date from his student years in Vienna. In 1824, he wrote some of his most popular poems, still under the influence of Valentin Vodnik and the rich tradition of Slovenian folk poetry. In 1825, he completed a collection of "Carniolan songs", which he showed to the philologist Jernej Kopitar. Kopitar was very critical of the young man's literary attempts, so Prešeren destroyed the whole collection. Kopitar's rejection hindered the development of Prešeren's creativity; he did not publish anything more until 1827, when his satirical poem "To the Maidens" (''Dekletom'') was published by the German language journal ''Illyrisches Blatt''. In 1828, Prešeren wrote his first important poem, A Farewell to Youth. It was however published only in 1830, in the literary journal ''Kranjska č'belica'' ("The Carniolan Bee"), established the same year by the publisher Miha Kastelic in Ljubljana.

In 1830, Prešeren's old high school friend Matija Čop returned to Ljubljana and re-established contacts with Prešeren. Čop soon recognized his friend's poetic talent and persuaded him to adopt Romanic poetic forms. Following Čop's advice, Prešeren would soon become a master of the sonnet. His poems were noticed by the Czech scholar František Čelakovský who published several highly positive critiques of it. Čelakovský's praise was extremely important for Prešeren's self-esteem and gave him the strength to continue in the path on which Čop had orientated him.

The central period

Between 1830 and 1835, Prešeren composed his esthetically most accomplished poems, which were inspired by the setbacks in his personal life, especially by the unhappy love for Julija Primic. Prešeren followed Čop's advice and transformed Julija into a poetic figure, reminiscent of Dante's Beatrice and Petrarch's Laura, as can be seen in this first stanza of his poem ''Gazele'':

The Wreath of Sonnets

The most important poem from this period is the crown of sonnets ''Sonetni Venec'' ("A Wreath of Sonnets"), written and published in 1834. In it, Prešeren tied together the motives of his own unhappy love with that of an unhappy, subjugated homeland. In the seventh sonnet, Prešeren made something that was later seen as a prophecy of his own glory: referring to the ancient myth of Orpheus, he invoked the skies to send a new Orpheus to the Slovene people, the beauty of whose poetry would inspire patriotism, help overcome internal disputes and unify all Slovenes into one nation again. In the eighth sonnet, he went on in exposing the reasons why such an Orpheus—the metaphor for high culture in general and poetry in particular—had not yet been produced by the Slovenes. Exposing a decidedly negative vision of Slovenian history, consisting of nothing but foreign invasions and internal disputes ("the roar of tempests o'er a home unkind"), he maintained that it was the lack of glorious deeds that had hindered the flourishing of poetry. The few flowers of poetry still growing on the Slovenian Parnassus were fed only by tears and sighs:

But, he went on in the next sonnets, there was still hope for the renewal of Slovenian poetry and thus for the coming of an Orpheus that would unify all the nation with his gentle singing: Julija only had to "send rays from her eyes for their glory to renew". Prešeren's message was clear: if Julija accepted his advances, she would become the muse inspiring solemn poems which would bring a new high culture to the Slovenes and thus make them a nation again.

Besides the complex and sophisticated content, the "Wreath of Sonnets" has an interesting format, too: the last line of one sonnet becomes the first line of the next one, making all fourteen sonnets of the circle an intertwining "garland" of emotional lyricism; one sonnet cannot exist without the other. The first lines of all the single fourteen sonnets form in turn another sonnet, called the "Master Theme" or the ''Magistrale''. In the English translation by Vivian de Sola Pinto the Master Theme is as follows:

In the Slovene original, however, the first letters of every verse form the words ''Primicovi Julji'', meaning "to Julija Primic". The poem was recognized as a masterpiece by Matija Čop, but it did not gain much recognition beyond the small circle around the ''Kranjska č'belica'' magazine. Moreover, Julija was unimpressed. Understandably, Prešeren moved to more bitter verses.

The Sonnets of Unhappiness

Another important work from this period are the "Sonnets of Unhappiness" (''Sonetje nesreče''), which were first drafted already in 1832, but were published only in 1834, with some changes. They are undoubtedly the most pessimistic of Prešeren's works. It is a group of six (initially seven) sonnets expressing the poet's despair over life. The first sonnet, in which Prešeren debates about what his life could have been like had he never left his home village, became extremely popular during the late 19th century. In the 20th century, several musical interpretations of the poem were created, the most known a version by the Slovene folk rock musician Vlado Kreslin. The other sonnets from the circle have not gained such a widespread popularity, but are still considered by scholars to be among Prešeren's most genuine and profound works.

After Čop's death

1835 was Prešeren's ''annus horibilis''. His closest friend Matija Čop drowned while swimming in the Sava river, Julija Primic married a wealthy merchant, and Prešeren became alienated from his friend and editor of the ''Kranjska č'belica'' literary magazine Miha Kastelic. Following Čop's death, Prešeren wrote his ''magnum opus'', ''The Baptism at the Savica Waterfall'' (), dedicating it to his late friend. The poem, set during the Christianisation of Karantanians in the late 8th century, addresses the issues of hope, faith and resignation. The philosopher Slavoj Žižek interpreted the poem as a paradigmatic example of the emergence of modern subjectivity.

In 1837, Prešeren met Emil Korytko, a Polish political activist from Galicia, confined by the Austrian authorities to Ljubljana. Korytko introduced to Prešeren the work of Adam Mickiewicz, which had an important influence on his later works. The two even jointly translated one of Mickiewicz's poems (''Resygnacja'') from Polish to Slovenian and started collecting Slovenian folk songs in Carniola and Lower Styria. In 1839, Korytko died, leaving Prešeren without an important interlocutor after Čop's death.

In the autumn of the same year, Andrej Smole, one of Prešeren's friends from his youth, returned home after many years of living and travelling abroad. Smole was a relatively rich young intellectual from a well-established merchant family, who supported the development of Slovenian culture. The two spent much of the winter of 1839-1840 on Smole's estate in Lower Carniola, where they planned several cultural and literary projects, including the establishment of a daily newspaper in the Slovenian language and the publishing of Anton Tomaž Linhart's comedy "Matiček's Wedding" which had been prohibited as "politically unappropriate" in 1790, due to the outbreak of the French Revolution. Both projects failed: the planned journal ''Ilirske novice'' was blocked by the Viennese censorship, and Linhart's play would be staged only in 1848, without Prešeren's assistance. Smole died suddenly in 1840, literally in Prešeren's arms, while celebrating his 40th birthday. Prešeren dedicated a touching, yet unexpectedly cheerful and vitalist poem to his late friend.

The later years

After 1840, Prešeren was left without any interlocutor who could appreciate his works, but continued to write poetry, although much less than in the 1830s. He gradually departed from the typical romantic trend, adopting an increasingly diverse and innovative style. In 1843, an important breakthrough for Prešeren happened: Janez Bleiweis started publishing a new daily journal in the Slovenian language and invited Prešeren to participate in its cultural section. The two men came from rather different backgrounds: Bleiweis was a moderate conservative and staunch supporter of the ecclesiastical and imperial establishments and alien to the Romantic culture. He nevertheless established a fair relationship with the poet. Prešeren's participation in Bleiweis' editorial project was the closest he would come to public recognition during his lifetime.

In 1844, he wrote the patriotic poem ''Zdravljica'' ("A Toast"), the most important achievement of his late period. In 1847, a volume of his collected poems was published under the simple title ''Poezije dr. Franceta Prešerna'' ("Poems of Dr. France Prešeren").

Prešeren spent the last two years of his life occupied with private life and his new job as a lawyer in Kranj. According to some accounts, he was planning several literary projects, including a novel in the realistic style and an experimental play, but he was struck with liver disease caused by his excessive drinking in prior years. The revolution of 1848 left him rather indifferent, although it was carried out by the young generation who already saw him as an idol of democratic and national ideals. Before his death, he did however redact his ''Zdravljica'', which was left out from the 1847 volume of poems, and made some minor adjustments for a new edition of his collected poems.

Reception and influence

Today, Prešeren is still considered one of the leading poets of Slovenian literature, acclaimed not only nationally or regionally, but also according to the standards of developed European literature. Prešeren was one of the greatest European Romanticists. His fervent, heartfelt lyrics, intensely emotional but never merely sentimental, have made him the chief representative of the Romantic school in Slovenia.

Nevertheless, recognition came slow after his death. It was not before 1866 that a real breakthrough in the reception of his role in Slovenian culture took place. In that year, Josip Jurčič and Josip Stritar published a new edition of Prešeren's collection of poems. In the preface, Stritar published an essay which is still considered one of the most influential essays in Slovenian history. In it, he showed the aesthetic value of Prešeren's work by placing him in the wider European context. From then on, his reputation as the greatest poet in Slovene language was never endangered.

Legacy

Prešeren's legacy in Slovenian culture is enormous. He is generally regarded as the national poet. In 1905, his monument was placed in the central square in Ljubljana, now called Prešeren Square. By the early 1920s, all his surviving work had been catalogued and numerous critical editions of his works had been published. Several scholars were already dealing exclusively with the analysis of his work and little was left unknown about his life. In 1944, the anniversary of his death, called Prešeren Day, was declared as the Slovenian Cultural Holiday. In 1990, the seventh stanza of his ''Zdravljica'' was declared the national anthem of Slovenia, replacing the old ''Naprej zastava slave''. In 1992, his effigy was portrayed on the Slovenian 1000 tolar banknote, and since 2007 his image is on the Slovenian two-euro coin. The highest Slovenian prize for artistic achievements, the Prešeren Award, is named after him.

His poems have been translated into several languages, although he still lacks the recognition accorded to some other poets of his rank.

See also

Peter Dajnko

Franc Serafin Metelko

References

Sources

Henry Ronald Cooper, ''Francè Prešeren'' (Boston, Mass.: Twayne, 1981).

France Kidrič, ''Prešernov album'' (Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, 1949).

Janko Kos, ''Prešeren in evropska romantika'' (Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, 1970).

Janko Kos, ''Pregled slovenskega slovstva'' (Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, 1998).

Janko Lavrin, ''Francè Prešeren : 1800-1849'' (London, 1955).

Rastko Močnik, ''Julija Primic v slovenski književni vedi'' (Ljubljana: Sophia, 2006).

Boris Paternu, ''France Prešeren: poeta sloveno'' (Gorizia: Goriška Mohorjeva družba, 1999).

Anton Slodnjak, ''Prešernovo življenje'' (Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1974).

External links

Preseren.net Prešeren.net - web page dedicated to the poet in Slovenian, English and German language

Katrin Cartlidge reciting Prešeren's poem "The Free Heart" in English

Category:1800 births Category:1849 deaths Category:People from Žirovnica Category:Slovenian poets Category:Romantic poets Category:Slovenian lawyers Category:University of Vienna alumni Category:Sonneteers Category:National anthem writers Category:People from Ljubljana

af:France Prešeren am:ፍራንስ ፕረሸረን ar:فرانتسيه بريشيرن bs:France Prešeren br:France Prešeren bg:Франце Прешерн ca:France Prešeren cs:France Prešeren de:France Prešeren es:France Prešeren eo:France Prešeren fr:France Prešeren fur:France Prešeren gd:France Prešeren gl:France Prešeren ko:프란체 프레셰렌 hr:France Prešeren it:France Prešeren he:פרנצה פרשרן la:Franciscus Preseren lt:France Prešeren hu:France Prešeren mk:Франце Прешерн nl:France Prešeren ja:フランツェ・プレシェーレン nn:France Prešeren pl:France Prešeren pt:France Prešeren ro:France Prešeren ru:Прешерн, Франце scn:France Prešeren sk:France Prešeren sl:France Prešeren sr:Франце Прешерен sh:France Prešeren fi:France Prešeren sv:France Prešeren tr:France Prešeren zh:弗兰策·普列舍仁

playername	Juan Mata
fullname	Juan Manuel Mata García
dateofbirth	April 28, 1988
cityofbirth	Ocón de Villafranca
countryofbirth	Spain
height
position	Winger
currentclub	Chelsea
clubnumber	10
youthyears1	1998–2003 | youthclubs1 Oviedo
youthyears2	2003–2006 | youthclubs2 Real Madrid
years1	2006–2007 | clubs1 Real Madrid B | caps1 39 | goals1 10
years2	2007–2011 | clubs2 Valencia | caps2 129 | goals2 33
years3	2011– | clubs3 Chelsea | caps3 1 | goals3 1
nationalyears1	2004
nationalteam1	Spain U16
nationalcaps1	3
nationalgoals1	2
nationalyears2	2004
nationalteam2	Spain U17
nationalcaps2	2
nationalgoals2	1
nationalyears3	2006–2007
nationalteam3	Spain U19
nationalcaps3	13
nationalgoals3	12
nationalyears4	2007
nationalteam4	Spain U20
nationalcaps4	5
nationalgoals4	3
nationalyears5	2007–2011
nationalteam5	Spain U21
nationalcaps5	20
nationalgoals5	5
nationalyears6	2009–
nationalteam6	Spain
nationalcaps6	11
nationalgoals6	4
pcupdate	28 August 2011
ntupdate	25 June 2011 }}

Juan Manuel Mata García (; born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea. He is mainly a left winger, but can also play as an attacking midfielder.

Since successfully graduating from Real Madrid's youth academy, he has spent the majority of his senior career with Valencia CF. Before signing for Chelsea for an undisclosed fee.

Club career

Early career

Juan Mata was born on 28 April 1988 in the town of Ocón de Villafranca, Burgos - his father, Juan Manuel Mata Sr., played for near-by Burgos CF at that time - but was raised from a young age in his father's hometown of Oviedo, Asturias. Mata started his football career at Real Oviedo, where his father spent most of his career. He stayed there for three years before joining Real Madrid at age 15. After appearing for their ''Cadete A'' team, he swiftly progressed through the junior teams, ''Juvenil C'' and finally the ''Juvenil A''. In his last campaign (2005–06) he scored 18 goals in the league and three more in the ''Copa de Campeones'', including the winner in the final against Real Valladolid, adding another three in the Spanish ''Juvenil'' Cup.

Switching to Real Madrid Castilla in 2006–07, Mata was given the number 34 shirt in the first team, while wearing #28 in Castilla. In spite of Castilla's final Segunda División relegation, he finished the season as the side's second best scorer at nine, behind striker Álvaro Negredo (18).

Valencia

Mata had a contractual clause at Real Madrid during his last season at the club, and eventually agreed to sign for fellow La Liga side Valencia CF in March 2007, starting in 2007–08.

Benefitting from constant injuries to Vicente and the ostracism to which then-manager Ronald Koeman condemned Miguel Ángel Angulo, Mata gradually carved a niche on Valencia's first eleven. On 20 March 2008, he scored twice in the Copa del Rey semifinal match against FC Barcelona to help Valencia reach the final against Getafe CF where, on 16 April, he netted the opener in a 3–1 win. During that first season, he was voted the team's ''Best young player'' by fans and players alike.

In the 2008 Spanish Supercup, Mata scored against his former club Real Madrid in a 3–2 first leg victory, but Valencia lost 5–6 on aggregate after a 2–4 away loss in the second game. He started 2008–09 well, scoring in the opener against RCD Mallorca (3–0 win). He also netted the only goal of the game against CA Osasuna, latching on to a long ball from David Villa.

On 25 September 2008, Mata's understanding with Villa proved to be growing in efficiency, as he set up both of his teammate's goals in a 2–0 away win over Málaga CF. Three days later, he put in a superb performance against Deportivo de La Coruña, scoring one and creating the other three, in a 4–2 home victory.

Towards the end of the campaign, Mata managed to score two very important late goals for Valencia: the first, the 3–2 winner at Sporting de Gijón, and the second a penalty against Sevilla FC at home, to put Valencia 2–1 up (specialist Villa had already been replaced due to injury) in an eventual 3–1 success. He achieved impressive stats during the season, finishing with 11 successful strikes and 13 assists (in the latter category, league's second-best, behind FC Barcelona's Xavi).

In the following two seasons, Mata was an everpresent offensive figure for Valencia, scoring 17 goals in 68 games combined, with the club achieving back-to-back third-league places. On 10 April 2011, he netted two in a 5–0 home win against Valencian neighbours Villarreal CF. On 9 May, England-based Spanish journalist Guillem Balagué reported interest from several Premier League clubs.

On 21 August 2011, Valencia agreed a £23.5 million fee for the transfer of Mata to Premier League club Chelsea, subject to a medical.

Chelsea

On 24 August 2011, Mata signed a five-year deal with Chelsea. He revealed that Fernando Torres helped persuade him to move to Stamford Bridge, saying "Fernando got me excited about the thought of coming here. He said it would be good for me here, and that me and him together could be good. I also talked to my family and friends about it as well."

On 26 August 2011, Yossi Benayoun offered Juan Mata his number 10 shirt. The Isreali captain said: "I decided to give Mata the number 10 - his favourite. For me it's just a number, not my lucky 15." (Florent Malouda wears number 15 for Chelsea.) Mata wore the shirt for Valencia while skippering Spain's Under 21s in the summer and expressed his gratitude to Benayoun. "It is a very important number to me so I'm pleased to be wearing it. I want to thank Yossi," he said.

As well as Benayoun, Mata follows on from Joe Cole, and Chelsea legends Mark Hughes, Ian Hutchinson and Terry Venables in adopting the number 10 jersey.

On his debut for Chelsea on 27 August 2011, Mata came on as a substitute and scored in stoppage time. Chelsea won the match against Norwich City 3–1.

International career

Mata helped Spain win the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, where he was a key player. 'Juanín' finished the championship second to his teammate Alberto Bueno (five goals) as top goal scorer of the competition, with four in five matches.

On 1 February 2007, under-21 coach Iñaki Sáez included him on his squad for the friendly against England, alongside Roberto Soldado, José Manuel Jurado, Sergio Sánchez, Miguel Torres, Esteban Granero and Antonio Adán, at just 18 years and 10 months.

On 14 November 2008, Vicente del Bosque called Mata for the senior team to play in a friendly against Chile. He did not leave the bench in a 3–0 home win. On 28 March 2009, he finally made his debut, in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Turkey, a 1–0 win in Madrid. He came on as a substitute for teammate Villa, in the 63rd minute.

In June 2009, del Bosque included Mata for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, the youngster's first senior tournament. He started in the second group match against Iraq, and came on as a substitute for Albert Riera in the semi-final loss to the United States.

On 9 September 2009, Mata scored his first goal for the senior team, as the 3–0 win against Estonia secured a place in the World Cup in South Africa. He followed this up with the winner against Armenia on 10 October, scoring a penalty to steal a 2–1 win. Picked for the final stages, he appeared once for the eventual champions, replacing Fernando Torres for the final 20 minutes of the 2–0 group stage win against Honduras.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first.'' Estadio Romano, Mérida, Spain 10 October 2009 14 October 2009 29 March 2011

+	# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1.	9 September 2009	Mérida, Spain ||		3–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)>2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	|	Hanrapetakan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia		2–1	2–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	|	Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina		5–0	5–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	|	S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium>Darius Girenas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania		3–1	1–3	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Career statistics

Club

:''Accurate as of 30 July 2011'' 10 5 11 9 8 0

Club	Season	League	Cup1	Europe	Total
	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists
rowspan="1"	Real Madrid B		39
colspan="2">Total			39!!10!!-
rowspan="4"	Valencia		24	|	1	8	4	1	1	0	0	33	9	2
2008–09 La Liga	2008–09	37	|	13	4	2	2	6	1	1	47	14	16
2009–10 La Liga	2009–10	35	|	4	2	0	0	14	5	6	51	14	10
2010–11 La Liga	2010–11	33	|	12	3	0	2	7	1	3	43	9	17
colspan="2">Total	!129!!33!!30!!17!!6!!5!!28!!7!!10!!174!!46!!45
rowspan="1" valign="centre"	Chelsea		1	1	|	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
Total	!1!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!1!!1!!0
Career total		! 169 !! 44 !! 30 !! 17 !! 6 !! 5 !! 28 !! 7 !! 10 !! 214 !! 57 !! 45

:¹Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España.

Honours

Club

;Valencia CF

Copa del Rey: 2007–08

Supercopa de España: Runner-up 2008

Country

;Spain

FIFA World Cup: 2010

FIFA Confederations Cup: Third-place 2009

;Spain U19

UEFA U-19 Championship: 2006

;Spain U21

UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: 2011

Individual

2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: Bronze Boot (2 goals)

2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: Top Assisting Player

2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: Team of the Tournament

Personal life

Mata attended the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, studying journalism. In his spare time, he enjoys playing table-tennis.

His father, also called Juan, was also a footballer. He was a forward who played in the 1980s/early 1990s, and later acted as his son's agent, becoming FIFA-registered in the process.

References

External links

Valencia CF profile

BDFutbol profile

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Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:People from Burgos Category:Spanish footballers Category:Association football wingers Category:Association football forwards Category:La Liga footballers Category:Premier League players Category:Real Madrid Juvenil footballers Category:Real Madrid Castilla footballers Category:Valencia CF footballers Category:Chelsea F.C. players Category:Expatriate footballers in England Category:Spanish expatriate footballers Category:Spain youth international footballers Category:Spain under-21 international footballers Category:Spain international footballers Category:2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:FIFA World Cup-winning players

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