Mata: Jose one of the best

Juan Mata would welcome the appointment of Jose Mourinho as Chelsea's new manager and says they must aspire to win the Premier League.



Mourinho is to leave Real Madrid at the end of the Spanish league season and is expected to return to Stamford Bridge, where the managerial post is vacant following the end of Rafa Benitez's interim spell in charge.



Mata arrived at the club after Mourinho's departure but is well aware of everything the Portuguese has achieved and would be happy to see him handed the reins.

"Jose is one of the best," Mata said. "He won everything in every country he was - in Portugal, in Italy, in London with Chelsea, and in Spain as well.



"We don't know really what is going to happen but if he comes he is welcome because he is one of the best and Chelsea always want to be a top side.



"If he comes we are going to be happy to have him."



He said: "What I know is that Madrid is a massive club with a lot of pressure on them, and it shouldn't be easy to be manager of Real Madrid.



"If he comes we will try and do our best with him, or whoever, to win the title, because one challenge for me will be to win the Premier League."

Mourinho has faced criticism during his time at Real Madrid and will finish this season without a major trophy, but Mata believes he could help Chelsea challenge for major honours next year.

Mata loving London life

Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata has been a big hit since making the move to London from Valencia in August 2011 - and the 25-year-old feels right at home in the 'Big Smoke'.

Mata, who lives in an apartment on the banks of the river Thames, is a big fan of the English capital and told  exactly what he loves about London.

"Since I came I felt like was living at home in this amazing city," he said. "I always wanted to live in London. It's one of the best cities in the world.

"It's much bigger than I expected - like different cities together in one. It has different parts and there are a lot of places to go.

"I'd rather go to small places and streets like in Notting Hill and Soho rather than Big Ben or the London Eye - I like the east Brick Lane and Borough market.

The Spain international also insists the British weather has failed to put a dampener on his love of London life, adding: "I grew up in Asturias in northern Spain and it's very much the same weather!"

Mata is also quick to reveal another of the reasons he came to London - Spain and Chelsea team-mate Fernando Torres.

"He (Torres) was calling me, trying to get me here," Mata added. "He knew I would enjoy it here. I am grateful to him - he was an important part to why I came."

But it is football that is Mata's main reason for being in London - and he is loving life in England as much on the pitch as he is off it.

"It's been incredible," he said. "It was my first season in another country and we won the Champions League and the FA Cup. It was amazing. I learnt a lot and grew as a person.

"Winning Chelsea player of the year - and being nominated by the Chelsea supporters - it made my year completely perfect. Winning those trophies and being named player of the year - it was a perfect season for me.

"One thing that makes English football different is the support - you can feel it, you can smell it," Mata said. "Even when you play away, you don't feel alone. I think it's the one of the reasons why English football is so special."

Chelsea star sets target

Chelsea attacker Juan Mata is confident that they can finish in third place at the end of the season after their 1-0 win over Manchester United.



The result means that Tottenham Hotspur have to beat the Blues on Wednesday in order to stop them securing a top-four finish in goal difference.



Vital win



Speaking to Sky Sports, Mata said: “It was a very, very important victory for us, it was like a final and we have another great game to come next week, so we will try to win and get closer to our aim, which is third.”



The Spaniard, who has scored 19 goals in all competitions this season, and he thinks that he has plenty more goals in his locker.



“It is true that I am scoring more goals than ever and I’m really happy. The only thing I want is to keep scoring and keep up my assists to help my team until the end.”



Unbeaten finish



The 25-year-old is confident that his side will end up playing in the Champions League next season.



“We have three more Premier League games to play and the only the thing we want is to win every game because I think Chelsea deserve to play in the Champions League next season.



“If we play like we did today then I think we can do it.”



As well as pressing for a top-four finish, Chelsea could be in line for European silverware at the end of the season as they face Benfica in the final of the Europa League in Amsterdam.

Mata: Benitez is a great manager

Chelsea playmaker Juan Mata has hailed Rafael Benitez, insisting his fellow Spaniard is a "great" manager.



The 53-year-old was appointed by the London club on an interim basis after UEFA Champions League-winning boss Roberto Di Matteo was relieved of his duties in November.



But his arrival was poorly received by a large section of the club's support, with the former Liverpool coach being roundly booed throughout his first few fixtures at the helm.



However, with Chelsea's bid for a top-four finish and UEFA Europa League glory having picked up pace of late, Mata believes his compatriot deserves praise.



"Rafa is a manager who has had great seasons at every club that he was at," he said. "And since he came he's just tried to do his best with the team, analysing the rivals, getting ready for every game and trying to do his best for the team.



"So for me and for the players I think he's a great manager. We are now at the end of the season trying to be in the third position so that's where we're aiming and having a chance to win a trophy so maybe the season at the end will be good for us and for Rafa as well and that will be because of his job."



The Spain international went on to lament his side's failure to progress beyond the group stages when defending their UEFA Champions League crown this term.



"We were out from the group and every time I watched a game on TV from the Champions League I think it's a shame," he added.



"But on the other hand, I would rather be positive and think we have a chance to win another trophy as we did last season.



"So obviously to get out in the first group was a disappointment for us and the club but suddenly we have a chance. So you never know until the end and you now have another chance to win a big trophy."

Torres: I hated being called 'El Nino'

Fernando Torres has revealed he hated the nickname ‘El Nino’ and always found it insulting that team-mates and supporters could not be bothered to learn his name.

The Chelsea striker, who was prolific in the Barclays Premier League when he first arrived at Liverpool from Atletico Madrid, has revealed nobody wanted to talk to him because they felt threatened.

Speaking to Chelsea’s official website, Torres said: ‘It’s not easy to come somewhere new and have to find your place. You might feel someone doesn’t like you or you might need to find new friends, it’s not easy and I don’t like this kind of thing. It’s not easy, so you want to protect the players who are alone.

‘It’s what I learned when I was 16 and arrived in Atletico’s dressing room, nobody wanted to talk to me because they were threatened. They called me “El Nino” because nobody knew my name. I didn’t like it and it shouldn’t be like that, but dressing rooms are very complicated with players coming from different parts of the world and with different roles.

‘I was captain in Atletico at 19, playing in the same team as Demetrio Albertini who won three Champions Leagues and Sergi Barjuan from Barcelona, who had won everything, and they were 32, 33.

‘I was a kid as captain, so I wasn’t the real captain, just a kid learning from them. I wore the armband but they were the leaders and I learned a lot from them.

‘I remember when I first came to Liverpool, Pepe Reina helped with everything and he made it easy for me. When I was Atletico Madrid captain I tried to help everyone. These are the basics in football, you need to create an atmosphere and try to create a group of friends. It’s not easy and it doesn’t always happen but you have to try.’

Chelsea are building something of a Spanish mafia at Stamford Bridge, with Torres joined by Oriol Romeu, Juan Mata and most recently Cesar Azpilicueta.





But Torres insists he is not in charge!

‘No, I am not the father figure! You have all the things you learned in your head that you can use for the good of the team, and that’s what I do here, but I don’t like to be a leader, maybe an example as someone to follow if you like.

‘We are all young still, and friends. I have been playing with Juan in the national team since the Confederations Cup in 2009, and since then we have been friends. I was so happy when he came here, and we have helped Oriol and now Azpi to settle. There are also some staff, I think there are seven of us in total in the dressing room, so it makes it easier for the new guys to have people here helping them.

‘There is no leader who has to talk for the others. Helping each other is a job we should do, it’s not a job Juan has to thank me for.

‘(Mata and I) go out to dinner sometimes or meet up at each other’s homes to watch TV shows we all follow,’ Torres confirms. ‘When you’re in a new city you try to be next to people you know, and then after that you make your own friends but we can all join together too.

‘Football is a team sport and not an individual sport. We win as a team and every individual is better if we are part of the team,’ he stresses. ‘If we win trophies we have the chance to win individual awards because it comes with the team targets.

‘If we win the Champions League, everyone is a better, more recognised player, but if you win an individual award and nothing with your team, it means nothing. You have to win with the team, and for the team.

‘In your life you go through a difficult situation or a very good situation and you have different moods, but you learn things from your experiences.’