Juan Mata has opened up on Spain’s World Cup triumph in 2010, admitting he stole a souvenir and explaining how former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina was ‘king of the party’ in the celebrations that proceeded their first-ever World Cup win.
At Soccer City in Johannesburg, Spain defeated Holland 1-0 in extra-time, Andres Iniesta found the net inside 116 minutes to claim a historic night for the Spaniards.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, former Manchester United and Chelsea man Mata, admits that he even kept the ball used in the contest, saying that he swiped it out of a ballboy’s hands.
“When he [Iniesta] scored, those on the pitch and those of us on the bench all ran the fastest 100 metres in history, beating Usain Bolt’s record! [Laughs]. It was total ecstasy. We were shouting in that corner of the pitch, hugging each other, but all around us you could hear silence because we were in the Dutch fans’ area.
“Between the goal and the end of the game, I asked a ball boy to give me a ball as a souvenir. He told me he couldn’t give it to me as the game wasn’t over yet, but I took it out of his hands and tucked it under my shirt. Now I have it at home.”
After the game, it was all celebrations, with the Spaniards in some cases partying for two days straight. Pepe Reina was in the midst of it all, says Mata, who he labelled ‘the king of the ‘party’.
“I remember that after Howard Webb signalled the end of the game, Pepe Reina said, 'What a mess we’ve made'. That was a good summary. [Smiles] It was a 48-hour day after that – first in South Africa, then in Madrid, and later for each of us in our home towns. Nobody slept on the plane.
“Pepe [Reina] was the king of the party, with drinks in his hand and a loudspeaker. In Madrid we had the official visit to the royal family and the official dinner. Those of us who made it to the second night were zombies!”
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