More minutes? Why Melbourne Victory took a punt on Juan Mata

On a narrative basis, Melbourne Victory signing Juan Mata makes sense. It's a club that positions itself as the biggest in Australian football, adding one of the most high-profile and well-credentialled players to ever play Down Under. It's a side that has all too often found itself bogged down when it gets into the final third, adding one of the finest, and perhaps last, examples of the classic No. 10. A FIFA World Cup winner with Spain who is deeply committed to philanthropy and humanitarian work means that there is also a level of synergy with a Victory brand that espouses a "vision to lead, unite, connect, and inspire through football."

But one then dives into the nuances of the deal and the questions that the duo will face to deliver on the fanfare that will accompany the arrival of Mata to AAMI Park -- even if it doesn't quite carry the same impact it may have given its coming after he spent last season on the books of the Western Sydney Wanderers -- start to rise.

Certainly, Victory will be hoping that Mata can make more of an on-field impact than the last former Manchester United and European Champion marquee they signed: Luis Nani. The Portugal star logged just nine goalless league appearances before suffering an ACL injury that ended his 2022-23 season before the mutual termination of the second year of his contract. Indeed, history suggests that when Victory has struck gold with its foreign signings, it's been with those unlikely to grace the cover of a video game; the likes of Matthieu Delpierre, Carlos Hernandez or Ola Toivonen all etching lasting impressions.

Admittedly, Nani was consistently praised by those at Victory for his work ethic and professionalism. And from accounts of his time at the Wanderers, Mata will provide much of the same. The 37-year-old isn't a diva and despite his seasoned status will be expected to bring a high standard to his training and preparation in Melbourne, as well as offer a fount of knowledge -- both on and off field -- to what will be a youthful Victory dressing room this coming season.

But he could have ostensibly continued to provide all those off-field intangibles to the Wanderers, too, rather than opting to swap red-and-black for navy blue after a single season. And he did have conversations about re-signing after the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. Further, with the likes of Roderick Miranda, Brendan Hamill, Adama Traoré, and Jason Davidson on the books and Andrew Durante, Bruno Fornaroli, Besart Berisha, and Mitch Langerak all employed in some capacity as coaches, Victory still has its share of leadership even in the face of leaguewide austerity. So why make this move?

As diplomatic as he strove to be at his unveiling on Tuesday morning, it wasn't hard to deduce that, from Mata's perspective, a lot of it had to do with a sense of frustration at logging just 599 cumulative minutes, across just seven starts, last season. Indeed, his ability to mask things perhaps dulled by the effects of a long flight from Europe, via San Diego, completed just hours prior, there was a decided shift in tone whenever the Spaniard spoke about getting out on the field, the competitor in him breaking through, as well as his confidence that Victory coach Arthur Diles was set to put him in a position to do so.

"Game time is something that we all want as football players," said Mata. "And it's difficult for coaches to make decisions. But in my conversation with Arthur, I felt that he was willing to play with my qualities to try to help the team on the pitch as well as off the pitch. And I really felt that his style of play and the players that we have in the dressing room, we can have a good season."

Mata was played in a variety of roles beyond his preferred No. 10 role during his time at Wanderland and often didn't feel like the best stylistic fit for coach Alen Stajcic's direct and breakneck attack approach -- to the extent that many wondered why the Wanderers had paired the two in the first place. With the coach, first and foremost employed to win games, this played into Mata's reduced role that season and, (in)famously, led to Mata's agent Fahid Ben Khalfallah repeatedly blasting the Wanderers for the way they were using his client.

That Ben Khalfallah is a former Victory player himself probably helped grease the gears for this move. But so too, seemingly, were conversations that Mata had with Diles surrounding his stylistic fit and a belief that the Victory boss would be more forthcoming on collaboration.

"It's something that we're going to work on," he said. "My conversation with the coach was based around me trying to bring what I have to the team in the best possible way. He knows and I know that that's in an attacking midfielder position; trying to create assists and goals for teammates.

"But I'm also open. I'm not somebody who demands game time just for the sake of it. I know that coaches have to make decisions based on fairness and I agree with that. So what I'm ready to do is try to give my best to contribute to the team. And I'm very happy to hear that Arthur is willing to be on the same page and to work it together."

But if football is driving Mata's desire to play for Victory, especially if he's envisioned as a starter, how then does he fit into what the club is trying to do?.

For a start, Mata's 599 minutes across last season represented the most he'd logged in a single campaign since the 2019-20 season with Manchester United. Combined with his age, the helter-skelter nature of the A-League Men, and the scorching summer heat it's played in, it's not unfair to reserve judgment on his ability to be a key figure week-in-and-week-out until he proves capable. Further, less than a month out from round one, Diles now has to fit Mata into a side that already has the likes of Jordi Valadon, Reno Piscopo, Jing Reec, Santos, Nishan Velupillay, Keegan Jelacic, Louis D'Arrigo, and Denis Genreau signed to senior contracts and vying for minutes.

Not all of that list will play the same role as the club's newest signing, but personnel decisions don't take place in a vacuum -- each decision requires adjustments elsewhere to ensure the whole functions at a level greater than the sum of its parts. If Genreau and Mata play as dual No. 10s, for instance, where does that leave a winger such as Velupillay? Or if the latter drops deeper, as he did at Macarthur FC behind Beñat Etxebarria and Markel Susaeta in 2020-21, where does that leave D'Arrigo and Valadon? With suggestions that Diles could look to utilise both a back four and back five at times this season, how will the role of Mata, whose legs aren't what they once were, play into that?

Listening to Mata speak at his unveiling, there was a feeling that he felt a sense of unfinished business in the A-League Men -- that he'd come out to Australia to accomplish something, and he felt he was yet to deliver on that. Victory, for their part, have plenty of unfinished business after two Grand Finals and an Australia Cup final defeat in the past two years. Now the question is if they can seal the deal together.