When Juan Mata slid home a pass from Fernando Torres in the 88th minute of the Euro 2012 Final, he was putting the full stop on history.
Mata’s goal sealed Spain’s 4-0 win over Italy in Kyiv – the biggest victory ever in a European Championship final – to make them the first team to retain the trophy. After La Roja triumphed at Euro 2008, Mata was also part of the squad that won the 2010 World Cup, in a remarkable era of dominance.
Now 36, he looks back on his goal against Italy as a career highlight, and it came just six weeks after he’d lifted the Champions League with Chelsea. Not a bad summer, all told. Yet despite those achievements, he had never won a domestic league title until last year – and then he bagged two within six months, with Galatasaray in Turkey, then Vissel Kobe in Japan, before his January exit made him a free agent.