Spanish Mata-dor hails Di Matteo as ‘perfect’ boss
Having ended Chelsea’s agonising wait for Champions League glory, Di Matteo has led them to a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League and transformed them into one of the most entertaining teams to watch at the moment.
And Mata, who has been the club’s star of the season so far and arguably the best player in England on current form, could not praise the former Stamford Bridge midfielder highly enough.
He said: “Robbie knows very well the team, Robbie knows very well the club as well. He is a legend here.
“And now, as a manager, he connects very well with the team, in every meeting, in every speech, he goes deep inside every one of us, talking about every game.
“I think it’s very important to be ready for every competition, for the Premier League and now for the Champions League.
“He knows how important it is for the club to play these kinds of games, to win again the Champions League like last season. So, I think for us, he’s the perfect manager.”
Chelsea are not short of legends in the current squad, with Frank Lampard, Petr Cech and John Terry firmly in that category.
Mata may only be in his second season at Stamford Bridge but he will surely join those ranks if he maintains the kind of form that has seen him score six goals — and set up many more — in his last five games.
“We have three or four players who are very, very important for us,” Mata said.
“They are legends now at the club because of what they did during eight, nine, 10 years.
“And they are our captains as well, so they are the present and still the future of Chelsea.
“On the other hand, we have young players, for example like me, who want to be as good as them in the history of Chelsea. I wish I will be like Frank Lampard or like John Terry in the next years.
“This is my second year at Chelsea. I really enjoyed the first one. It was one of the best in the history of Chelsea. But I think the best is still to come.
“We are now enjoying (life) with young and with experienced players and I think there is a balance that we have in the dressing room.”
Donetsk boss Mircea Lucescu, meanwhile, has warned Chelsea will be made to pay for failing to appreciate Willian’s “true value” in tonight’s clash at the Donbass Arena.
Lucescu accused the European champions of making a derisory bid for the Brazil playmaker, who they tried to buy in January and reportedly made another attempt to sign this summer.
Shakhtar were said to have snubbed a £16.7 million offer at the start of 2012 and one in the region of £27m after the Blues were crowned kings of Europe.
Lucescu, who admitted he had given Willian assurances he could move to Stamford Bridge, said: “Willian was far away from Chelsea.
“They didn’t even get anywhere near to our requirements, having done nothing to make my promises to Willian come true.
“Speaking specifically about the amounts, they officially offered the sum for which we had bought him young.
“I would really like them to highly appreciate his true value tomorrow and realise that they made a big mistake.”
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