Dani Olmo and Juan Mata face off for RB Leipzig and Man Utd in the
Champions League but got together to talk over Zoom
In one corner, Dani Olmo. In the other, Juan Mata. On the screen and on the pitch. Tomorrow night,
Manchester United meet RB Leipzig in the Champions League; now, two of their players meet over Zoom, aware that unless something strange happens in
Paris, come 10 o’clock Tuesday only one will remain in the competition, their fate in each other’s hands. “It’s a pity we can’t both go through,” Olmo says. “It’s difficult: we didn’t want to reach the last game in this situation,” Mata says.
The two Spaniards have been talking about playing
Football for fun, connecting with the child inside, but this is a bit serious for that. “In those final minutes before the match, it’s impossible to avoid the emotion, the nerves, those feelings, the thought: ‘We have to win,’” Mata says. “Well, draw in this case. Truth is, there are elements of professional football that make it harder to enjoy: the demands to get a result, to play well or lose your place, to perform in front of 80,000, not with your
Friends in front of no one.