was reading the guardian, then i spot juan mata!

Now then, Juan, Small Talks hears that you were doubly disappointed after Manchester United won at Mestalla. Not only had Valencia lost, but you missed out on a chance to get Ryan Giggs's shirt … Yes, that's true. I've liked him a lot since I was little. I think he's one of the best wingers I have ever seen. It was a real shame that he couldn't play in the first leg. Hopefully he'll play against us at Old Trafford. Let's see if I can get his shirt off him this time round.

You supported Real Oviedo. But does this mean you also supported Man United as a kid? No. But I liked Giggs. I watched a lot of English football. United, Chelsea … I remember liking Arsenal with Dennis Bergkamp. That was a great team. I have played at Old Trafford before in a pre-season friendly and it's a wonderful stadium. It'll be even better on a European night I'm sure. I'm looking forward to it. I'd love to win there.

Valencia dominated the first game but lost. Their goal was a big team's goal. They might not have created a lot of chances but when they did they killed us. I was really struck by that. We were playing well: we were as good as they were and felt satisfied to have matched a team like Manchester United – and then they scored. That's experience: as a club, they know how to play the competition. They felt comfortable playing that role, they have the experience to know that even if the other team is playing well they can resist, defend, protect themselves, and wait for their chance. Then on a counter-attack: bang!

How did you feel afterwards? Annoyed. We had played so well, we had set it up well. But that desire to win, that anxiety to get the result, might have counted against us. It was partly because we were so keen to win the match, to chase it, that they caught us out.

Against Rangers, the opposite was true. In Scotland, you mean? In Spain we beat them well. Yeah. They created a lot of chances and we got an own goal. It was a good result – and a bit fortunate.

Who stands out in the United side? I like Nani a lot, Chicharito, who I have played against with Spain. Dimitar Berbatov has a lot of class. Like Giggs, Paul Scholes is one of the greats of Man United's history. He is very complete: he can push up and play behind the strikers scoring a lot of goals, he has a great shot; he can sit deeper and play, he has superb technique and vision and passes brilliantly. I like him a lot. He's one of the best there has been.

Valencia have lost David Silva and David Villa this year. We saw Villa get two against Real Madrid in the Clásico last week. He was also top scorer at the World Cup. And he's a fellow Asturian. Do you miss him? Yes. Not just in footballing terms – there are other good strikers – but also in human ones. He is a very good friend and there are days when I miss him here.

Why isn't anyone talking about him as a candidate for the Balon d'Or? Being realistic, if he hadn't had such a good World Cup we wouldn't have won the tournament. There were a lot of games in which his goals were the difference, they unblocked tight games – against Honduras, Portugal and Paraguay. That Paraguay game was huge. If it wasn't for him, we might have drawn and then lost on penalties, or got caught and lost the game outright. And when he scored, when his shot went in off both posts, that was the moment that I thought maybe things were going to go our way – maybe we were going to win the World Cup after all. I think he was hugely important. For me, he should be a candidate. But I imagine the voters will look at his club season too. And Barcelona won the league.

Villa's a mate. But who's the nicest guy in football? Joaquín Sánchez … Joan Capdevila … and MC Pepe Reina!

Who's the biggest pain to play against? Dani Alves demands so much of you both offensively and defensively. He runs and runs and runs … and then runs some more … buf!

Fifty days is a lot of time to kill at a World Cup. Luckily, England never have that problem. What did you do? I took a load of books. I read John Carlin's book about Nelson Mandela, The Human Factor. It talks about everything that Mandela did for his country, for humanity, and it relates it all to sport. I read it because I was there. I was given it to take to South Africa with me. I wanted to know a bit about the country we were playing in. I also took the whole series of Entourage, a load of other DVDs and I played a lot of table tennis.

Are you any good? Well … I like it [grinning].

You're one of the best, aren't you? [Blushing slightly] Erm, yes. Well … one of the ones that played. I played with Victor Valdés, Ramos, Busquets, Llorente, Piqué – those two played well. There was a bit of tension, edge. The standard was pretty good.

What was the last CD you bought? Dani Martín's latest. He's the singer from El Canto del Loco.

What would you order for your last meal? Turkey steaks with cheese sauce – the ones my mum makes.

Small Talk suspects it knows what your next answer will be, then. Cheese or chocolate? Chocolate, definitely.

Oh. What would you put in Room 101? In what?

[Small Talk launches into another barely adequate explanation of the concept of Room 101, involving Orwell, stuff you hate, and wiping things from the earth.] Most people just say: 'war'. Ah, OK. [Looking very much like he still has no idea what the bloody hell Small Talk is on about] Erm … Injustice, lies and bad people – people with bad intentions that only want to hurt you.

Are there lots of those in football? This is a world that, well … [pauses] … I don't know if they are good or bad people but there are some people hanging round the sport, from the outside, with bad intentions.

What have you got in your pockets? I haven't got pockets.

[Small Talk looks at Juan Mata. He is wearing his training kit; shorts, shirt and trainers, all ready to head out into the sunshine at Paterna] Ah, yeah. Good point. So where are you going now? Erm … to train.

Ah, yeah. That's a good point too. Thanks Juan. No worries, Small Talk.


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