A Quote by Juan Mata
I've been lucky to be born in Spain to a good family. But some team-mates reached the same position from a tough background. Football is equal, and it doesn't matter where you come from.
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If everyone's on the same page, doesn't matter what race, what background, what religion you are, if everyone comes together like a good, solid football team, baseball team... that's how you win games. It's easy.
Of course, I enjoy assisting my team-mates because playing no.10 is the position you have to serve your team-mates.
I know from my Real Madrid team-mates Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira and my family in Andalucia that people look up to me in Spain.
The most important thing is that Spain have a good team no matter who plays. It is always nice to see your name spoken but the important thing is that the national team does well. But having good players for every position is important because there are always injuries, drops of form.
I'm always bragging, always laughing with my Spain team-mates at Barcelona, saying I'll take 30 per cent possession and two goals - a win is a win. It's football.
In football, I've always been about adapting to what's asked of me, to what my team-mates need from me. I'm a team player.
You are asking, 'Is the concept of soul mates more useful than marriage?' Concepts don't matter. What matters is your understanding. You can change the word marriage to the word soul mates, but you are the same. You will make the same hell out of soul mates as you have been making out of marriage - nothing has changed, only the word, the label. Don't believe in labels too much.
I have the same relationship with all my team-mates. For me, all my team-mates are the same.
My family came over from Spain about nine generations ago. I was born in San Diego, but by the time I was four days old, I was on a flight back to Spain because that's where my family was living at the time.
The football in Spain is more about skill and technique. Every team tries to play good football. The physical side, with plenty of running and hard tackling, plays more of a role in the Bundesliga.
If I am helping my team-mates in some way, giving assistance, passing the ball, I'll already be very happy, but of course, in my position, I have to score.
The latitude and longitudinal lines of where you are born determine your opportunity in life, and it's not equal. We may have been created equal, but we're not born equal. It's a lot to do with luck and you have to pass that on.
The heartbeat of a football team is the quarterback position and I think everyone who has any intelligence about the game understands you must have consistency at that position to be a championship team.
We're not all equal as far as intelligence is concerned. We're not equal as far as size. We're not all equal as far as appearance. We do not all have the same opportunities. We're not born in the same environments, but we're all absolutely equal in having the opportunity to make the most of what we have and not comparing or worrying about what others have.
It has been tough when I have been with the national team and we have gone to play in some of the poorer areas in Brazil. You see people come and watch us train or play a match, and then you know some of them are going home with no food on the plate.
Los Angeles is such a great meritocracy. Where can someone with my background - don't have the right family background, the right religion, the right provenance or whatever you want to call it - I come here and I'm accepted. The city's been good to me. And I want to give back.
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