Jaime Mata

Jaime Mata Arnaiz (born 24 October 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Getafe CF and the Spanish national team as a striker.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Mata and the second or maternal family name is Arnaiz.
Jaime Mata
Mata with Girona in 2015
Personal information
Full name Jaime Mata Arnaiz
Date of birth (1988-10-24) 24 October 1988
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Getafe
Number 7
Youth career
1998–2000 Tres Cantos
2000–2007 Galáctico Pegaso
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Pegaso B
2008–2010 Galáctico Pegaso 42 (17)
2010–2012 Rayo Vallecano B 37 (9)
2010 → Socuéllamos (loan) 20 (9)
2010–2011 → Móstoles (loan) 37 (25)
2012–2014 Lleida Esportiu 78 (32)
2014–2016 Girona 81 (21)
2016–2018 Valladolid 71 (41)
2018– Getafe 68 (25)
National team‡
2019– Spain 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 July 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23 March 2019

Club career

Born in Madrid, Mata finished his formation with local Galáctico Pegaso, making his senior debut with the reserves in 2007. After appearing with the main squad in Tercera División, he moved to neighbouring Rayo Vallecano in December 2009, being immediately loaned to UD Socuéllamos in the same level.[2]

Mata was subsequently loaned to fellow league team CD Móstoles in August 2010, in a season-long deal.[3] He returned to Rayo in summer 2011, being assigned to the B-team in Segunda División B.

On 5 July 2012, Mata signed for Lleida Esportiu also in the third division.[4] After scoring 32 goals in two seasons combined, he moved to Segunda División after agreeing to a two-year deal with Girona FC.[5]

Mata played his first match as a professional on 24 August 2014, starting in a 1–0 home win against Racing de Santander.[6] He scored his first goal six days later, netting the winner in a 2–1 success at AD Alcorcón.[7]

On 11 June 2015, in the first leg of the promotion playoffs' semi-finals, Mata scored a brace in a 3–0 away win over Real Zaragoza.[8] On 30 June 2016, after again being knocked out in the playoffs, he signed a two-year contract with Real Valladolid also of the second level.[9]

Mata scored a career-best 36 goals in his second season at the Estadio José Zorrilla, notably netting a hat-trick in a 5–1 away routing of Lorca FC on 19 May 2018.[10][11][12] On 2 July, he signed a three-year contract with La Liga club Getafe CF as a free agent,[13] making his debut in the competition on 24 August at the age of 29 years and ten months in a 2–0 home defeat of SD Eibar where he played 79 minutes.[14]

Mata scored his first top tier goal on 1 October 2018, netting the equaliser in a 1–1 away draw against RC Celta de Vigo.[15] In the following year, he scored braces against Deportivo Alavés, Celta and SD Huesca, being also named the competition's best player for the month of February.[16]

International career

On 15 March 2019, Mata was called up by Spain national team manager Luis Enrique for two UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Norway and Malta.[17] He won his first cap against the former, after coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for Álvaro Morata in the 2–1 victory in Valencia.[18]

References
  1. "Jaime Mata" (in Spanish). Getafe CF. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  2. El Socuéllamos contrata a Lui (Socuéllamos hire Lui); ABC, 2 December 2009 (in Spanish)
  3. El C.D. Móstoles continúa su puesta a punto sobre los campos "Iker Casillas" (C.D. Móstoles continue with preparations in "Iker Casillas" camps) Archived 17 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine; Móstoles, 16 August 2010 (in Spanish)
  4. El Lleida Esportiu incorpora al davanter centre Jaime Mata (Lleida Esportiu add centre forward Jaime Mata); Lleida Esportiu, 5 July 2012 (in Catalan)
  5. El delantero Jaime Mata ya es el primer fichaje del Girona (Forward Jaime Mata is already Girona's first signing); Marca, 18 June 2014 (in Spanish)
  6. Un gol de Felipe Sanchón le basta al Girona (A goal from Felipe Sanchón is enough for Girona); Marca, 25 August 2014 (in Spanish)
  7. El Girona remonta el partido en diez minutos (Girona complete comeback in ten minutes); Marca, 30 August 2014 (in Spanish)
  8. El Girona Mata en La Romareda (Girona Kill ("Mata" in English) at La Romareda); Marca, 11 June 2015 (in Spanish)
  9. Mata, primer delantero para el nuevo Pucela (Mata, first forward for the new Pucela); Real Valladolid, 30 June 2016 (in Spanish)
  10. Mata, con cifras de hace 30 años (Mata, with numbers from 30 years ago); Marca, 3 April 2018 (in Spanish)
  11. Jaime Mata se reafirma en el liderato con un triplete (Jaime Mata consolidates first place with a triple); Mundo Deportivo, 20 May 2018 (in Spanish)
  12. Mata alarga su cuenta y sentencia la presencia del Valladolid en promoción (Mata extends his tally and confirms Valladolid's presence in promotion); Eurosport, 3 June 2018 (in Spanish)
  13. "Mata es azulón" [Mata is blue] (in Spanish). Getafe CF. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  14. Rincón, Jaime (24 August 2018). "Getafe ease to victory over an Eibar side without bite". Marca. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  15. "Jaime ya 'mata' en Primera" [Jaime already 'kills it' (pun on his surname) in Primera] (in Spanish). Marca. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  16. "Jaime Mata, LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for February". La Liga. 7 March 2019. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  17. "OFFICIAL | Call-up for the first two EURO Qualifier matches". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 15 March 2019. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  18. "Spain edges Norway 2–1 in first Euro 2020 qualifier". Associated Press. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
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