'I asked a ball boy to give me a ball as a souvenir. He told me he couldn’t give it to me as the game wasn’t over, but I took it out of his hands and tucked it under my shirt' Juan Mata describes the mayhem of the World Cup final whistle in South Africa

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Juan Mata recalls the moment Spain won their first-ever World Cup and the messy 48 hours that followed

Sergio Busquets, Jesus Navas, Sergio Ramos, Javier Martinez and Juan Manuel Mata of Spain pose with the trophy in the Spanish dressing room after they won the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Soccer City Stadium on July 11, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Juan Mata has opened up on Spain’s World Cup triumph in 2010, admitting he stole a souvenir and explaining how former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina was ‘king of the party’ in the celebrations that proceeded their first-ever World Cup win.

At Soccer City in Johannesburg, Spain defeated Holland 1-0 in extra-time, Andres Iniesta found the net inside 116 minutes to claim a historic night for the Spaniards. 

Speaking to FourFourTwo, former Manchester United and Chelsea man Mata, admits that he even kept the ball used in the contest, saying that he swiped it out of a ballboy’s hands.

Juan Mata smiles and gives a thumbs up in a Manchester United home shirt at Old Trafford

Juan Mata spoke to FourFourTwo about the World Cup win (Image credit: Getty)

“When he [Iniesta] scored, those on the pitch and those of us on the bench all ran the fastest 100 metres in history, beating Usain Bolt’s record! [Laughs]. It was total ecstasy. We were shouting in that corner of the pitch, hugging each other, but all around us you could hear silence because we were in the Dutch fans’ area. 

“Between the goal and the end of the game, I asked a ball boy to give me a ball as a souvenir. He told me he couldn’t give it to me as the game wasn’t over yet, but I took it out of his hands and tucked it under my shirt. Now I have it at home.”

Raúl Albiol and Juan Mata celebrate with the World Cup trophy after Spain's win over the Netherlands in the final in July 2010.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

After the game, it was all celebrations, with the Spaniards in some cases partying for two days straight. Pepe Reina was in the midst of it all, says Mata, who he labelled ‘the king of the ‘party’.

“I remember that after Howard Webb signalled the end of the game, Pepe Reina said, 'What a mess we’ve made'. That was a good summary. [Smiles] It was a 48-hour day after that – first in South Africa, then in Madrid, and later for each of us in our home towns. Nobody slept on the plane. 

“Pepe [Reina] was the king of the party, with drinks in his hand and a loudspeaker. In Madrid we had the official visit to the royal family and the official dinner. Those of us who made it to the second night were zombies!”

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Jacque Talbot
Jacque Talbot

Jacque Talbot is a freelance football journalist who predominantly specialises in transfer stories and exclusives. He began his career in 2016 covering the world-renowned Sandbach United, of North West Counties fame, before earning a spot on the sports desks of national papers, where he bounced between several outlets such as Sportbible, the Express, Mirror, and Daily Star. An NCTJ graduate of the News Associates who swapped investigative journalism in the Costa del Sol for football reporting in Northern England, he first wrote for FourFourTwo in December 2023.

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