Gäste-Forum » five seasons in San Diego. He signed wit

MANCHESTER, England - While he rotted away on Chelseas substitutes bench this season, Juan Mata could see his chances of playing for Spain at the World Cup slip away. Mata had already been dropped from Spains squad once this season and with the country blessed with so many playmakers, he was in real danger of being overlooked for the trip to Brazil to defend their title. That was one of the key reasons why Mata pressed for a move away from Chelsea once Manchester United registered its interest in signing him. "It was really important," said Mata, who completed his 37.1 million pound ($61.2 million) switch to United on Saturday. "The Spain squad is really difficult to get into, there are a lot of players fighting for positions to be in the last 23 going to Brazil. "I hope this is a great chance for me to keep playing, keep fit and show the manager of the national team I want to be there, I have to be there. I dont know what would have happened if I had stayed at Chelsea." The likelihood was that Mata would have remained on the bench, playing second fiddle to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinhos preferred attacking trio of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian. Even Andre Schuerrle was seeing more game time than Mata, whose last match for Chelsea was on Jan. 1 against Southampton — when he was substituted just after halftime and showed his displeasure at being taken off. At United, however, Mata is sure to play more regularly. "Now I am here, now the moment is here," Mata said Monday at his official presentation by United. "Now Im trying to play as much as I can to help the team and if things are good in the final part of the season, the World Cup is going to be closer for me, for sure." United manager David Moyes is still pinching himself that he managed to lure Mata from Chelsea, where the playmaker wasnt just the clubs player of the year for the past two seasons, he was also one of the Premier Leagues best players. "I got wind a month or two ago that it could be a possibility," Moyes said, "but I never believed we would pull it off. I have been saying that I didnt think we would get a chance to do much business in January — I didnt think the players we would be interested in would be available. But when we got the sniff that Juan would be available, we went after it right away." Moyes now has to decide where to play Mata, whose best position is undoubtedly in a central role behind the striker rather than out on the wings. He has big competition at United for the "No. 10 role," though, in Wayne Rooney, who has been Uniteds best player this season. Thats for Moyes to decide. For now, Mata is solely concentrating on making an impact at United and linking up as best he can with Rooney to restore Uniteds fortunes after a demoralizing first half of the season. "I cant wait to play alongside him," Mata said of Rooney. "For me, he is one of the best players in the history of this country, he is unbelievable." As well as being the most expensive player in Uniteds history, he is also being seen as the cure to Uniteds current ills. After romping to the Premier League title by 11 points last season, the team is seventh in the standings this campaign — 14 points behind leader Arsenal and six off fourth-place Liverpool. Mata says he can handle the expectations. "I like the pressure. I think it is good for a footballer to try and improve when you have pressure and people are expecting big things from you," Mata said. "And I am really looking forward to it, to try my best and help the team and make these amazing fans happy." At least he will be spared the pressure of wearing the mythical No. 7 shirt at United made famous by George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. United announced Monday he would be wearing the No. 8 jersey, taking it over from Anderson following the Brazilians move to Fiorentina this month. MLB Jerseys 2020 . The Canucks figured to be active prior to Wednesdays trade deadline, getting a jump on things the previous day when they dealt goaltender Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers for netminder Jacob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . -- New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has no concerns about the health of shortstop Derek Jeter, who was limited to 17 games last season due to leg injuries. https://www.mlbjerseys2020.com/. Howard hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. Stitched Nike MLB Jerseys . Blown save in the ninth inning? No problem. MLB Jerseys From China . With the players association in the midst of meetings in Las Vegas, a vote will be held on Friday to decide the CFLPAs presidency and other executive positions.The Carolina Panthers are finally getting active in free agency. The Panthers bolstered three areas of need on Friday, signing unrestricted free agent quarterback Joe Webb and cornerback Antoine Cason to one-year contracts and wide receiver Tiquan Underwood to a two-year deal. Financial terms were not released. The moves come after the Panthers signed free agents safety Roman Harper and wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery earlier this week. Webb gives the Panthers an extra quarterback during off-season workouts with Cam Newton sidelined four months rehabilitating from ankle surgery. Derek Anderson, who re-signed with the team, is expected to run the first-team offence while Newton is out. Webb spent the last four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, seeing action at quarterback and wide receiver. The Panthers said in a press release they plan to use Webb at quarterback. A former sixth-round draft pick out of Alabama-Birmingham, Webb completed 88 of 152 passes for 853 yards and three touchdowns and five interceptions with Minnesota. Webb signed with the Panthers after what coach Ron Rivera described as a "strong workout" on Friday. "He is a young player who intrigues us and has a similar skill set to Cam," Rivera said in a press release. "With Cam sidelined for the spring, it is an opportunity to get a good evaluation of Joe as well as Matt Blanchard, who was on our practice squad last year." The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Cason is a six-year NFL veteran who played for Rivera in San Diego when Rivera was the Chargers defensive co-ordinator.dddddddddddd Cason has played in 80 games with 49 career starts and is a potential replacement for starting cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, who signed this off-season as a free agent with Minnesota. "I have experience with Antoine and look forward to working with him again," Rivera said. Cason was a first-round draft pick by the Chargers in 2008 and had 12 interceptions and four forced fumbles in five seasons in San Diego. He signed with Arizona last year and saw his playing team dramatically reduced. He played in all 16 games but did not start, finishing with 14 tackles and two interceptions. Cason has been a durable player. Hes played in 96 consecutive games, which is tied for the third-longest active streak among NFL cornerbacks behind only William Gay (112) and Corey Graham (109), according to the Panthers. Underwood played the last two seasons with Tampa Bay where he started 10 games. He brings big play potential to Carolinas offence -- something they lost when Ted Ginn Jr. signed a free agent contract with the Cardinals this off-season. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound receiver caught 24 passes last season for 440 yards and four touchdowns in 2013, averaging 40 yards per TD catch and 18 yards per reception. "Tiquan has the kind of speed that helps any team and has shown good progress as a receiver," Rivera said. ' ' '