Max Mata: back to Swiss football

The 19-year old New Zealand prospect Max Mata had a very good year in 2019. Last January the striker signed his first professional contract with Grasshopper Zurich that currently plays the Challenge League, the second-tier of football in Switzerland. The club is famous in the country and played several season in the top league.

Mata signed for the club and was directly sent to the U21 squad that currently plays in the fourth tier of football in Switzerland. The New Zealender played in seven matches for the youth side, scoring four goals in total. In order to keep his development, Grasshopper decided to loan Mata to the Estonian top-tier side Nõmme Kalju in July, just before the striker represented his country in the U20 FIFA World Cup held in Poland, where New Zealand impressed, but were knocked-out of the tournament in the round of 16 after being defeated by Colombia in the penalty shootout.

Mata has a very succesful stint during his time in Estonia: Nõmme Kalju finished the league in 3rd place; Max Mata had an excellent record with the club, scoring eleven goals in twenty matches played for the Estonian side. The Kiwi had a rare opportunity to play at UEFA Champions League at only 19 years old, as Kalju took part in the prelimiary stages of the competition facing the giant Scottish side Celtic FC. The Estonians could not grab an upset, but Mata can proudly say he made his professional debut in an UEFA Champions League match. Mata and his club also took part in the UEFA Europa League, as they were knocked-out of the top continental competition, in a double-legged contest against Luxembourg side Dudelange, but Mata and his teammates could not advance in the competition.

Another fantastic moment in Mata’s career happened in the last year when the player was called up by New Zealand head coach Danny Hay for the European tour of the New Zealand national team to play against Ireland and Lithuania in November. The talented striker made his international debut in Vilnius against Lithuania entering in the second half of a match that ended-up in a 1-0 defeat of the All-Whites.

After a superb year, Mata is back to Switzerland in 2020. The player hopes to have opportunities in the first team of Grasshopper as he already proved himself in his stint in Nõmme Kalju, represented New Zealand in U17 and U20 World Cups and is now a full-capped international after his debut for the All-Whites.