Max Mata

Max Andrew Mata (born 10 July 2000) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for League of Ireland club Sligo Rovers and the New Zealand national team.

Max Mata
Personal information
Full name Max Andrew Mata[1]
Date of birth (2000-07-10) 10 July 2000
Place of birth New Zealand
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Sligo Rovers
Number 27
Youth career
–2018 Onehunga Sports
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Wellington Phoenix Reserves 16 (8)
2017–2018 Eastern Suburbs 18 (3)
2019–2020 Grasshopper II 10 (5)
2019 → Nõmme Kalju (loan) 14 (9)
2021–2022 Real Monarchs 19 (2)
2022– Sligo Rovers 40 (16)
International career‡
2017 New Zealand U-17 7 (5)
2018–2019 New Zealand U-20 6 (5)
2019– New Zealand 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 May 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 November 2023

Club career

New Zealand

After shining in New Zealand as the youngest goalscorer in the country's top-flight at 15, Mata would travel to Switzerland to train with Swiss giants, Grasshoppers. After an impressive trial period, he signed for the club.

Grasshoppers

After scoring four goals in his first seven games for the reserves, he was loaned to Estonian side, Nõmme Kalju, in 2019 to further his development in a first-team environment. Mata never established himself with Zurich's first-team.

Nõmme Kalju

After joining on loan, Mata made his professional debut for Nõmme Kalju in their 5–0 loss to Celtic in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round on 24 July 2019.[2] Mata would make 20 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 12 times.

Real Monarchs

Mata left Switzerland on a free transfer in December 2020 and signed for American second-tier side, Real Monarchs.[3]

Sligo Rovers

On 15 February 2022, it was announced that Mata had signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club Sligo Rovers.[4]

International career

U-20

Mata was named in the New Zealand U-20 side for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He was picked for the tournament even though he would be unavailable for the first two games of the tournament due to a red card that he picked up in the final of the OFC U-19 Championship qualifiers.[5][6] Mata ended up making two appearances for the U-20s, first in the last group game against Uruguay, where he captained the team, and in the round of 16 penalty shootout loss to Colombia.[7][8]

National team

Mata made his international debut on 15 November 2019, coming on as a substitute for New Zealand in their 0–1 loss to Lithuania.[9] After a long spell out of the national team, he earned a call up in March 2023 for two friendly fixtures against China.[10]

Personal life

Mata is of Māori and Cook Island Māori descent.[11]

Honours

International

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: New Zealand" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
  2. "Celtic 5–0 Nomme Kalju: Griffiths scores first goal since November in rout". BBC Sport. 24 July 2019.
  3. "Real Monarchs Add New Zealand Forward Max Mata". www.rsl.com. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  4. "Max Mata signs for Sligo Rovers – Sligo Rovers".
  5. Voerman, Andrew (14 May 2019). "Ban no barrier to Kiwi striker Max Mata making Fifa Under-20 World Cup squad". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  6. "Talented New Zealand team heading into Fifa Under-20 World Cup full of confidence". Stuff.co.nz. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  7. "Uruguay end group stage with perfect record". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  8. "Cafeteros outlast Kiwis in dramatic shoot-out". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  9. Voerman, Andrew. "Second-string All Whites fail to seize opportunities in loss to Lithuania". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  10. "All Whites squad named for home series vs China". www.nzfootball.co.nz.
  11. "Young Kiwi signs professional football contract in Europe – 'proud of my family name and where I have come from'" – via TVNZ.
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