Nemanja Matic: 'I've Had My Doubters. I Knew I Would Prove Them Wrong'

Nemanja Matic: ‘Ole has improved a lot at United. I’m sure he will win us trophies.’ Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images
Nemanja Matic: ‘Ole has improved a lot at United. I’m sure he will win us trophies.’ Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images
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Nemanja Matic: 'I've Had My Doubters. I Knew I Would Prove Them Wrong'

Nemanja Matic: ‘Ole has improved a lot at United. I’m sure he will win us trophies.’ Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images
Nemanja Matic: ‘Ole has improved a lot at United. I’m sure he will win us trophies.’ Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images

Nemanja Matic could be forgiven for feeling frustrated. Manchester United’s unbeaten run has stalled at 11 games after a resurgence largely featuring his presence in midfield. . He lists United’s last league game – the 2-0 derby win against City – as a highlight of his Old Trafford career.

“I cannot say I didn’t enjoy this month at home,” he says via video link. “Normally when we’re playing, we travel a lot. We’re away every two or three days. It’s been nice to spend time with the kids.” Off the pitch, Matic talks like he plays: measured, pragmatic, and to the point.

The Serbia midfielder is taking part in a live Instagram Q&A session with Football Beyond Borders, fielding questions from young people about his storied career. Matic first met the charity’s co-director Jasper Kain at an event in Manchester with a former United teammate Chris Smalling – and found a cause close to his heart.

“When I hear the kids’ stories, some of them have difficult lives,” Matic says. “That stays in my heart, because I know what they’re going through. The charity gives them the chance to find success, to make their lives easier. In my village in Serbia we were poor but I was happy. Every day we would be outside playing football. We had more freedom than kids today.”

Matic grew up in Vrelo, 40 miles south-west of Belgrade. As a promising attacking midfielder he idolized Zinedine Zidane but did not have a TV at home to watch games. “I would collect newspaper clippings just to read about him, and the put the pictures up in my room.” Some of Matic’s friends still play for the local team. “They just got promoted to the fourth division, so now they have to train harder,” he says.

The virtues of hard work and perseverance are what Matic wants to get across to his young audience. “Follow your dreams. Never give up … I’ve had a lot of doubters in my career, people who didn’t believe in me.” As a teenager he was rejected by both Belgrade clubs, Red Star and Partizan. “I knew I was good enough, and one day I would prove them wrong, show them they made a mistake. And that’s exactly what I did.”

Matic found his feet at the Slovakian club Kosice, earning his first move to Chelsea in 2009. He was quickly sent out on loan to Vitesse, then used as a makeweight in the club’s move for the Benfica defender David Luiz. In Portugal he was reshaped into a defensive midfielder by the coach Jorge Jesus. “He said if I listened to him and trained every day, I could be one of the best in the world. Benfica changed my life.”

Matic, now 31, learned the new position, and also how to thrive at a superclub. One young fan asks if he still feels pressure.“When I was younger I felt a lot of pressure, seeing 70,000 people in the stadium. Now, if the fans sing my name, I just feel more motivation to run, to kick people … just kidding. I don’t do that on purpose.”

Matic was brought back to Chelsea in 2014 by Mourinho, the manager he would later follow to United. He is asked whether the Portuguese lives up to his combative public persona. “It depends. If you win, he’s the best guy ever. But if you lose, you’re hiding from him at the training ground. But he’s an amazing coach.”

Matic holds back only when discussing his surprise second departure from Stamford Bridge, where he won titles playing for Mourinho and Antonio Conte. “I was very happy at Chelsea, but I thought it was the right moment to change club. There were reasons which are hard for me to say now. I will never forget my time there, but I’m a Manchester United player now.”

Matic has high praise for his manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær. “Ole is a great manager. I think he has improved a lot since he came to United, and he is different now. I’m sure he has a great future here, and he will win us trophies.”

Another question flies in: who is his favorite teammate? Matic tackles it with trademark lack of fuss. “There is not one guy who is not a good person in our changing room. I’m 31 now, and some of the players are 10 years younger than me. I speak more to players my own age, like Paul [Pogba], David [de Gea] and Juan [Mata], but I set next to Mason Greenwood in the dressing room, so we’ve got to know each other too.”

Matic has also been impressed by United’s new recruit, Bruno Fernandes. “Because I follow the Portuguese league, I knew he was good – even though he played for Sporting! But I’m very surprised he adapted so quickly to the Premier League. He brings us a lot of qualities, like the confidence he has on the pitch – he always knows what he wants to do with the ball.”

Asked to name United’s best player, Matic does not hesitate. “We have a lot of young players, but they have maybe not reached their top yet, but Marcus Rashford has the ability to be one of the best players in the world in his position. He’s still improving, but he has everything to reach that top level.”

Matic’s work ethic has taken him a long way. “I wake up early. I never stay up late. Get up, train, eat, sleep. Even on holiday, by the end of the week I need to train. Football is my life; I take it very seriously. I’ve felt like a professional player since I was five years old. I don’t know how to be any different.”

(The Guardian)



Joao Pedro Brace Sends Chelsea into Club World Cup Final

Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
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Joao Pedro Brace Sends Chelsea into Club World Cup Final

Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)

Joao Pedro marked his first Chelsea start in spectacular fashion on Tuesday, scoring twice to fire the Premier League side into the Club World Cup final with a 2-0 victory over his boyhood club Fluminense.

The 23-year-old Brazilian forward, signed from Brighton & Hove Albion for 60 million pounds ($81.5 million) last week, curled home a fabulous strike in the 18th minute before sealing the win with a brilliant finish following a counter-attack early in the second half.

Chelsea will face Real Madrid or Paris St Germain, who meet in the second semi-final on Wednesday, in Sunday's final.

"I’m pleased about everything, to be honest. It's a great achievement," Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca told DAZN.

"It's been a fantastic season. To finish top four in the Premier League, win the Conference League title, now in the final in the Club World Cup. We are so, so, so happy.

"We knew with Joao Pedro that we have a player that is able to do what he has just done."

The semi-final took place in brutal conditions in New Jersey, with an afternoon kickoff in scorching heat that prompted a National Weather Service warning. Temperatures soared past 35 degrees Celsius with over 54% humidity.

Chelsea started the game in control against a Fluminense side who adopted a conservative approach, with a deep five-men defense, inviting their rivals to hold possession and trying to counter attack.

The English side struggled to find their way through against Fluminense’s defensive block, but they broke the deadlock in the 18th minute thanks to Joao Pedro's shot from the edge of the box into the top corner of the net.

The Brazilian refused to celebrate his goal, a gesture of respect for Fluminense, where he came through the academy before making his professional debut as a 17-year-old. His journey took him to Watford in 2019 and Brighton in 2023 before joining Chelsea.

Fluminense, who stunned Champions League runners-up Inter Milan in the last 16 and Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals, nearly equalized when Hercules burst unmarked into the box following a slick one-two with German Cano, only for Marc Cucurella's goalline clearance to preserve Chelsea's lead.

The Brazilian side thought they had earned a lifeline when referee Francois Letexier awarded a penalty for Trevoh Chalobah's handball, but VAR overturned the decision.

Just as Fluminense appeared to be building momentum in the second half, Pedro delivered the knockout blow in the 56th minute, taking a fine pass by Enzo Fernandez before dribbling past Ignacio and smashing in an unstoppable shot off the underside of the crossbar.