Chasing one’s dreams can be a daunting task. Sometimes it requires failure, other times it demands venturing outside of your comfort zone.
For Real Monarchs forward and Auckland, New Zealand-native, Max Mata is reaching that dream in a country far from home in an environment entirely different from what he is accustomed to.
The 20-year-old Mata signed in December of 2020, when the Monarchs organization made a change to start attracting younger international players to fill out its roster.
Mata’s love with the game of soccer first began at the age of five. Although he can’t pinpoint when his passion for the game grew, some of his favorite memories as a kid came when he was on the field playing the simple, yet intricate sport.
“I would either play football at the park with my friends, at school, or even with the local club team, Mata said. “At that age you didn’t worry about what you wanted to do with the game, you just did it because you enjoyed playing.”
As the young Kiwi grew older his soccer skills began to set him apart from his peers and his competitors. He first broke into the professional scene at 16, playing for the Wellington Phoenix of the A-League before featuring for U-20 New Zealand National team in 2019 where he caught his big break.
He competed in several high-profile games for his nation, even winning the Golden Boot for his outstanding offensive performance in the OFC Championship in 2019, during which he netted five goals. Later that year he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Grasshoppers Club Zurich in Switzerland and after a brief stint between Switzerland and Estonia he began looking into the American market, eventually finding his way to Real Monarchs.
Now in Utah, he has proven himself to be one of the biggest targets in the Monarchs attack and has become a mainstay up top for the team. When asked about Mata's impact on the team Assistant Coach Cody Worden said “His ball striking and his hold up game have been second to none. He really strikes the football which is absolutely fantastic. He’s also a natural leader. He demands a lot of himself, so it’s easier for him to demand a lot of others. He’s been a warrior for us and that’s great because we’ve been able to rally behind that.”
Off the field has proven a different challenge.
Throughout his career Mata has played in multiple countries, but he has never taken on a challenge like moving to Utah on the other side of the world. He’s now calls home nearly 7,000 miles away from his family and everything that is comfortable to him.
“I’ve never been to this part of the world, so it’s something new for me,” Mata said. “The easiest thing about moving countries is playing football. The most difficult thing is not having the presence of the people I love around me.”
Mata prides himself on holding a firm foundation among his family and like many of the other international athletes in the Monarchs squad will have to play the entire season without seeing his family.
Although being away from his family has been an extremely tough element for him to endure, the one thing that has kept him grounded has been his dream of becoming a professional. He has bought into what the Real Salt Lake organization is doing and wants to do all he can to help his team succeed.
“I’m really focused on what we’re doing here as a collective. For my personal success if the team does well then I will do well,” Mata said. “We hope to have multiple players move on up from here. We have great players and a good team culture. So, the next step really is to start winning games here.”
Still, the Monarchs have yet reached their full potential as the team nears the halfway point of the 2021 season. In the month of July they have dropped three out of four games, but after a solid team performance against Las Vegas Lights on July 23, highlighted by Mata’s first goal, the tides may indicate a change is coming.
Look for Mata to be one of the standouts that has the ability to slingshot the Monarchs to the pinnacle of the Western Conference’s Mountain Division.
The team is back on the road this Saturday in El Paso, Texas to face Locomotive FC before coming back home to Zions Bank Stadium to take on Rio Grande Valley Toros next Wednesday night at 8:00pm.MT. Tickets to the match on August 4 are available at RealMonarchs.com.
