Football: Former Spain attacker Mata joins J1 title chasers Kobe

Former World Cup and Champions League winner Juan Mata has joined Vissel Kobe, the J-League first-division club said Sunday. The 35-year-old Spanish playmaker has been without a club after leaving Turkish club Galatasaray this summer and will join a Kobe side in the thick of the J1 title race. Mata is expected to fill in for Kobe's former Rubin Kazan midfielder Mitsuki Saito, who suffered a serious left knee injury against Kashiwa Reysol on Aug. 19 that has ruled him out for a year. Mata was a member of the Spanish team that won the 2010 World Cup along with former Vissel star Andres Iniesta. ...