Melbourne Victory’s Juan Mata and Canberra United’s Josie Aulicino have been voted by their peers as the winners of the Austraffic PFA Player of the Month for February.
The duo received the most votes from within their peer cohort, among the six players nominated for the Player of the Month in each the A-League Men and A-League Women competitions.
Mata’s incredible season at Victory continued throughout February, becoming the first player this season to be voted the winner by their peers for the award on multiple occasions after starring for his side during a four game unbeaten run.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup winner with Spain showcased his enormous talent with a string of virtuoso performances, tallying three assists and scoring twice. Mata’s standout performance in February came in the 3-1 Derby win over arch-rivals Melbourne City, where Mata was involved in each of Victory’s three goals on the night.
He kicked off the night by scoring one of the goals of the season, before restoring their lead with another stunning strike in the second-half and assisting Santos for the game-sealing strike.
Mata sits top of the assists chart in the A-League Men with ten for the season, to go with four goals to his name and looks set to play a huge part in Victory’s push for a first piece of league silverware in eight years.
Aulicino, meanwhile, has also been one of the standout recruits in the A-League Women this season and helped turn Canberra into title contenders heading into the business end of the campaign.
The American – who starred with NPLW Victoria champions Box Hill United prior to landing at Canberra – continued her fantastic year in February with a string of quality performances before the AFC Women’s Asian Cup break.
The pick of the bunch was in Canberra’s 3-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers, where she fired a match-winning brace at home.
Her performance was capped off by scoring a stunning long-range strike, where she nestled the ball perfectly into the top corner to cap off the win for her side.
The duo will receive a specially designed ball from PFA partners at Park SCC as a result of winning the Player of the Month. Both players will be able to choose to donate 10 balls to one of three charities – Football Empowerment, KitAid Australia and Football United.
Photos: Imago/ZUMA Press Wire and Anthony Caffery
2025-26 POTM winners
A-League Men
October/November: Joe Lolley (SYD)
December: Juan Mata (MVC)
January: Eli Adams (NEW)
February: Juan Mata (MVC)
A-League Women
October/November: Kirsty Fenton (SYD)
December: Sabitra Bhandari (WEL)
January: Teresa Morrissey (PER)
February: Josie Aulicino (CAN)
