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David Villa - One of the most underrated football players of our generation.
A thread.
A thread.
The fact that’s unknown to a lot of people is that the Spaniard’s footballing career was actually close to ending before it could even start as he had suffered a femur injury at the age of 4. Spain was about to lose a gem and watch him become an electrician instead.
However his father had other ideas and he reignited his son’s footballing, helping him practice by rolling a ball on his weaker left foot for hours every day. This was when Villa had not recovered yet and had to take the wall’s support as he still had his cast on.
After he had recovered and his career was about to begin, he was labelled as “too short” by some clubs which somehow meant he had “no potential”. Sporting Gijón, his local club helped him by giving him his first team debut in the year 2000-2001 and a chance to prove himself.
Villa did exactly what he was asked of and showed his potential as he scored 41 goals in 85 appearances for their first team. After his impressive performances he got a chance of featuring in Spain’s top flight when Zaragoza came calling.
The 22-year old was signed for a €3mn fee which paid off in his first season itself. He scored 21 goals in his first season including 4 in one game against Sevilla. A goal in the Copa Del Rey final against the mighty Real Madrid helped the newly promoted side defeat them 3:2.
Thanks to Villa, Zaragoza won the Supercopa de España as well and secured their place in the 2004-05 UEFA Cup. 2 last minute goals in the game gave his team a crucial victory in their opening group game. In his second season he scored 18 goals in 48 games.
39 goals in 94 appearances convinced Valencia that El Guaje indeed had potential to become one of the world’s best. They paid €12mn for his services which is one of the best bargains till date.
In his first season he scored 28 goals in 47 appearances including a 5 mins hattrick against Sevilla, a brace against Barcelona and THIS 50 yard screamer. His goal tally was the best any Valencia player had managed in the last 60 years. He was just 1 short of Eto’o in the league.
Fending off serious interest from all the top clubs in Spain, Villa remained loyal to Valencia. He scored at least 20 goals in each season and won the Copa Del Rey with them, the club’s first trophy in 4 years.
His last 2 seasons were astonishing though. He equalled Mario Kempes and Predrag Mijatović for the most goals scored in a league season with 28 goals in 33 games. Only Eto’o managed to scored more than him that season but he was part of a Barcelona side had scored 129 more goals.
That final season with Valencia saw him score more goals than any other player, in Europe, 43 goals in 54 games across all competitions for club and country. This saw him get nominated for the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year.
On 19th May, 2010 Barcelona secured the signing of David Villa for €40mn. Scoring a brace against rivals Real Madrid on his clasico debut made him an instant fan favourite. He scored in the 3:1 against Manchester United and won his first ever Champions League trophy.
An unfortunate injury in his second season ruled him out for the entire season. The next season he managed 16 goals from 43 appearances. Overall he scored 48 times in 119 appearances for Barcelona which is still impressive considering he was injured and had a lot of competition.
The arrival of Neymar in 2013 would see Villa leave Barcelona after winning the La Liga twice, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and the Copa Del Rey with the club and join Atlético Madrid.
In his only season there, he helped Atlético win the league title straightaway which was their first since 1996, scoring 15 goals for them in the process. He even reached the Champions League final with them only to be defeated by Real Madrid in extra time.
Villa then left Spain and joined MLS side New York City and ended up conquering the United States as well. In his 4 seasons there he scored an impressive 82 goals in 130 appearances and was the MLS MVP in 2016. He made the all-star team in all four of his seasons.
For the final club season of his career, he joined the Japanese club Vissel Kobe to join his former teammate Andres Iniesta there. On 13th November, 2019 he announced that he’s going to retire from the game.
In his 28 appearances there he scored 13 goals including a goal on the final matchday of J-League which turned out to be his last. He ended his long and illustrious career with a trophy again as he helped Vissel win their first ever title as they won the Emperor’s Cup in 2019.
His international career though is one that even the best dream about. The top scorer in Spain’s history with 59 goals in 98 games and their highest scorer in World Cup history. His contribution was more instrumental than the others in Spain’s maiden World Cup victory.
Won the golden boot at UEFA Euro 2008 and the silver boot at the FIFA World Cup 2010 helping Spain win both the tournaments. Spanish player of the year in 2005-06 he even made the FIFA FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year in 2010.
Villa managed a grand total of 382 goals and 90 assists in 742 appearances in his senior career which goes largely unnoticed due to the fact that he played in the same league as Messi and Ronaldo. He’s still the only player to win at the Santiago Bernabeu with 3 different clubs.
David Villa’s versatility enabled him to play a number of positions up front and this was of huge help to any manager in case of unfortunate injuries to other players. During his career he played as a second striker, winger, attacking midfielder and even as a striker.
“I'd have David Villa over Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo" - Vicente del Bosque.
“David Villa is a phenomenon – the best in Europe" - Quini, five-time Pichichi winner.
A thread just to make others aware of Villa’s underrated career that deserves much more recognition.
“David Villa is a phenomenon – the best in Europe" - Quini, five-time Pichichi winner.
A thread just to make others aware of Villa’s underrated career that deserves much more recognition.
