David Villa Scoring his way into History
There’s a legendary story to David Villa’s remarkable conquest at the World Cup. The Spaniard has been playing soccer for most of his life and for years was trained by his father. After a severe injury as a youngster, he was forced to play with his left foot, which ultimately rendered him a fully ambidextrous player. But what’s more, he’s a player bent on making up for lost time. After missing Spain’s European Championship victory two years ago, he’s set on taking the gold this time.
Villa’s stats at the World Cup speak for themselves. He’s the tournament’s lead scorer, with five goals in five games. In fact the 28-year-old striker is one goal away from tying Raul Gonzalez’s Spain-best record 44 goals, and if things go as they’ve been, there’s little doubt that he will.
Spain plays Germany on Wednesday, in a match that may well draw the biggest viewership of the Cup. After all, both teams have played extremely well, with Villa leading his team, and Germany taking no prisoners and accepting no losses.
On the upcoming match, Villa said: “We beat Germany two years ago and I don't think they are happy to meet us again. But we have to forget about that game. Without a World Cup (win), it's like we've achieved nothing.”
Although technically Germany has the better record and has played the better football, Spain, largely due to their charisma, is a favourite for the match.
And so is Villa, who has been Spain’s most reliable goal source since his debut in 2005.
Villa finished Euro 2008 with four goals, at the top of the group, but injured his leg during the semifinal win over Russia and was forced to miss the final, where Fernando Torres had the pleasure of scoring the most important goal in recent Spanish soccer history.
It won’t be easy against a young German team that flattened opponents like England and favourites Argentina. On the other hand, Spain has proven a tough-win team, coming through with close victories of Paraguay and Portugal that demonstrate a team that wrestles to victory more than demolishes it.
Villa has scored all but one of Spain’s goals so far in the competition.
“I'm happy with my five goals because they've been decisive,” Villa said recently. “It's also different because when you win by a lot of goals it doesn't hold the same feeling as winning this way.”
It was Villa’s high output that prompted Barcelona to pay an alleged 40 million euros to Valencia for the Asturias native, who scored 32 times in 50 games last season.
In total, Villa presently has 43 goals in 63 games for Spain, 169 goals in 258 club games over five seasons, which includes 46 in 59 games during the 2008-09 season.
Fernando Torres said of Villa: “He's been very, very important for us, a key for Spain scoring a lot of goals. He gives us the opportunity to go forward and think about winning the World Cup.”
So far, the duo of Torres and Villa has been irrepressible. The former has the ability to find room amongst the defense of his opponents and push the limits of off-sides to free up scoring opportunities. But while Villa continues to score, Torres has struggled in finding the net since he returned from knee surgery, to the point that against Germany, many wonder if he is a smart choice as a starter.
At the same time, Torres has been praised by his coach, Vicente del Bosque, and other team members. Goalkeeper Pepe Reina said Monday: “He's got the confidence of the coach, his teammates. He can repeat his Euro feats and be fundamental for us.”
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