David Villa

David Villa Sánchez (born 3 December 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Villa is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, and one of the greatest Spanish players of all time.

He is currently working as the Technical Advisor and Head of Global Football Operations for Indian Super League club Odisha FC.

He is the all-time top goalscorer for Spain.

Starting out at the team's youth ranks, he made his first-team debut in the 2000–01 season.

After scoring 25 goals in two seasons, he became a first team regular.

Pepe Acebal, Sporting's manager at the time, said that Villa initially lacked the stamina to have a real impact and had to be given his chance bit by bit and that Villa's capacity for work was "unrivalled".

Nicknamed El Guaje (The Kid in Asturian) due to a reputation of playing football with children much older than him, Villa sustained a serious injury as a child but managed to start his professional career with Sporting de Gijón in 2001.

He moved to Real Zaragoza after two seasons, where he made his La Liga debut, and won the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España.

With his goal tally nearly reaching 40 goals after spending two full seasons in Sporting's main team, Villa got his chance in Spain's top-flight when Sporting were in financial difficulty – newly promoted Real Zaragoza signed him for approximately €3 million in the summer of 2003.

The striker had no trouble adapting to playing at the higher level, netting 17 times in his first season at Zaragoza.

His league debut came during Zaragoza's first La Liga game since his arrival, where the team were defeated 1–0 away by Galician side Deportivo de La Coruña while his first goal came two games later, an eighth-minute goal against Real Murcia which put Zaragoza 2–0 up in a match which ended 3–0.

4 December 2003 saw him net his first brace (two goals) in a 2–2 draw against Athletic Bilbao and on 25 April 2004, he scored his first hat-trick in a tight 4–4 draw against Sevilla which saw Villa score all four of Zaragoza's goals, putting his team ahead on two occasions.

Zaragoza reached the 2004 Copa del Rey final where he played a big part in the team's victory, scoring a crucial goal to put the Aragonese outfit 2–1 up against Real Madrid in a match which eventually ended 3–2.

Soon after, he earned his first international call-up and cap, which resulted in Zaragoza fans becoming so proud of his achievements that they invented the football chant "illa illa illa, Villa maravilla", a play on the words "Villa" and "maravilla", the latter which translates to "marvel" but can also mean "wonderful" or "great" in that context.

After Zaragoza's triumph in the Copa del Rey, they were granted a place in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup; this was Villa's first time playing in a European competition.

In the team's opening group game, against Utrecht, Villa netted a brace in the dying minutes of the game, which ended 2–0 in Zaragoza's favour.

He joined Valencia in 2005 for a transfer fee of €12 million and captured another Copa del Rey title.

Villa made his international debut for Spain in 2005.

He scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup, was the top scorer at Euro 2008, and earned the Silver Boot at the 2010 World Cup.

He participated in four major tournaments, and was an integral member of the Spain teams that won UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

After a five-season tenure in Valencia where Villa elevated into one of the best players in La Liga, he signed for Barcelona for €40 million in 2010.

His displays for Spain and Valencia saw him named in the FIFPro World XI and UEFA Team of the Year for 2010.

In his first season, he won his first La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles, scoring in the 2011 final.

He left the club in 2013 after transferring to Atlético Madrid, where he won another La Liga title and reached the 2014 UEFA Champions League final.

Having scored at the 2014 World Cup, Villa established himself as Spain's top scorer in World Cup history, with nine goals.

After a single season in the Spanish capital, Villa departed to join new MLS franchise New York City, where he became the club's record goalscorer and appearance maker, winning the MLS MVP Award for best player in 2016.

He became the first Spanish player to ever reach 50 international goals and, after a brief comeback in 2017, he retired from the national team with 59 goals in 98 matches.

Villa was born in Tuilla, a small parish in Langreo, Asturias, a region in northern Spain, the son of José Manuel Villa, a miner.

When Villa was four, his chances of becoming a footballer were put in jeopardy when he suffered a fracture to the femur in his right leg, but he made a complete recovery.

Due to the injury, he and his father worked on strengthening his left leg and Villa ultimately became ambidextrous.

He recalls his father being consistently supportive: "He would be there throwing me the ball over and over, making me kick it with my left leg when my right was in plaster after breaking it, I was four. I can barely remember a single training session when my dad wasn't there. I have never been alone on a football pitch."

Villa admitted that he came close to giving up football at the age of 14 after growing disillusioned and falling out with his coach.

However, thanks to his parents' encouragement, he persisted in pursuing his dream, realising his talent could earn him a living.

"In those days I was a nobody, not earning a penny and after being made to sit on the bench all season I just wanted to get away and play with my friends" he said.

"But my dad always supported me and cheered me up until my career turned round."

He went on to begin his footballing career at UP Langreo and when he turned 17 he joined the Mareo football school.

Villa attracted interest from many Asturian teams, but one of the province's bigger teams, Real Oviedo, declared that he was too short and that they did not believe he had sufficient potential.

He subsequently got his professional breakthrough at his local club Sporting de Gijón, following in the footsteps of his childhood idol Quini.

In 2018, Villa announced his departure from New York, to join Vissel Kobe in Japan before retiring in 2020.