S
SEARCH
M
SM
Saturday, April 4
Collect News Data
/esi/1339/6_A_1_379956_0/index.html?art_id=379956&ESI

David Villa: 'I want to be remembered as a humble player'

:Headline: David Villa: 'I want to be remembered as a humble player':
Villa will retire in January before returning to America.

David Villa wants to be remembered as a humble man when he brings his decorated career to a close.

The 37-year-old will retire in January after a season with Vissel Kobe in Japan's J-League.

The former Barcelona striker ends his time as a player Spain's record scorer having played internationally and domestically for two of the most dominant teams of the the recent era.

David Villa is retiring (Nick Potts/PA)

But, despite the time of superstars dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the World Cup winner is happy with his own legacy.

Villa told the PA news agency: "You can have success or not, you can have more trophies or less trophies but the most important thing is giving everything to the club.

"I want people to remember me like that, a humble player, who always gave everything on and off the field, a man who tried to help all the clubs he played for and gave 100 per cent to the sport.

"I feel always the love of the people, journalists and world soccer. I don't compare myself with other players.

"I'm very happy with the love everyone gives me. I'm not more happy or less happy because people love other players more than me.

"I made the decision to retire after thinking about it a lot, talking with the people around me, who know me very well. It's not an easy decision but it is the right decision, right now.

"I'm feeling good, I'm going to give everything to Vissel Kobe in the next month and a half and then I'm ready for the next step in my life and career."

Villa lifts the Champions League trophy (Nick Potts/PA)

Villa went from Valencia to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid before spending four seasons with New York City FC, scoring 80 goals in 124 MLS games.

He won LaLiga with Barca, twice, and once with Atletico while also scoring in Barca's 3-1 defeat to Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final.

Villa netted 59 times in 98 appearances for Spain, winning the World Cup in 2010 and Euro 2008 – where he top scored with four goals.

Spain's class of 2019 reached next year's European Championship after a 1-1 draw with Sweden in October.

Luis Enrique is returning as manager, five months after stepping down from the role for personal reasons.

Enrique resigned in June as his nine-year-old daughter Xana was seriously ill with bone cancer and subsequently died in August, with Robert Moreno taking charge.

It is their first tournament since last year's World Cup disaster when Julen Lopetegui was sacked two days before their first game after being announced as Real Madrid manager.

Spain, under temporary boss Fernando Hierro, lost on penalties to hosts Russia in the last 16 and Villa believes lessons have been learned by his country.

"It was a bad situation for our federation, our team, everything, I can't say a lot as I wasn't there but obviously the team wasn't ready in the last World Cup," said Villa, speaking at the launch of the Booking.com Stadium Suite at Wembley.

Villa has a storied history with Spain (Nick Potts/PA)

"I believe this has changed, we're ready and in the next tournament we can do a good job.

"They have a great team but England are also one of the favourites, France, Germany, Holland. You never know though because the Euros has had surprises, Denmark years ago and Greece.

"These teams have the most possibilities to win."

From January Villa will focus on leading the development of a new team in the New York borough of Queens.

Queensboro FC has been awarded a franchise in the USL Championship, the second tier of US football, from 2021.

But, unlike former Barca team-mate Xavi who is coaching Al-Sadd in Qatar, Villa does not see himself as a manager.

"I'm focused on Queensboro, not as a coach though," he added. "I don't look at myself as a coach. In the future I don't know but for now I'm focusing on other things."

For a chance to win the Ultimate Overnight Football Experience at Booking.com's Stadium Suite at Wembley Stadium on the night of the Final of UEFA EURO 2020 visit www.booking.com/stadiumsuite (Ts&Cs apply)

body check tags ::
amp_article_379956 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2019-11-20 07:08:45:
html db last update - 2020-04-03 11:27:45 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Click here for more stories about David Villa

Click here for more stories about Barcelona

Share this article now:
Show comments

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Kluivert claims De Ligt regrets Juve move
Coronavirus latest: Premier League rules out return at start of May
Juventus 'to offer Douglas Costa in Gabriel Jesus bid'
Barcelona 'change Ousmane Dembele stance'
La Liga Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona27184563313258
2Real Madrid27168349193056
3Sevilla27138639291047
4Real Sociedad27144945331246
5Getafe27137737251246
6Atletico MadridAtletico271112431211045
7Valencia2711973839-142
8Villarreal27115114438638
9Granada27115113332138
10Athletic Bilbao2791082923637
11Osasuna2781093438-434
12Real Betis2789103843-533
13Levante27103143240-833
14AlavesAlaves2788112937-832
15Real Valladolid27611102333-1029
16EibarEibar2776142741-1427
17Celta Vigo27511112234-1226
18Mallorca2774162844-1625
19Leganes2758142139-1823
20Espanyol2748152346-2320
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Championship Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds37218856302671
2West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom371913564372770
3Fulham371810952381464
4Brentford371791164333160
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest371612948381060
6Preston North EndPreston37168135045556
7Bristol City371510125153-255
8Millwall37131594440454
9Cardiff CityCardiff37131595250254
10Blackburn RoversBlackburn371411125245753
11Swansea CitySwansea371314104645153
12Derby CountyDerby371312124949051
13Queens Park RangersQPR37148155862-450
14Reading37139154642448
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds37139154649-348
16Birmingham CityBirmingham371211144857-947
17Stoke CityStoke37126194955-642
18Huddersfield TownHuddersfield37119174558-1342
19Middlesbrough37914143747-1041
20Wigan AthleticWigan371011163850-1241
21Hull City37118184963-1441
22Charlton AthleticCharlton37109184454-1039
23Luton TownLuton37105224371-2835
24Barnsley37810194262-2034
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.