Bio

One of the best strikers in world football, David Villa has a simply phenomenal goal-scoring record at both club and international level, netting on average about a goal every one and a half games. Signed by Valencia from Real Zaragoza in 2005, Villa – along with international colleague David Silva – is the financially struggling club's prize asset. A target for the biggest clubs in European football for a number of years, it is perhaps a surprise that Villa hasn't moved away from Los Che given the club's difficulties on and off the pitch. Alongside Fernando Torres, Villa forms the best strike partnership in international football, and his tendency to drift into space wide on the left helps negate the side's lack of width down that flank. A classy finisher, he usually plays off Torres, but is the one of the two who misses out if Spain feel the need to opt for a five-man midfield. The 28-year-old scored three goals at the last World Cup, and played a big part in the country's Euro 2008 triumph, scoring four goals in four appearance at the finals, including a stunning group-game hat-trick against eventual semi-final opponents Russia.

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