Spanish superstar David Villa confirmed for 10-game guest stint with Melbourne City in A-League
Spainâs all-time leading goalscorer will play 10 games during a guest stint for the club that is now officially known as Melbourne City in an incredible coup for Australian football.
Melbourne City, formerly known as Melbourne Heart, announced its much-anticipated name change on Thursday morning.
And the Manchester City-owned club has made its first huge splash in the market by luring Villa to town on loan from sister club New York City FC.
Villa said he was excited about the prospect of playing club football in Australia.
âItâs very good for me in every sense,â Villa said. âFrom a football point of view itâs the opportunity to play in a new league in a different country, and of course it will be ideal for me to get some competitive football in the period before the MLS season gets under way.
âIâm sure that playing for Melbourne City FC will be a marvellous experience.
âWhat Iâve always done throughout my career is do the best I possibly can. That is what I will do for Melbourne City FC in every game that I play for them.
âIâll be giving everything for the team, just like I have with every club Iâve played for.â
Villa said he was looking forward to heading Down Under.
âItâs (Australia) somewhere Iâve never been lucky enough to visit, so if I do get the chance Iâll certainly be enjoying that wonderful opportunity.â
Cityâs head coach John vanât Schip said he was delighted Villa would be joining for part of the 2014-15 campaign.
âDavid Villa is still at the peak of his game; he is playing in his third World Cup in Brazil, has just won the Spanish league and is an instinctive and gifted striker who will contribute significantly to Melbourne City FC,â vanât Schip said.
âWe are confident David will be an incredible asset to the playing group and his experiences in Europe and for his country will help our players not only on the pitch, but in training as wellâ, he added.
City Group chief executive Ferran Soriano said the Villa signing was a proud moment.
âThe sports fans of Melbourne can look forward to seeing one of the best players in world football representing their city when David brings his rare talents to AAMI Park later this year,â Soriano said.
FFA CEO David Gallop described the signing as âexciting newsâ.
âThe presence of some of the worldâs finest footballers in our competition, including a player like David coming straight from the World Cup, is an attractive prospect for spectators that further enhances the value of our game,â he said.
New York, which will make its Major League Soccer debut next season, announced Villa, 32, as its inaugural signing this week.
But with the 2015 American season not commencing until March, Villa will come to Melbourne in order to maintain match fitness, as was suggested by the Herald Sun on Saturday.
He is likely to be available from the October kick-off of the 2014-15 A-League season and will have played his quota of games by the time the competition goes into recess for Januaryâs Asian Cup, to be hosted by Australia.
A-League clubs are permitted to sign one guest player per season for a maximum of 10 games.
The player, who must be of high promotional value to the league, will have his wages paid outside the $2.55 million salary cap.
Villaâs acquisition does not preclude City from signing an international marquee player.
Although his stay will be brief, the Spaniardâs signing will surely go down as the biggest in the 10-year history of the A-League, arguably eclipsing that of Italian megastar Alessandro Del Piero.
The striker has scored 56 goals in 94 games for Spain, including five in his countryâs 2010 World Cup-winning campaign, and may line up for the Spaniards against the Socceroos in Brazil on June 24.
That he might line up against the country where he will be residing was not lost on Villa.
âWeâve been drawn together in the same group and itâs going to be a difficult game for us. Australia will want to make things as hard as they possible can for an opponent like Spain, especially with being at a tournament like the World Cup. So Iâm sure it wonât be an easy encounter for us, far from it.â
Villa scored 15 goals in 47 games for La Liga winners Atletico Madrid in 2013-14, playing in the European Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in his first season since moving from Barcelona.
While playing for the Catalan club, he scored in the 3-1 Champions League final win over Manchester United in 2011, won two La Liga titles and a Club World Cup.
Heart, in its former guise, was formed in 2009 and has taken part in four A-League campaigns, making the finals for the first and only time in 2011-12.
The City Group announced its takeover of the club on January 23 for a fee of about $11 million.
It has long been speculated the club would change its name in time for the new season.
The clubâs new home kit will be mainly white with blue stripe trim and the away kit will be red and white vertical stripes, like Heartâs old home kit.
Melbourne City will play its first game as a newly named club in the first-ever FFA Cup, a knockout competition based on Englandâs FA Cup, in early August.
Villa will not be available to play in that game as he will go on holidays after his international commitments with Spain conclude after the World Cup.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/football/spanish-superstar-david-villa-confirmed-for-10game-guest-stint-with-melbourne-city-in-aleague/story-fnk6rldh-1226944133920If Perth Glory weren't a bunch of cu*ts I'd probably go see him play if one of the 10 games were over here.
