Spain’s David Villa to play 10 matches in Australia for Melbourne City

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Spain’s all-time leading goal scorer David Villa will play a 10-match guest stint in the A-League with the rebranded Melbourne City.

Villa left Spanish league champions Atletico Madrid and will play in New York City’s inaugural MLS campaign beginning in March next year.

To build match fitness, Villa will be loaned to sister club Melbourne City, which changed its name from Melbourne Heart after being bought by English Premier League champion Manchester City this year.

Villa, a member of Spain’s World Cup team in Brazil, says “from a football point of view it’s 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 underway.”

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Melbourne City star David Villa is the A-League's greatest ever import but more young imports needed

Already making his presence felt: David Villa. Photo: Getty Images
 

We are blessed to have David Villa in our midst. The greatest import the Australian game has ever seen.

The City Football Group, which has turned Melbourne Heart into Melbourne City, got the first return on its investment when it drew its best crowd for a fixture against Newcastle Jets on Sunday. This is a game which, not that long ago, pulled fewer than 3000 fans. Memberships going into the season were up 53 per cent, and most of them showed for the first home game of the season. The crowd against the Jets was a relatively impressive 15,717.

The Villa effect has plenty to do with that. City Football Group needed to make a statement on its entry into the Australian market, and it has certainly done it. I still find it remarkable that Villa is even here.

Forget the A-League, there's never ever been a foreigner of Villa's currency in our game. Seven other World Cup winners have played for Australian clubs, some for as little as a couple of games. But Bobby Charlton (Newcastle KB United), Martin Peters (Frankston Pines), Osvaldo Ardiles (St George), Francesco Graziani (APIA-Leichhardt), Romario (Adelaide United), Juninho (Sydney FC) and Alessandro Del Piero (Sydney FC) didn't walk straight out of a World Cup to come here.

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Villa did, of course. As if we need reminding. He scored against the Socceroos in Curitiba, and in his next game he scored against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium. Villa could have been lining up for any big club in the world right now. Liverpool, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Juventus – take your pick.
Instead he signed for New York City, and is using his guest stint with Melbourne City effectively as his Major League Soccer pre-season. We'll take playing second fiddle to the Americans, for now.
This is what CFG boss Ferran Soriano told the London Sunday Telegraph in August when quizzed about Manchester City's foray into the global market, which also includes a minority stake in Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos: "We can offer players an extensive career. At 18 years old maybe a player can't play for [Manchester] City, but he could play for New York, and at 32 he will go to Melbourne. Our objective is to develop this."

So the Americans get the up-and-comers, and we get the veterans. I'm not sure what we should make of that. That the MLS is a career-booster and the A-League is a career-ender?

Whichever way you look at it, it's incumbent on the A-League in general, and Melbourne City in particular, to convince CFG to balance the approach. Watching the evolution of a future star can be just as enjoyable as watching the last lights of a fading one. Much will depend on what impression the A-League leaves on Villa and his co-stars Damien Duff and Robert Koren, and what they report back to head office. Judging by Duff's effusive praise leading into the Jets game, the initial signs are encouraging.

There will be many tests of CFG's commitment and understanding of what is required to make the Melbourne City experiment work. The first indications are promising. Fixing up the training base at La Trobe University. Walking out in the season-opener in the strip of Melbourne Heart – an acknowledgement that they have taken over an existing club and not created a new one. And there's the generosity in affording us the privilege of watching a master such as Villa at work.

But this project won't be judged by what happens in the next few weeks, or months. The fear remains that the English Premier League instinct will eventually kick in, and the likes of Soriano will simply choose to develop Melbourne City as Manchester City-lite. A feeder club, a nursery club, a branch office.

The challenge for CFG is to ignore gut instinct and appreciate – truly appreciate – that this country already has a proud, and educated, football culture. One to build on, as they have done with the legacy of the Heart. Hopefully what we've seen so far is what we'll see for years to come. Fingers crossed.

Melbourne City as a stand-alone club, benefiting from the knowledge, connections, and wealth of CFG? Brilliant. Melbourne City as a pallid version of Manchester City, a Trojan horse for global commercial deals, an EPL branding exercise, and a dumping ground for washed-up pros? Disaster. If they get that wrong this project is doomed to failure, and everyone loses in the end.

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Why New York City FC should be wary of David Villa

The new franchise has a World Cup winner on its books but his recent spell in Australia raised some red flags

 David Villa’s time at Melbourne City will be remembered as short but sweet. Photograph: Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Those at their sibling Australian club must be thinking New York City FCover-promise and under-deliver. The Big Apple’s newest MLS team recently tweeted an ad showing David Villa in the shadows and the caption “All will be revealed”. It’s a fitting photo, though a misleading choice of words, because the football world is in the dark over Villa’s future right now.

The Spanish World Cup winner was supposed to be spending his off-season on a 10-game loan down under. But less than a month into his spell at Melbourne City, Villa took flight, and no one can say if he will or won’t be coming back. Talk about a first-world problem. Such is life under the ownership of Manchester City.

Not content with their success in the English Premier League, City are creating a global network of clubs. They are building their franchise in New York, have taken over an A-League club in Melbourne and have also bought a slice of a team in Yokohama. The plan is to pool, share and spread resources around the globe, creating synergies and increasing global presence of the City brand.

It’s turned Melbourne City from a club whose players took ice baths in wheelie bins to one that spends the off-season training at EPL facilities. It’s given the club a new name (goodbye Melbourne Heart, hello Melbourne City), new colours and a new sense of purpose. Best of all, it’s given it access to players of Villa’s calibre.

In New York, the plan is positioning the new club well for a turf war with the long-standing Red Bull franchise. It might even win over some of those fans loathe to cheer on an energy drink.

All this has raised some eyebrows though. Some suspect the Anglo-Emeriti club is using its outposts to get around recent Financial Fair Play rules. City got caught out last season by the new rules, which are, in the words of Uefa General Secretary Gianni Infantino, aimed at protecting the game from “greed, reckless spending and outright financial insanity”. Some would say City have pretty much been the embodiment of that behaviour since Sheikh Mansour took over the club in 2008.

The biggest question marks have been over New York City’s other big signing, Frank Lampard, who has done so well on loan in Manchester there’s been talk of him staying on at head office.

But while some may see something sinister in the Lampard deal, sports law specialist James Ferrow says it all looks to be above board. There would only be an issue, he says, if New York had paid a transfer fee (thereby shielding City from such a cost) or were undercharging for his services.

It’s Villa, however, who looms as the first real blemish on City’s empire building program. The player who was meant to make the A-League look like Fifa 15 set to amateur level failed to secure Melbourne City a single win in his four games. While his skills did look a class above the pack, he struggled to click with a side he joined just days before the season kicked off. Their best result was a draw on the road; their worst a 5-2 humiliation in the hometown derby.

Match reports talked of him looking either frustrated or uninterested, and the Melbourne City captain Patrick Kisnorbo admitted Villa had been a distraction. The Spaniard did score in his first two games, but the only tangible improvement he brought the club was through ticket sales. And even that has a down side, since those who bought a season pass hoping to see him play have been left feeling let down. Or maybe not, as it turns out. In their first game without Villa, Melbourne at last hit the winners’ list.

Then there’s the manner of his exit. From Melbourne, it looked like a case of he came, he saw, he preferred New York. So much for no individual being bigger than the club. Or, in this case, clubs.

As for the tweeted promise that all would be revealed, it rung hollow, at least in Australia. The ad turned out to be over nothing more than New York’s strip, which, to nobodies’ surprise, is all but identical to Manchester City’s.

The only one who knows what he’ll do next is Villa himself, and he’s been speaking in riddles. “I don’t know if I’ll be going back yet,” he said at the unveiling of the team strip. “It’s complicated not being able to compete and [play]. It was real good to have the month in Australia. It’s different, but I’m training well. I’m working well, so when it’s time to compete I’ll be in the best shape.

“And it gives me more desire and excitement to compete and when the day comes I’m going to have double the excitement than when I was playing before.”

Villa looks set to join a long line of big names to disappoint Australian audiences. With a lengthy pre-season and a settled home life in New York, at least MLScrowds may get a better taste of what he can do than A-League fans did.

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David Villa signs for Major League Soccer newcomers New York City FC

David Villa, seen here during Atlético Madrid's Champions League final defeat, has signed for the MLS newcomers. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA

New York City FC have announced the signing of the Spain international David Villa on a three-year deal.

The newly-formed Major League Soccer club, who are jointly owned byManchester City and the New York Yankees, confirmed on their Twitter account that the 32-year-old was their first-ever player.

The club tweeted: “Welcome to New York City: David Villa (@Guaje7Villa) officially signs as #NYCFC’s first ever player. #VillatoNYCFC.”

Villa makes the move to America after helping Atlético Madrid win their first Primera División title since 1996 last season and also reach the Champions League final, where they lost to Real Madrid.

Before joining Atlético in the summer of 2013, Spain’s record goalscorer spent three hugely successful seasons at Barcelona while he has also represented Valencia, Real Zaragoza and Sporting Gijón.

Villa, who has never before played his club football outside Spain, said during an interview posted on the Atlético website on Sunday that he was embarking on a new challenge after receiving “an irresistible opportunity”, although he did not specify what it was or where.

However, there was widespread speculation that Villa was headed to New York City and that move was confirmed on Monday.

Villa said on his new club’s website: “Throughout my career I’ve always tried to keep pushing myself to achieve new targets and this represents another important goal for me.

“I want to try and help MLS continue to grow, through playing, working hard, scoring goals and at the same time try to make New York City FC become the best team in the league.

“It’s a real honour that the people who have formed the club have focused their attention on me. I’m keen to do the best I can, take on board that extra responsibility and prove my worth by repaying the confidence they have shown in me.”

Aside from his success at Atlético, the Asturias-born Villa won two Primera División crowns and the Champions League among a host of titles at Barcelona, while he also lifted the Copa del Rey with Valencia and Zaragoza.

For Spain, Villa, who is part of Vicente del Bosque’s 23-man squad for the World Cup, won the 2008 European Championship and the 2010 World Cup and his tally of 56 goals is a national record.

New York City’s sporting director, Claudio Reyna, said: “David is the perfect first signing for New York City FC. His individual accomplishments are remarkable.

“His experiences, including winning the 2010 World Cup, will be invaluable for building our club’s sporting culture. I couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to New York City and have him as our club’s first player.”

With New York City not starting their inaugural MLS campaign until next March, it remains to be seen whether there will be an opportunity for Villa to go out on loan in the meantime as otherwise he could be without competitive football for around seven months following this summer’s World Cup.

As well as Villa, there was also speculation over the weekend that the England midfielder Frank Lampard could be headed to the New York franchise with his contract up at Chelsea, although there has been no confirmation yet where the 35-year-old will be plying his trade next season.

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World Cup 2010: The amputee who shared a drink with David Villa

Musa Mansaray lost a leg in Sierra Leone’s horrific civil war, but football has helped overcome the trauma and given him a future

Members of the Sierra Leone civil war amputees football team

Musa Mansaray was 10 when his home town of Kabala came under attack from rebel soldiers fighting to overthrow the government in Sierra Leone. “I had a close-range encounter with one of the rebels of the RUF [Revolutionary United Front] who asked me to stop and wait,” says Mansaray, now 22. “I was afraid, so I ran. He shot me in the leg and I dropped. I was lucky. Some of my friends were killed in the attack.”

The story is similar to thousands of others. The victims, due to lack of immediate medical attention, had to undergo the agonising ordeal of amputation, usually without anaesthetic.

Many more body parts – arms, legs, ears, fingers, lips, genitalia – when soldiers, some in their teens, were ordered to carry out crude, random amputations with machetes, axes and knives. A field worker for Human Rights Watch claims there were special RUF units devoted to cutting off hands, and that soldiers were promoted if they returned with a rice bag full of them.

According to European medical aid organisations working in West Africa about 3,000 people died as a result of wounds inflicted by amputations, and 1,600 amputees are still alive in Sierra Leone today, eight years after hostilities ended.

Mansaray is one of them, and remarkably, despite his disability he is having a good year that is about to get even better, thanks to his ability to play football on crutches. He has overcome the trauma of 1998 and is looking ahead with a positive attitude. He is disabled, he has no job – “that makes it difficult for me to find a partner” – and little money. But he is studying computer electronics and says, “I believe I shall succeed. My mother inspired me a lot. It is a test of your faith.”

A few weeks ago Mansaray travelled to Spain to play football, have a drink with his superstar idol David Villa and talk about the World Cup.

He is among a generation of footballers who are making headlines in Sierra Leone because they have been able to overcome their physical disadvantages on a football pitch. As a talented one-legged player he has represented Sierra Leone in many international events including World Cups in Turkey and Brazil. Sierra Leone also hosted the inaugural African Championship in 2007, thanks to a small sponsorship from Fifa. And in October he is off on his travels again – to the 2010 amputee World Cup in Argentina.

Not all the players in the one-legged teams in Sierra Leone and neighbouring Liberia are war victims; some are perpetrators. One of the most fascinating aspects of the amputee teams is the relationship between the former teenage rebels who took part in the two countries’ overlapping civil wars and the bystanders who were caught in the fighting.

In Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, Samuel Eastman, secretary general of the country’s amputee football association, who plays in midfield for the national team, says the team are a symbol of forgiveness.

Eastman lost his right leg in 1992. There had been an attack in a nearby village and he had run to help lift the wounded into a Red Cross jeep. Another explosion peppered his right leg with shrapnel. By the time Eastman was in a hospital the only thing doctors could do was amputate. “If we can come together, then the whole country can come together,” he says, gesturing to his team-mates.

Many of the amputees were shunned before they found success in football. Some still are in their daily lives, reduced to begging outside supermarkets. But playing football – and winning trophies – has helped to change perceptions. Every Saturday morning, Sierra Leone’s Lumley beach is filled with professional football teams conducting training sessions. But a space is always found for Mansaray and his team-mates.

Mansaray has added another “M” to his initials because his friends have nicknamed him Messi after the Argentina player. His favourite player is not Messi, though, but Villa, who has now joined Messi at Barcelona.

“When I was in Spain with the Sierra Leone side we met with the Spanish national team before they travelled to South Africa,” says Mansaray, who scored 11 goals in a series of friendlies. “They entertained us. I had a drink with my idol David Villa and we chatted about general issues. He said he is looking forward to meeting me again. We played a match of 20-minute halves with Xavi and Alonso, and it ended 0-0.”

On his return from Europe, Mansaray was delighted to hear that the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, was coming to Sierra Leone and would be handing over a $100,000 (£66,000) cheque for the team, who have attracted other sponsorships too.

“The Sierra Leone government has already played its part by moving us into new homes, but this cheque will assist me and my colleagues for our tuition, food and clothing,” he says. “In fact, I can’t describe how happy I am.”

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Spanish superstar David Villa heading to the A-League for a stint with Melbourne City

David Villa in action for Atletico Madrid. The Spanish striker will play for Melbourne City in the A-League.

DAVID Villa is set to take the A-League by storm later this year.

But the short-term acquisition of Spain’s all-time leading goalscorer could just be the first of an incredible string of signings for the newly branded Melbourne City Football Club as the Australian football landscape is turned on its head.

David Villa says A-League will be 'marvellous experience'

Melbourne City, formerly known as Melbourne Heart, announced its much-anticipated name change Thursday. And the club now owned by English Premier League giant Manchester City has made its first huge splash in to the market by luring Villa from sister club New York City FC.

The signing made headlines around the football world, with reports of the stunning development appearing on websites such as the BBC, Bleacher Report, Eurosport, the UK Independent and the Indian Express.

Villa said he was excited about the prospect of playing club football in Australia.

“It’s very good for me in every sense,” Villa said. “From a football point of view it’s 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.

David Villa poses with the Melbourne City away jersey after confirmation of his signing to play in next season’s A-League.

“I’m sure that playing for Melbourne City FC will be a marvellous experience.

“What I’ve 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.

“I’ll be giving everything for the team, just like I have with every club I’ve played for.”

Villa said he was looking forward to heading Down Under.

“It’s (Australia) somewhere I’ve never been lucky enough to visit, so if I do get the chance I’ll certainly be enjoying that wonderful opportunity.”

David Villa signing incites 'overwhelming excitement'

City’s head coach John van’t Schip said he was delighted Villa would be joining for part of the 2014-15 campaign.

“David 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,” van’t Schip said.

“We 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 well”, he added.

Melbourne City chief executive Scott Munn said Thursday: “It’s going to be truly exciting to have one of the world’s best footballers running out for Melbourne City FC. “It’s already generated a lot of interest but, from our point of view, the value of having a player of that calibre on the training ground and around the club is going to be equally important.”

David Villa pictured after signing for Atletico Madrid.

Villa is likely to be available for games between October — when the 2014-15 season begins — and December.

A-League clubs are permitted to sign one guest player per season, with wages to be paid outside of the $2.55 million salary cap, for a maximum of 10 games.

But the sting in the tail is that Melbourne City has not yet confirmed Villa’s status.

There is the potential that he could be categorised as a player on loan from New York and take up one of the five visa — overseas player — slots

That could allow City to sign another guest player for a 10-game stint if it so wished. Villa is not a permanent signing, so City can and will sign another superstar player as its international marquee.

It will also snare a high-profile Australian marquee player — likely to be either of Socceroos Mark Bresciano or Josh Kennedy.

Mark Bosnich on Melbourne City snaring David Villa

Melbourne City has six slots left to fill in its 23-man squad for next season, including three visa players. It is 133 days since Manchester City took over Melbourne Heart.

Munn said coach John van ‘t Schip was working closely with staff in Manchester to “create the strongest possible squad” for the club.

“David Villa coming here is obviously a high-profile part of that,” he said. “But we expect to be making additional player announcements in the coming weeks.”

Yesterday the club, in its new guise, came alive and was officially rebranded.

City’s new home kit is predominantly white with a single blue stripe running vertically down one of the sides.

But fans of the red and white stripes worn by Heart in its previous four seasons should not fear — that strip will now be the away kit.

Nike was announced as its official on-field kit supplier.

Melbourne City’s home (left) and away kits.

It was long speculated that The City Group would rebrand the club after registering ‘Melbourne City Football Club’ as a trademark on January 16. A Victorian state league fourth division club of the same name, which is based in South Kingsville, sought to challenge the name change.

It also attempted to revert to an all sky blue home kit, in line with Man City, but its attempts to do so were thwarted when a protest by Sydney FC — who also wears sky blue — against the potential switch was upheld.

Munn said the new playing strips and crest should satisfy fans who were initially against any change to the club’s look.

“The new kits are a great expression of both the club’s traditional colours and its association with Manchester City FC and New York City FC,” he said.

“We’ve worked really hard to create an identity for Melbourne City FC that celebrates the traditions of the past but also positions us to succeed in the future.

“Between the name, the badge and our two new playing strips I think we’ve found a great balance that both existing supporters and new fans can get behind.”</p>

David Villa 'still at the peak of his powers'

The striker has scored 56 goals in 94 games for Spain, including five in his country’s 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.

“We’ve been drawn together in the same group and it’s 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 I’m sure it won’t be an easy encounter for us, far from it.”

David Villa celebrates after scoring for Barcelona against Real Sociedad in 2010.

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 club’s new home kit will be mainly white with blue stripe trim and the away kit will be red and white vertical stripes, like Heart’s 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 England’s 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.

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Melbourne City star David Villa is the A-League's greatest ever import but more young imports needed

Already making his presence felt: David Villa. Photo: Getty Images

We are blessed to have David Villa in our midst. The greatest import the Australian game has ever seen.

The City Football Group, which has turned Melbourne Heart into Melbourne City, got the first return on its investment when it drew its best crowd for a fixture against Newcastle Jets on Sunday. This is a game which, not that long ago, pulled fewer than 3000 fans. Memberships going into the season were up 53 per cent, and most of them showed for the first home game of the season. The crowd against the Jets was a relatively impressive 15,717.

The Villa effect has plenty to do with that. City Football Group needed to make a statement on its entry into the Australian market, and it has certainly done it. I still find it remarkable that Villa is even here.

Forget the A-League, there's never ever been a foreigner of Villa's currency in our game. Seven other World Cup winners have played for Australian clubs, some for as little as a couple of games. But Bobby Charlton (Newcastle KB United), Martin Peters (Frankston Pines), Osvaldo Ardiles (St George), Francesco Graziani (APIA-Leichhardt), Romario (Adelaide United), Juninho (Sydney FC) and Alessandro Del Piero (Sydney FC) didn't walk straight out of a World Cup to come here.
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Villa did, of course. As if we need reminding. He scored against the Socceroos in Curitiba, and in his next game he scored against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium. Villa could have been lining up for any big club in the world right now. Liverpool, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Juventus – take your pick. Instead he signed for New York City, and is using his guest stint with Melbourne City effectively as his Major League Soccer pre-season. We'll take playing second fiddle to the Americans, for now.

This is what CFG boss Ferran Soriano told the London Sunday Telegraph in August when quizzed about Manchester City's foray into the global market, which also includes a minority stake in Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos: "We can offer players an extensive career. At 18 years old maybe a player can't play for [Manchester] City, but he could play for New York, and at 32 he will go to Melbourne. Our objective is to develop this."

So the Americans get the up-and-comers, and we get the veterans. I'm not sure what we should make of that. That the MLS is a career-booster and the A-League is a career-ender?

Whichever way you look at it, it's incumbent on the A-League in general, and Melbourne City in particular, to convince CFG to balance the approach. Watching the evolution of a future star can be just as enjoyable as watching the last lights of a fading one. Much will depend on what impression the A-League leaves on Villa and his co-stars Damien Duff and Robert Koren, and what they report back to head office. Judging by Duff's effusive praise leading into the Jets game, the initial signs are encouraging.

There will be many tests of CFG's commitment and understanding of what is required to make the Melbourne City experiment work. The first indications are promising. Fixing up the training base at La Trobe University. Walking out in the season-opener in the strip of Melbourne Heart – an acknowledgement that they have taken over an existing club and not created a new one. And there's the generosity in affording us the privilege of watching a master such as Villa at work.

But this project won't be judged by what happens in the next few weeks, or months. The fear remains that the English Premier League instinct will eventually kick in, and the likes of Soriano will simply choose to develop Melbourne City as Manchester City-lite. A feeder club, a nursery club, a branch office.

The challenge for CFG is to ignore gut instinct and appreciate – truly appreciate – that this country already has a proud, and educated, football culture. One to build on, as they have done with the legacy of the Heart. Hopefully what we've seen so far is what we'll see for years to come. Fingers crossed.

Melbourne City as a stand-alone club, benefiting from the knowledge, connections, and wealth of CFG? Brilliant. Melbourne City as a pallid version of Manchester City, a Trojan horse for global commercial deals, an EPL branding exercise, and a dumping ground for washed-up pros? Disaster. If they get that wrong this project is doomed to failure, and everyone loses in the end.

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