TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Soccer Friday: Villa adds 'tiki taka' flair to A-League
Just like Dwight Yorke and Alessandro Del Piero before him, David Villa is a global star who has made an immediate impression in front of soccer fans in Sydney, Australia
Change Size
J
ust like Dwight Yorke and Alessandro Del Piero before him, David Villa is a global star who has made an immediate impression in front of soccer fans in Sydney, Australia.
He was on the field for just 15 minutes before he showed his class with a stunning goal from outside the box on his A-League debut.
Yorke and Del Piero were marquee players for Sydney FC, but Villa was playing for the away team, Melbourne City, and his equalizer after he came off the bench in the 1-1 draw on the league's opening weekend drew a more subdued reaction from the 25,525 fans at the Allianz Stadium.
The transformation of Melbourne's second club ' now 80 percent owned by the City Football Group that also controls English champion Manchester City ' is as intriguing a story as Villa's much-talked about guest stint.
The 32-year-old will play up to 10 A-League games as preparation for his move to Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York City ' also under the ownership of the City Football Group ' for the 2015 season.
Until this year, Melbourne City was known as Melbourne Heart and lived in the shadow of two-time A-League champion Melbourne Victory.
In its four previous seasons, the club had never finished higher than sixth and finished last in 2013-2014, despite having former Liverpool winger Harry Kewell as captain. Its average home crowd was less than half of its more glamorous crosstown rival.
But the injection of Abu Dhabi cash has dramatically changed the club's fortunes. Club membership numbers have jumped by more than 2,000 to a healthy 9,200. Sponsors are coming out of the woodwork to get involved.
And Villa isn't the only star attraction.
Joining the ex-Spain International in the dressing room is two-time English Premier League winner Damien Duff, who set up Villa's debut goal with a pinpoint cross. And City's marquee player is midfielder Robert Koren, who captained Slovenia in the 2010 World Cup and played for Hull City last season.
They're backed by a core of solid yet unfashionable homegrown players. Patrick Kisnorbo is a former Leeds United central defender who has battled back from serious injury.
Erik Paartalu has just returned home from Thai club Muangthong United. Fellow midfielder Aaron Mooy is a fringe Socceroo who joined from AFC Champions League finalist Western Sydney Wanderers.
Villa would have been hard pressed to name any of his new teammates as he celebrated his debut goal with them.
He'd only gone through four training sessions after flying in at the start of the week.
His last competitive match had been 107 days earlier when he scored the opening goal for Spain ' against the Socceroos ' in the 3-0 World Cup victory in Curitiba on June 23.
He doesn't speak English so he can communicate only with the Spanish speakers in the group ' City's Argentine import Jonatan Germano and manager John van 't Schip, who has coached in Mexico.
'It's not easy for David,' van 't Schip said.
'In a strange country, in a strange stadium, everything is new for him here and it's a team that he's never played in before. But's he's been very humble and integrated well into the team.
The players like him: they love him. In return, he's happy to be with us and he's enjoying his time. Now we have to get stronger with David and as a team.'
Villa is staying in a Melbourne hotel without his wife and three children, who are already focusing on getting settled in New York City. He'll travel to the US just before Christmas ahead of the new MLS season, which begins in March.
'During this period of inactivity, it's important for me to play with a team,' Villa told a-league.com.au. 'It's a wonderful opportunity for me to play in another league and on another continent.'
His future New York City teammate Frank Lampard chose to go on-loan with Manchester City as he waited for the 2015 MLS season.
Indeed, there is a sense that, despite the hype, Villa sees his A-League adventure as little more than a glorified training stint.
Even so, that won't stop Australia's fast growing soccer fraternity from getting excited about watching a winner of three La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys, as well as the UEFA Champions League, in addition to his many trophies and honors at international level.
The club's record crowd for a non-Melbourne derby was just 13,752 when Alessandro Del Piero and Sydney FC came to town in 2013.
There's every chance that number will be surpassed on Sunday for the visit of the Newcastle Jets, as fans click through the turnstiles at AAMI Park to catch a glimpse of Melbourne City's bearded number-nine.
______________
Jason Dasey is senior editor of ESPN FC, Indonesia's most popular English language soccer website, and the original host of SportsCenter Asia. Twitter: @JasonDasey.
