I’m standing by a locker room inside Yankee Stadium as NYC FC host a special event for journalists, and I am listening to David Villa give one last interview before we spend some time together. Two things come to mind as I wait for the man they call El Guaje, or The Kid in Asturian. First, he is extremely polite. As he makes his rounds around the room, he wastes no time in shaking hands, introducing himself, greeting everyone as if they’re about to have an intimate dinner, and once he is finished, he asks if they are satisfied with his answers, just to make sure they got everything they needed.

Second, his English is excellent. Our conversation is in Spanish so he doesn’t need to worry about it so much with me, but as NYC FC’s captain, ambassador of the team, and living in the United States with his family (his wife Patricia and his three children, Zaida, Olaya and Luca) the need to learn English was a necessity. He arrived in New York last year not knowing a word, now he does interviews without a translator.

Villas’s dedication to English is a perfect metaphor for how he is as a player. Whatever needs to be done, he does it. No bells, no whistles, he just gets on with it for the benefit of the cause. As a teammate, that’s El Guaje through and through. Earlier today someone asked him about last week’s 4-3 win against Chicago Fire and whether he was disappointed with the fact that he wasn’t one of the scorers.

“I score for the team,” he said. “Not for David Villa.” The answer was perfect. As a striker, scoring is fuel but to Villa, it’s a step closer to a team’s victory, regardless of who does it. “It’s always been the same all my career, I want to win every game.”

We are all familiar with his accolades. Villa is Spain’s all-time goal scorer with 59 goals in 97 appearances and has won the European Championship in 2008 and the World Cup in 2010. Only Alfredo Di Stefano and Telmo Zarra can match his goals-per-game ratio. But to Villa, these are all just memories. Good ones, but memories nonetheless. His investment in NYC FC is as strong as it was for Valencia, where he really made his mark. His attitude has never changed. Neither has his will to win.

You have played under some of the greatest managers of the modern game including Pep Guardiola, Vicente Del Bosque, Diego Simeone and Luis Aragonés. From what you have seen, could Patrick Vieira reach those heights?



Yes, 100%. I love his philosophy and his ideas. Obviously, it’s still early for him and he has just begun his career as a head coach but I see certain characteristics that have really impressed me. As you said, I’ve been so lucky to play with some of the best managers in the world and with Patrick I am very happy. I’m happy with his work ethic, his expectations of the squad and his will to improve.

I once read that one of your favorite quotes is from your compatriot, Alvaro Morata: “From Andrea Pirlo, you can learn even how to tie your shoes.” [He laughs.] Have you learned a lot from Andrea?

In football, I have always thought you can learn from anyone who cares about the game, and with Pirlo – who has literally experienced everything in his career – you can learn, as Morata said, even how to tie your shoes. We are extremely lucky to have someone like Andrea, especially as our team has so many young players. They can learn so much from him.

Frank Lampard wasn’t available last week. Tell me about his influence as a leader and how important he is to the team.



Frank is incredibly important to us. He’s having some bad luck with the constant injuries but I’m hoping he recovers as soon as possible and returns to the field because we obviously need him playing.

He holds the record for most goals by a midfielder in the Premier League and has been an important part of of the England setup, with 106 caps for the national team. Are there any other English players you admire?

Honestly, I am a fan of the game like anyone else, so my favorite players’ list is pretty big. But if we are to narrow it down to England I have a lot of respect for Wayne Rooney and the things he has achieved for club and country. He is a sensational player. Then there are legends like Frank and Steven Gerrard who are great ambassadors. Recently, I love watching Harry Kane and how he has been playing. He is a fantastic player who despite his age, plays with such a huge presence and an even bigger future.

Since you mentioned Harry Kane, in the summer of 2013, right before you signed for Atletico Madrid, you had offers from Tottenham and Arsenal. Nothing concrete but they were very interested. Would you have liked to have played in England?

I’ll tell you something. Every year I’ve had offers to play in the Premier League, and, honestly, I would have loved to have played there. But timing was just never quite right. The year I had the most impact was when Valencia decided to sell me and there were a lot of offers, but I was very clear with myself that I wanted to play for Barcelona. And then when I left Barça, as you said, offers came but I went to Atletico and after that ended I decided to come to New York. Unfortunately, in life, you have to make decisions based on so many things. I love watching the Premier League and I’ve always had the opportunity to go, but a better offer always got in the way.

Your latest project with Heineken, “Soccer is here,” is a collaboration with Landon Donovan and Carli Lloyd. It’s basically a celebration of football and its growth and development here in the US. We already know about the success of the women’s game. How long do you think until the men’s side reach similar levels and become one of the best teams in the world?



It’s coming very soon. They reached the round of 16 in the last two World Cups, which was much better than other big nations, and this is why this project with Landon and Carli is very important. We want to keep building on the growth of the game and the leagues here in the States. People here want football, they want to watch it, they want to go to games and obviously the national team will benefit. This summer will be a great opportunity as the country hosts Copa America, and I’m sure they have big expectations to go a long way.

Talking of this summer, Spain’s national coach, Vicente Del Bosque has said the doors are open, and he is not ruling out your return for the European Championships. Do you think playing MLS instead of Europe is an advantage or disadvantage for this to happen?

I am not even thinking about it. I have always had the same philosophy throughout my career: work hard for your club, and if you get selected, it’s because the hard work was seen by the head coach. Nothing more. Now I’m playing in the US and the quality here is very, very good. If [Del Bosque] thinks it’s convenient for me to help and be part of the squad, then that’s perfect for me.