By David Brand

Fifteen months after the Eagle first broke news about a brand new soccer team coming to Queens, the club’s co-owner sat down for an interview to discuss his goals for the borough’s latest professional sports endeavor.

But the owner is not a typical businessperson. He is David Villa, one of European soccer’s most prolific scorers and greatest players of all time. Villa, 38, is the son of a coal miner from the Spanish region of Asturias who went on to play for some of the world’s top clubs. He also tied for the most goals in the 2010 World Cup — a tournament that he and Spain won.

Villa said Queens has a passion for soccer that rivals other international cities, including Barcelona and Madrid. That energy motivated him to establish a team in the borough, he said.

“I feel the passion of Queens for everything, and for soccer,” he said. “It’s the borough with more demand for soccer in the world, but without a team.”

Villa spoke to the Eagle Tuesday night at City Hall while a British documentary crew recorded the conversation. Councilmember Francisco Moya, a soccer fan who has helped shepherd the Queensboro FC project, sat in on the discussion, providing some context about the plan for the team.

Villa plans to play an administrative role with his club and specifically said he has no interest in coaching.

He also said he does not plan to lace up his cleats for the team, though he seemed to leave open the possibility. And he laughed when reminded that legendary Spanish striker Raúl — whose number 7 jersey Villa inherited on the national team — came to New York City and played for the Cosmos, another local professional club.

“I retired a month ago and we will see what we can do interesting next year,” he said when asked about playing for the new club. Villa most recently played for a team in Japan after four years with New York City Football Club in Major League Soccer. “I want to be involved with everything that happens in Queens.”

“I’m still working on him,” Moya chimed in.

Queensboro FC will begin play next year in the United Soccer League, the second tier of US professional soccer, below MLS. It remains unclear where they will play, however.