playername	Xavi
fullname	Xavier Hernández i Creus
dateofbirth	January 25, 1980
cityofbirth	Terrassa
countryofbirth	Spain
height
currentclub	Barcelona
clubnumber	6
position	Midfielder
youthyears1	1991–1997
youthclubs1	Barcelona
years1	1997–2000
years2	1998–
clubs1	Barcelona B
clubs2	Barcelona
caps1	61
caps2	384
goals1	4
goals2	38
nationalyears1	1997
nationalyears2	1997–1998
nationalyears3	1999
nationalyears4	1998–2001
nationalyears5	2000
nationalyears6	2000–
nationalyears7	2000–
nationalteam1	Spain U17
nationalteam2	Spain U18
nationalteam3	Spain U20
nationalteam4	Spain U21
nationalteam5	Spain U23
nationalteam6	Spain
nationalteam7	Catalonia
nationalcaps1	10
nationalcaps2	10
nationalcaps3	6
nationalcaps4	25
nationalcaps5	6
nationalcaps6	101
nationalcaps7	8
nationalgoals1	2
nationalgoals2	0
nationalgoals3	2
nationalgoals4	7
nationalgoals5	2
nationalgoals6	9
nationalgoals7	2
medaltemplates	}}

| pcupdate = 30 August 2011 | ntupdate = 29 March 2011 }} Xavier Hernández i Creus (born 25 January 1980 in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia), more commonly known as simply Xavi (), is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, where he has spent his entire 14-year career.

He has been capped 101 times for the Spanish national team, with whom he won UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at UEFA Euro 2008.

Club career

1998–2004

Xavi is a product of Barcelona's La Masia youth system and has been a regular at Camp Nou since the age of 11. He made his way through the youth and reserve teams and was a key member of Jordi Gonzalvo's FC Barcelona B team that won promotion to the Second Division.

His progression through the teams earned him a first team debut on 18 August 1998 in the Super Cup final, in which he scored against RCD Mallorca. His début in La Liga came against Valencia CF on 3 October 1998 in a 3–1 victory for Barcelona. Initially featuring intermittently both for the reserve and senior teams, Xavi scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Real Valladolid when Barcelona were 10^th in the league. Sustained impressive performance meant that he became a key member of Louis van Gaal's title-winning team. An injury to Pep Guardiola in the following 1999–00 season meant that Xavi became Barcelona's principal playmaker, a position he has retained ever since.

2004–2008

He was the vice-captain in the 2004–05 season. In the 2005–06 season, Xavi tore the ligaments in his left knee in training; he was out of action for five months, missing the majority of the playing season, but returned in April and was on the substitutes bench for the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final.

2008–09 season

He was a main part of Barcelona's treble and scored the 4th goal in the 4–1 win in the Copa del Rey 2008–09 final against Athletic Bilbao, with a free kick. In La Liga, among many games, one of the most significant is the 6–2 El Clásico victory vs Real Madrid on 2 May. He assisted 4 out of 6 goals (once to Puyol, once to Henry and twice to Messi). Finally, Xavi helped Barcelona win the 2009 Champions League Final versus Manchester United, which ended 2–0, assisting the second goal by passing the ball to Lionel Messi's header after 69 minutes. Xavi was voted "UEFA Champions League best midfielder" for his contribution during Barcelona's victorious 2008–09 UEFA Champions League campaign. Xavi was La Liga's highest assisting player with 20 assists. He was also the highest assisting player in the Champions League with 7 assists. Xavi earned 29 assists overall that season.

Xavi is under contract to Barça until 2014 after extending his contract during the 2008–09 season. The new contract will make him one of the club's biggest earners, and entitle him to €7.5 million a year.

2009–10 season

During the 2009–10 season, journalists increasingly noted Xavi's contribution to the Barcelona side. For example: }}

In the 2009–10 season, Xavi again topped the assists table and provided both the assists in Barcelona's 2–0 victory against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. He was acclaimed the 2nd best player of Barcelona in a season-long voting as Barcelona won the league title with a record 99 points. On 3 June 2010, the Madrid-based newspaper Marca awarded Xavi third place in the annual Trofeo Alfredo di Stéfano award for the best player in La Liga, behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

2010–11 season

On 9 June 2010, Xavi signed a new 4 year contract with the club, which may be automatically renewed up to 30 June 2016 based on number of games played. On 29 November he scored his third goal against arch-rivals Real Madrid in a 5–0 home win. On 18 December he scored another goal against RCD Espanyol in a 1–5 win. In the Champions League, Xavi scored a valuable goal against English side Arsenal during a home match in the UEFA Champions League that saw Barcelona passing through to the quarter-finals with an assist by teammate Lionel Messi.

He was one of the three finalists for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or, alongside Barcelona teammates Iniesta and Messi, he finished third on the vote behind Messi and Iniesta.

He narrowly defeated Lionel Messi to win World Soccer's Player of the year.

On 2 January 2011, in a league match against Levante UD, Xavi made his 549th appearance for the club in all competitions, matching the record held by Migueli. Following this match Xavi is the player with most appearances with Barcelona of all time.

International career

Xavi Hernandez's abilities on the football pitch have led his teams to numerous titles and placed him among the most decorated footballers of all time. The playmaker has won major international titles with Spain and FC Barcelona in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA World Cup. His successes on the European stage include winning the UEFA European Football Championship and the UEFA Champions League twice. Xavi is also a 5 time Liga BBVA Champion and played in the Barcelona side that won the famed unprecedented Spanish treble, which culminated in a record 6 trophies, the sextuple, in one calendar year. On 25 March 2011, Xavi earned his 100th cap for Spain in the 2:1 home win against the Czech Republic in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

2010 World Cup

Xavi was named in Spain's squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, culminating in winning the World Cup title. The veteran midfielder finished with an 89 percent pass completion rate over the course of the tournament, completing 599 passes out of 669 passes attempted over all of Spain's seven games. Of those who reached the final or the third place match, Xavi led the field in passes attempted, passes completed, corners attempted (47), corners completed (26), and deliveries in the penalty area (15).

International appearances

thumb|right|300px|Xavi takes the free kick against [[England national football team|England in a friendly match]]

:''As of 30 March 2011''

National team !! Season !! Apps !! Goals
rowspan="11"	Spain	2000–01	1	0
2001–02	5
2002–03	8
2003–04	5
2004–05	8
2005–06	13
2006–07	7
2007–08	16
2008–09	14
2009–10	17
2010–11	5
Total !! 101!! 10

International goals

|- | 1. || March 26, 2005 || Estadio El Helmántico, Salamanca, Spain || || 2–0 || 3–0 || Friendly |- | 2. || September 6, 2006 || Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland || || 0–1 || 3–2 || UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |- | 3. || October 11, 2006 || Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain || || 1–0 || 2–1 || Friendly |- | 4. || September 12, 2007 || Estadio Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo, Spain || || 1–0 || 2–0 || UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |- | 5. || November 21, 2007 || Estadio Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain || || 1–0 || 1–0 || UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |- | 6. || June 4, 2008 || Estadio El Sardinero, Santander, Spain || || 1–0 || 1–0 || Friendly |- | 7. || June 26, 2008 || Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria || || 0–1 || 0–3 || UEFA Euro 2008 |- | 8. || August 20, 2008 || Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark || || 0–2 || 0–3 || Friendly |- | 9. || March 29, 2011 || S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania || || 0–1 || 1–3 || UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |}

Career statistics

thumb|right|250px|Xavi takes a corner during 2009-2010 UEFA Champions League 3 0 1 colspan="2" 1 0 2 4 2 4 3 0 3 7 6 3 3 0

Club	Season	League	Cup	!colspan="2"	Other	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals
rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"	Barcelona B	!colspan="2"	39	|	–		–		–		39	3
!colspan="2"	1998–99	18	|	–		–		–		18	0
!colspan="2"	1999–00	4	|	–		–		–		4	1
!colspan="2"	Total	–	–||	–		61!!4
rowspan="15" style="text-align:center;"	Barcelona	!colspan="2"	17	|	2	0	6	0	1	1	26	2
!colspan="2"	1999–00	24	|	4	1	10	1	0	0	38	2
!colspan="2"	2000–01	20	|	7	0	9	0	–		36	2
!colspan="2"	2001–02	35	|	1	0	16	0	–		52	4
!colspan="2"	2002–03	29	|	1	0	14	1	–		44	3
!colspan="2"	2003–04	36	|	6	0	7	1	–		49	5
!colspan="2"	2004–05	36	|	1	0	8	0	–		45	3
!colspan="2"	2005–06	16	|	0	0	4	0	2	0	22	0
!colspan="2"	2006–07	35	|	7	2	7	0	5	1	54	6
!colspan="2"	2007–08	35	|	7	1	12	1	–		54	9
!colspan="2"	2008–09	35	|	5	1	14	3	–		54	10
!colspan="2"	2009–10	34	|	3	2	11	1	5	1	53	7
!colspan="2"	2010–11	31	|	6	0	12	2	1	0	50	5
!colspan="2"	2011–12	1	|	0	0	0	0	3	0	4	0
Total	!384!!38!!50!!7!!130!!10!!17!!3!!581!!58
Career totals		!445!!42!!50!!7!!130!!10!!17!!3!!642!!62

Honours

Club

La Liga: 6

:: 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

Copa del Rey: 1

:: 2008–09

Supercopa de España: 5

:: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

UEFA Champions League: 3

:: 2005–2006, 2008–09, 2010–11

UEFA Super Cup: 2

:: 2009, 2011

FIFA Club World Cup: 1

:: 2009

National team

FIFA World Cup: 1

:: 2010

UEFA European Championship: 1

:: 2008

FIFA World Youth Championship: 1

:: 1999

Summer Olympic Games: Silver medal 2000

Individual

FIFA Ballon d'Or Third place : 2010

Ballon d'Or Third place : 2009

FIFA World Player of the Year Third place : 2009

UEFA Best Player in Europe Award Second place : 2011

World Soccer Player of the Year (1): 2010

FIFA Team of the Year (3): 2008, 2009, 2010

FIFPro World XI (3): 2008, 2009, 2010

La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year (1): 1999

La Liga Spanish Player of the Year (1): 2005

UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match (1): 2009

UEFA Euro Player of the Tournament (1): 2008

UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament (1): 2008

World's Best Playmaker (3): 2008, 2009, 2010

UEFA Team of the Year (3): 2008, 2009, 2010

UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Year (1): 2008–09

ESM Team of the Year (1): 2008–09, 2010–11

La Liga Midfielder of the Year (1): 2009

FIFA Club World Cup Bronze Ball (1): 2009

Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano Second place : 2010

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team (1): 2010

Prince of Asturias Awards (1): 2010

Premi Catalunya de l’Esport| (1): 2010

References

External links

FC Barcelona profile

BDFutbol profile

Transfermarkt profile

National team data

2010 FIFA World Cup profile

}}

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:People from Terrassa Category:Catalan footballers Category:Spanish footballers Category:Association football midfielders Category:La Liga footballers Category:FC Barcelona Atlètic footballers Category:FC Barcelona footballers Category:Spain youth international footballers Category:Spain under-21 international footballers Category:Spain international footballers Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 2004 players Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players Category:2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:UEFA European Football Championship-winning players Category:FIFA World Cup-winning players Category:FIFA Century Club Category:Olympic footballers of Spain Category:Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic silver medalists for Spain Category:Olympic medalists in football

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playername	David Villa
fullname	David Villa Sánchez
height
dateofbirth	December 03, 1981
cityofbirth	Langreo
countryofbirth	Spain
currentclub	Barcelona
clubnumber	7
position	Striker
youthyears1	1991–1999
youthclubs1	Langreo
years1	1999–2001
years2	2001–2003
years3	2003–2005
years4	2005–2010
years5	2010–
clubs1	Sporting Gijón B
clubs2	Sporting Gijón
clubs3	Zaragoza
clubs4	Valencia
clubs5	Barcelona
caps1	65 |goals1 25
caps2	80 |goals2 38
caps3	73 |goals3 32
caps4	166|goals4 108
caps5	35 |goals5 18
nationalyears1	2000–2003
nationalyears2	2005–
nationalteam1	Spain U21
nationalteam2	Spain
nationalcaps1	7 |nationalgoals1 0
nationalcaps2	76 |nationalgoals2 47
pcupdate	30 August 2011
ntupdate	14 August 2011 }}

David Villa Sánchez (; born 3 December 1981), nicknamed (), is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a striker for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national football team. He can also operate as winger.

Despite sustaining a serious injury as a child, he started his professional career with Sporting de Gijón. He moved to Real Zaragoza after two seasons, where he made his La Liga début, winning his first senior honours—the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España. He joined Valencia CF in 2005 for a transfer fee of €12 million and was part of the Valencia team that won the Copa del Rey in the 2007–08 season. In 2010 he moved to FC Barcelona for €40 million where he won his first La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles.

Villa made his international début in 2005. He has since participated in three major tournaments, becoming an integral member of the Spain teams that won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup, was the top scorer at Euro 2008 and earned the Silver Boot at the 2010 World Cup. With 46 goals, Villa is Spain's all-time top goalscorer and has also scored more World Cup goals than any other player in Spain's history. The goals-to-games ratio he has achieved for the national team has not been matched by any player since Alfredo Di Stéfano.

Childhood and early career

Villa was born in Tuilla, a small village in Langreo, Asturias, a region in northern Spain, the son of José Manuel Villa, a miner. When Villa was four, his chances of becoming a footballer were put in jeopardy when he suffered a fracture to the femur in his right leg, but made a complete recovery. Due to the injury, he and his father worked on strengthening his left leg and Villa ultimately became ambidextrous. He recalls his father being consistently supportive: "He would be there throwing me the ball over and over, making me kick it with my left leg when my right was in plaster after breaking it, I was four. I can barely remember a single training session when my dad wasn't there. I have never been alone on a football pitch."

Villa admitted that he came close to giving up football at the age of 14 after growing disillusioned and falling out with his coach. However, thanks to his parents' encouragement, he persisted in pursuing his dream, realising his talent could earn him a living. "In those days I was a nobody, not earning a penny and after being made to sit on the bench all season I just wanted to get away and play with my friends" he said. "But my dad always supported me and cheered me up until my career turned round." He went on to begin his footballing career at UP Langreo and when he turned 17 he joined the Mareo football school.

Club career

Sporting de Gijón and Real Zaragoza

Villa attracted interest from many Asturian teams, but one of the province's bigger teams, Real Oviedo, declared that he was too short and that they did not believe he had sufficient potential. He subsequently got his professional breakthrough at his local club Sporting de Gijón, following in the footsteps of his childhood idol Quini. Starting out at the team's youth ranks, he made his first-team début in the 2000–01 season. After scoring 25 goals in two seasons, he became a first team regular. Pepe Acebal, the Sporting Gijon manager at the time, said that Villa initially lacked the stamina to have a real impact and had to be given his chance bit by bit and that Villa's capacity for work was "unrivalled". With his goal tally nearly reaching 40 goals after spending two full seasons in Gijón's main team, Villa ultimately got his chance in Spain's top-flight when Sporting were in financial difficulty and newly promoted Real Zaragoza signed him for approximately €3 million in the summer of 2003. The striker had no trouble adapting to playing at the higher level, netting 17 times in his first season at Zaragoza. His league début came during Zaragoza's first La Liga game since his arrival where the team were defeated 1–0 away from home at the hands of Galician side Deportivo de La Coruña while his first goal came two games later, an eighth minute goal against Real Murcia which put Zaragoza 2–0 up in a match which ended 3–0. 4 December 2003 saw him net his first brace (2 goals) in a 2–2 draw against Athletic Bilbao and on 25 April 2004, David Villa scored his first hat-trick in a tight 4–4 draw against Sevilla which saw Villa score all four of Zaragoza's goals, putting his team ahead on two occasions.

Zaragoza reached the 2004 Copa del Rey final where he played a big part in the team's victory, scoring a crucial goal to put the Aragonese outfit 2–1 up against Real Madrid in a match which eventually ended 3–2. Soon after he earned his first international call-up and cap which resulted in Zaragoza fans becoming so proud of his achievements, they invented the football chant "illa illa illa, Villa maravilla" which is a play on the words "Villa" and "maravilla" which is as "marvel" but can also mean "wonderful" or "great" in that context. After Zaragoza's triumph in the Copa del Rey, they were granted a place in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup; this was Villa's first time playing in a European competition.

In the team's opening group game against Utrecht, Villa netted a brace in the dying minutes of the game which subsequently ended 2–0 in Zaragoza's favour. In the round of 16, Zaragoza faced Austria Wien. The first leg ended 1–1, Villa scored in the second leg, however, the match ended 2–2 which saw the team from Vienna go through to the next stage on the away goals rule. Meanwhile, in La Liga, Villa excited Zaragoza fans on 23 September 2004 by putting the team 1–0 up against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, however, it was not to be as Barcelona came back to win the game 4–1. On 17 April 2005, Villa scored a brace which helped see off Sevilla in a 3–0 victory.

Valencia

2005–06 season

After his success at Zaragoza, the team was in need of money, as a result, Villa made his big move to one of Spanish football's heavyweights, as a new look Valencia under Quique Sánchez Flores parted with €12 million to secure his services in the summer of 2005. During his first game in a Valencia shirt, an Intertoto Cup match against Belgian outfit K.A.A. Gent, Villa scored the first goal in a game which Valencia won 2–0. He made his league début for Valencia coming on as a substitute against Real Betis in a 1–0 win on 27 August 2005. The next match would see his previous team, Real Zaragoza, leading 2–1 for the majority of the match, however, on the 81st minute, Villa came on as a late substitute for Rubén Baraja and scored the equalizer within the space of a minute, earning Valencia a point as the game ended 2–2.

On 21 September, Villa would once again save Valencia a vital point by netting a brace against Barcelona at Camp Nou, actually giving his team the lead at one point after Víctor Valdés' clearance rebounded off Villa's back and into the net. On 23 October, Villa scored the winning goal against another Spanish giant, this time Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and would once again score against Barcelona, on 12 February 2006, his one goal proving enough to secure all three points in a 1–0 victory. Villa scored a goal against Deportivo de La Coruña (at the Riazor on 4 February 2006), described as "superb" by ESPN and "his best" by Sid Lowe who went on to credit it even more pointing out he achieved it "on the turn". Hitting the ball from the half way line (50 yards out) it sailed over the keepers head and into the net.

He scored his first hat-trick for Valencia against Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés in La Liga on the 23 April 2006. Villa managed the hat-trick in just over five minutes (80th to the 85th minute) making it one of the quickest hat-tricks ever recorded. Valencia won that game 3–0. That season saw him score 25 goals in 35 league matches for Valencia, finishing one goal behind the league's top scorer Samuel Eto'o of Barcelona. Villa's goal tally that year was the best that any Valencia player had ever achieved since Edmundo Suárez over 60 years beforehand.

2006–07 season

Villa's form continued into the 2006–07 season, with the striker forming a partnership up front with former Real Madrid star Fernando Morientes. Between them, Villa and Morientes netted 43 goals in all competitions. That year also saw Villa début in the UEFA Champions League; his first match was a qualifying match, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 first leg loss against Red Bull Salzburg. He went on to start the second leg and scored in a 3–0 win which saw Valencia qualify for the Champions League group stages. Crucial goals against Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk helped Valencia qualify for the knock out stages where they faced Inter Milan. Villa scored a free kick goal in the first leg away from home, while one of Inter's defenders complained that Villa had "made us look like idiots, all on his own". Valencia went through to the quarter finals where they faced Chelsea. Villa featured in both games but failed to make the score sheet. Valencia subsequently got knocked out by the London team 3–2 on aggregate. In October 2006 he was included among the 50 nominees for the Ballon d'Or (often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year Award).

A crucial goal against Espanyol and a brace against Sevilla helped him reach 16 goals that season and would see him come 6th in La Liga's top scorer list that season (scoring the same amount of goals as fellow international Raúl Tamudo) while he created more assists than anyone.

2007–08 season

The 2007–08 season was not easy for Villa nor for his teammates. Early in the season, their manager, Quique Sánchez Flores, was fired and replaced by Ronald Koeman, who ended up being fired on the 22 April, after a run of poor results, even though he managed to win a trophy with Valencia, as the team beat Getafe CF in the Copa del Rey-final. Koeman got replaced by the highly rated UD Almería coach, Unai Emery, at the end of the season. Under Koeman, Villa managed to see the back of the net 18 times in his 26 appearances. He also won the first professional trophy of his Valencia spell, winning the Copa del Rey for the second time in his career, beating Barcelona 3–2 in the semi-finals and then Getafe CF 3–1 in the final. giving the team a place in the UEFA Cup. By the end of the season he signed a new six-year contract with Valencia, committing his future to the club until 2014.

That season, Villa once again saw himself playing Champions League football. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Schalke 04 and went on to put Valencia 1–0 up against Chelsea, however, goals from Joe Cole and Didier Drogba saw Valencia lose 2–1. Valencia finished bottom of the group and were knocked out. On his 100th league appearance for Valencia, Villa scored a hat-trick against Levante; his 54th, 55th and 56th league goals for the club. Another two goals on the final day of the season against Atletico Madrid completed his tally of 18 goals that season.

2008–09 season

After finishing as the top scorer at Euro 2008, Villa continued his form into the 2008–09 season where he scored the first goal in a 3–0 win against Mallorca in what was the opening game of the season. After failing to sign the player, Real Madrid manager at the time, Bernd Schuster, accused Villa of having "no ambition", Villa responded by saying "Footballing ambition Is not about your mouth, It is about your feet. You can accuse me of lots of things - of having a bad day, of missing chances, of many things- but I have always had ambition and always will have. I think I have proved that on the pitch with Zaragoza, Sporting, UD Langreo, and the national team." In October 2008, Kaká praised Villa, speaking to Canal+, he claimed that Villa is "the best Spanish footballer" adding that "The player with whom I would most like to play is David Villa of Valencia." On 2 December 2008, Villa came 7th in the Ballon d'Or 2008 rankings and on 12 January 2009, Villa was announced as the joint 9th best player of 2008 alongside international team mate and Barcelona player Andrés Iniesta, according to the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

Valencia finished second in their UEFA Cup group, however, Villa was not featured heavily and was often an unused sub or a late sub. He scored a late winner against Maritimo and was used in the Round of 32 against Dynamo Kyiv, however, he did not make the score sheet. The two legs resulted in a 3–3 aggregate score, Dynamo Kyiv went through as the away goal rule went in their favour.

Hitting a consistent goal scoring form during mid season, he scored against Deportivo de la Coruña; however, he was sent off during the match after his second yellow card, received due to a foul on Daniel Aranzubia and as a result missed Valencia's next match against Real Valladolid, a game which Valencia lost 2–1 at home. Ready to return from suspension, Villa suffered from an inflammation in the joint in his left knee due to a partial dislocation and would be out for the next 15 days, missing games against Numancia, Recreativo de Huelva and Racing de Santander. When he finally returned from injury on 5 April 2009, he had no trouble recovering form, netting a brace in a match against Getafe, which Valencia won 4–1. On 12 April, Villa was set to return to El Molinón, the home ground of Sporting de Gijón where he started his career. He admitted that the encounter would be very emotional for him but went on to score the second Valencia goal in a 3–2 win and kept a pre-match promise by not celebrating the goal. His goal against Villarreal brought his tally to 26, he then scored another two against Athletic Bilbao finishing with 28 goals after the last game of the season, thus equalling records set by the Argentinian Mario Kempes and the Montenegrin Predrag Mijatović, who also scored 28 goals in a Valencia shirt in 1978 and 1996, respectively. Kempes reached his tally of 28 goals in 34 games while Mijatović achieved it in 40, ultimately seeing Villa beat their percentages, as he achieved the 28 goals in 33 games, recording a goal ratio of 0.84 goals per game. That season saw Villa's best season at Valencia as far as goal scoring is concerned.

With the season over Villa had marked his fourth year at Valencia, with only Eto'o scoring more goals than him in that period (six more). British columnist Sid Lowe points out that Eto'o achieved this "in a team that racked up 129 [goals] more than Villa's side" and noted that "most of that time he [Villa] has taken Valencia's corners and free-kicks – and however good a player is he can't head in his own crosses." Villa also ended the season as the third top scorer in La Liga with a total of 28 goals, just behind Samuel Eto'o (30) and Diego Forlán (32). After recording the best goal tally for a Valencia player in 60 years back in the 2005–06 season, he went three better in the 2008–09 season. The 28 league goals plus 3 more in other competitions that season, accumulated a total of 101 goals in 180 official games with the Valencian outfit.

2009–10 season

After the shock exit from the Confederations Cup with the Spain team, Villa returned from his holidays on 27 July, amidst much media speculation linking him with top clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United. Villa put to bed such rumours announcing his desire to remain at the Mestalla to fulfil his contract underlining that he "could not spend all summer refuting things, so I wanted to be quiet... I was told I should leave Valencia for the good of the club, soon after that everything changed and from that moment on I never saw myself out of here - before the Euros, the club told me what my asking price was, and I thought they were going to sell me, but when I returned from my vacations, Vicente Soriano said that he did not want me to leave Valencia. That removed all doubt for me. There is no train missed because all that I have achieved is because of Valencia and the Spanish national team." When questioned on whether or not he should apologise to Valencia fans, he simply replied, "I did not kill anyone, I do not think I have to ask for forgiveness."

On 20 August 2009, Villa scored in his first official match of the season, a 3–0 UEFA Europa League qualifer against Stabæk. He followed this up with two goals against Real Valladolid on 13 September, these were Villa's first league goals of the 2009–10 season. He scored twice more a week later against former club Sporting Gijón in a 2–2 draw at the Mestalla where he performed duties as the team's captain. After the match, Villa hinted towards being unhappy with Unai Emery's managerial decisions, stating "The approach for the second half was not right. We relaxed and ended up with the same result as last year. What has happened, has happened, but their goalkeeper was good, unlike our approach, which was not good", however, a day later he denied being critical of Emery pointing out that "When I talked about the approach, I was referring to the whole team, I spoke in the heat of the moment, I was annoyed at the way we lost two points and I said what I thought, but I have clarified everything that needed to be cleared up."

In 2009 he scored more goals than any other footballer, 43 goals in 54 games across all competitions for Spain and Valencia. The IFFHS listed him 4th in the "World's Top Goal Scorer 2009" rankings.

On 18 October, Villa was nominated for the Ballon D'Or, while nearly two weeks later, on 30 October, he was nominated for the FIFA World Player Of The Year. After going three league games without scoring, Villa contributed two goals towards Valencia's 4–1 victory against Villarreal on 17 January 2010, the first of his two goals became his 100th league goal with Valencia. Another brace came against Getafe on 22 February 2010, the second goal being "a superb chip" (as described by ESPN) over Jordi Codina. On 18 March, Valencia went to the Weserstadion to play Werder Bremen in the Europa League. Villa scored a hat-trick, his third goal being of note, which was fired in from eight yards out. The match ended 4–4 while Valencia proceeded to the next round on away goals. On May 4, 2010, Valencia played Xerez, Villa did not start but came on as a substitute 62 minutes into the match, which ended 3-1. Valencia still had two more games to play in the league, however, Villa did not feature, making the game against Xerez the last time he played for Valencia.

Barcelona

2010–11 season

On 19 May 2010, FC Barcelona reached an agreement with Valencia, for the acquisition of Villa for the fee of €40 million. Villa signed on a four year contract with Barcelona, with the option for a fifth, worth a reported €7 million per season and thus, managed to follow in the footsteps of his heroes, Luis Enrique and Quini, both of whom, like Villa, started out at Sporting Gijón and ended up at Barcelona. On 21 May 2010, over 35,000 Barcelona supporters packed into Camp Nou to see Villa's presentation, where he revealed the kit Barcelona would use during the 2010-11 season. He was given his favourite number 7, a number which had been free at the club since Eiður Guðjohnsen left in 2009. He made his first appearance for the club in the 2nd leg of the Supercopa de España, during the second half as a substitute for fellow Spain international, Pedro Rodríguez. His début appearance would also see him win his first piece of silver-ware with the Catalonian side, as Barcelona won 5-3 on aggregate due to a hat-trick by teammate Lionel Messi. His first goal came during the Joan Gamper Trophy (an annual friendly competition) against Milan. Barcelona won 3-1 on penalties (after the match had ended 1-1 during normal time).

On 29 August 2010, Villa made his La Liga début with Barcelona against Racing de Santander, where he scored the third goal of the match to help seal a 3-0 victory. On 14 September 2010, Villa scored on his Champions League début with Barcelona in a 5-1 victory over Panathinaikos F.C. Against Sevilla, on 31 October 2010, Barcelona won 5-0 against the Andalusian side, while Villa netted a brace. His first goal that match was voted "The Best Goal Of The Week (October 25–31)" by the readers of Goal.com. Villa's first "El Clásico" came on 29 November 2010, he scored two goals as Barcelona won 5-0 at the Camp Nou. Talking about the match, he commented that, "It's been a very important win. We looked for the victory and we got it. And the result and the manner in which we achieved it, you cannot ask for more.". He then scored a goal against Real Sociedad, a match Barcelona won 5-0. He followed with a brace against RCD Espanyol taking Barcelona to a 1-5 win.

On 27 December 2010, Villa was named "Male Athlete of the Year" by the United States Sports Academy, as he edged fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal and previous winner Manny Pacquiao for the title.

On 28 May 2010, Villa scored the third goal — curling the ball into the net from 25-yards out — in Barcelona's 3-1 victory over Manchester United in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League Final. After the victory, Villa said that he would like to dedicate the victory "to all my family, my daughters and also Pepe Reina's, who are like my nieces."

2011–12 season

Villa started the season with goals against C.D. Guadalajara and Club América in pre-season friendly matches. His first official match of the season was against Real Madrid in the first leg of the 2011 Supercopa de España where Villa scored a "world-class" goal, helping Barcelona seal a 2-2 tie at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, while on 17 August 2011, Villa was sent off in the dying moments of the second leg (which Barcelona won 3-2) after an altercation with Mesut Özil.

International career

2006 World Cup

An occasional member of the Under 21 team, Villa marked his international début under Luis Aragonés on 9 February 2005 in a 2006 World Cup Qualifier where Spain beat San Marino 5–0 at the Estadio del Mediterráneo while his first international goal came in the form of a late equaliser during a World Cup qualifier against Slovakia.

A successful season with Valencia saw him get called up as part of the 23-man squad to represent Spain at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Spain's first match at the tournament and Villa's World Cup début resulted in a 4–0 win against Ukraine where Villa netted a brace, and also put his nation 1–0 up against France in the Round of 16, although Spain went on to lose the match 3–1. He and Fernando Torres finished as Spain's top scorers with three goals each.

Euro 2008

By the end of 2006, Villa had become an integral part of Luis Aragonés' plans and ousted Raúl from the team. Proving vital in Spain's qualification for Euro 2008, he scored six goals, including a bicycle kick against Liechtenstein. He was subsequently called up for the tournament where he formed a striking relationship with Torres, with whom he would often celebrate his goals. He scored a hat-trick in Spain's 4–1 win over Russia, making him the first player to do so at a UEFA European Championship since Patrick Kluivert in 2000, and only the seventh overall. After the third goal, he went out of his way to meet Torres, who was on the bench at the time, to celebrate with him, "I had just scored a hat-trick and I knew people would be talking about me, but I wanted them to see that I had benefited from Torres's work, just as he sometimes benefits from mine." In the next match, he secured a 2–1 win against Sweden with a goal in the 92nd minute. Rested for the next match against Greece, he started once again in the quarter finals where Spain beat Italy 4–2 on penalties, Villa took the first penalty and scored.

Reaching their first semi-final in 24 years, Spain went on to face Russia for the second time during the tournament, however, during the early stages of the match, Villa sustained a thigh injury after taking a free kick and was replaced by Cesc Fàbregas. The injury meant that he could not participate in the final where Spain beat Germany 1–0 to claim their second win at the European Football Championships. Despite missing the final and the majority of the semi-final, Villa's 4 goals in the 4 games he played were enough for him to be top scorer of the tournament and was awarded the Golden Boot. He also made the UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament alongside striking partner Torres.

2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup qualification

Spain's first match during qualification for the 2010 World Cup was against Bosnia and Herzegovina where Villa scored the only goal of the game. He would go on to score four goals in Spain's next three games, including a last minute winner against Belgium. Another goal during a friendly match against Chile saw him end the year with 12 goals, breaking Raúl's record of 10 goals held since 1999. Villa began 2009 with a goal against England in a 2–0 friendly, with this goal, he broke another record and became the first Spanish international to have scored in 6 consecutive games, seeing off records set by Telmo Zarra and Ladislao Kubala. Speaking of the goal he said, "I am very happy with the goal. Truth is, I really want to see it on TV. The record is very nice. I would never have imagined in years that I would be able to obtain it. I am very proud and I hope I can continue breaking records".

On 1 June 2009, Vicente del Bosque named Villa in his 23 man squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. In a friendly match before the tournament, Villa scored his second international hat-trick against Azerbaijan, nearly exactly a year after his hat-trick against Russia at Euro 2008. He débuted at the Confederations Cup with a goal, the last of the five goals in Spain's 5–0 victory over New Zealand, while in the next game he scored the decisive goal against a defensive Iraqi team. Against South Africa, he missed a penalty, but within a minute made up for the miss by putting Spain ahead, helping them equal the records of most consecutive wins and most consecutive matches undefeated before making way for Pablo Hernández. The goal was his last of the tournament but was enough to see him win the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Shoe, he would also go on to make the team of the tournament.

Villa earned his 50th cap during a friendly against the Republic of Macedonia in a match where Spain won 3–2.

On 5 September 2009, Villa added two more goals to his goal tally for Spain, while assisting twice during the World Cup Qualifier against Belgium, in A Coruña. The match ended 5–0 to Spain where Villa also had a first-half penalty saved by the 30 year old A.S. Bari goalkeeper Jean-Francois Gillet. He finished the year with his sixth international brace against Austria in the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, the setting where Spain were crowned European Champions the previous year. With these two goals, Villa equalled the record he set last year of most goals scored in one calendar year by a Spanish international. Spain's first match in 2010 came on March 3, against France at the Stade de France. Villa scored the opening goal in a game which Spain went on to win 2–0.

2010 World Cup

In 2010, he came 1st in the IFFHS "2010's World Top Goalscorer at International Level" rankings, he was subsequently selected as a part of Vicente del Bosque's 23 man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In a friendly against Saudi Arabia on May 29, 2010, Villa scored the first of Spain's goals as they won 3-2 at the Tivoli Neu - the stadium where he scored his hat-trick against Russia during Euro 2008. Failing to score in Spain's next match against Korea Republic, he opened the score sheet in Spain's next match against Poland, a match where Poland lost 6-0, recording their worst defeat in 50 years.

In Spain's first 2010 World Cup match, Villa was chosen as a lone striker, but could do nothing to prevent their shock defeat at the hands of Switzerland. Five days later, Spain defeated Honduras 2-0, where Villa scored both goals, but wasted his chance to complete a hat-trick when he was awarded a penalty kick - side-footing the ball just wide of the post. It was the first time in fourteen attempts Spain ever missed a penalty in a World Cup during the run of play. In the same game, Villa was shown to slap Emilio Izaguirre in the face after the Honduran player trod on him. Villa said he was "not proud" of the heat of the moment incident, but he escaped a ban. Villa helped secure Spain's place in the round of 16 after scoring the first goal in a 2-1 win over Chile, with a long-range shot into an empty net after Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo ran out of his area to prevent Torres from scoring. The goal would become his 6th goal in FIFA World Cup matches, becoming Spain's all time top scorer at the World Cup finals, ahead of Emilio Butragueño, Fernando Hierro, Fernando Morientes and Raúl González, all of whom have five.

Spain were up against Portugal in the round of 16, and Villa would prove to be vital once again, as Xavi backheeled an Andrés Iniesta pass to the on-rushing Villa who hit the back of the net on the rebound after having his first shot saved by Eduardo, proving enough to give Spain a place in the quarter-finals against Paraguay, where Villa scored a goal from a rebound after Pedro hit the post. Once again, Villa's goal proved to be the difference as the match finished 1-0, while Spain booked a game with Germany in the semi-finals, where Spain recorded yet another 1-0 victory with the only goal coming from Carles Puyol.

Villa started in the final against the Netherlands, where he had an opportunity to score from close range, but was impeded by John Heitinga who managed to block his shot. Villa would eventually make way for Torres after 106 minutes on the pitch. Spain became world champions as they went on to win the match 1-0, while Villa was awarded the Silver Shoe, with the Gold Shoe going to Thomas Müller, both players had five goals, however, Müller had more assists. Villa was subsequently named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team.

Euro 2012 qualifying

Spain's first match of UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying was against Liechtenstein on 3 September 2010, Villa scored the second goal of the match which eventually ended 4-0. It was believed that this goal meant that he had equalled Raúl's record 44-goal tally, however, after many debates about whether he or Dariusz Dudka scored the first goal in Spain's 6-0 win over Poland, FIFA eventually decided that the goal was indeed an own goal by Dudka, meaning Villa's goal tally would remain at 43. On 12 October 2010, he finally equalled Raúl's record, scoring a penalty against Scotland and helping Spain see off the Scots in a 3-2 victory at Hampden Park.

On 25 March 2011, Villa scored two goals against the Czech Republic in a Euro 2012 qualifier, which ultimately handed Spain a 2-1 victory, while at the same time he managed to eclipse Raúl as Spain's all-time leading goalscorer. Speaking of the achievement, he stated that "The goals are dedicated to all the team-mates, all the coaches, all partners and friends I had during my career... But long ago I promised José, who is a friend of mine, that the goal which overtook Raul would be for him."

Succeeding Raúl as Spain's number 7

The Spanish media has often compared Villa with Raúl, to the point where Villa was accused of taking the #7 jersey away from the then-Real Madrid player. In March 2009, Villa spoke out saying, "I have not taken anything away from anybody, I was simply playing well for my club and the national coach gave me an opportunity. Too much has been said about the number issue. I’m not looking to cause any controversy. In fact, Raúl and I were in the national squad together in the past. I haven’t forced anybody out." When questioned on whether the whole uproar created over Raúl's omission was affecting him personally, he said, "I’ve never liked it because I think it has been damaging for the both of us. We’ve always got on well together whenever we’ve met up for international duty, so I’m not concerned. I just work hard for myself. All I want is to be in the squad for every game, to have the Spain badge on my chest and to score as many goals as I can."

In February 2010, Bernd Schuster was asked if Raúl did not favour Villa moving to Real Madrid, to which he responded with "I have a cough", this caused many to believe that he was implying the rumour to be true. Villa firmly ridiculed that idea by saying "It is impossible that a player with as much class on and off the pitch as Raúl would speak poorly of me. I have always had a good relationship with Raúl, even though we have hardly met on international duty."

Speaking of Raúl's record with the Spanish national team as the nation's leading top scorer, Villa said, "I've got 25 goals but he's got 44 and is still playing. I'd be delighted to reach that tally as I'd help the national team achieve great victories and, in many years' time, I could see my name on a [scorers' list] that another young lad was trying to beat. That would be great." On March 25, 2011, two years after making that remark, Villa passed Raúl as Spain's all-time top scorer.

Personal life

In 2003 Villa married his childhood sweetheart Patricia González (who had also been a footballer in her teenage years). They had a daughter who they named Zaida. Her name is engraved on his personalised Adidas F50's, while one boot bears the Spanish flag, the other has the Asturian flag. In 2009, his second daughter Olaya was born, named after the wife of Fernando Torres, who is a close friend of Patricia. His footballing idols are Luis Enrique and Quini.

Villa frequently attends charity events. He is actively involved with the campaigns of the UNICEF charity.

Beginning in July 2008, a "David Villa Camp" is held annually, where children receive training from professional footballers. Villa also participates in a training session with the children.

Villa featured on the Spanish box art for video game FIFA 07.

Music

In 2010 he sang alongside Grammy Award-nominated Spanish singer Ana Torroja on the song "Insurrection" by El Último de la Fila. The recording was made for the beneficiary project ''Voces X1FIN'', to help raise money to build an art and education school in Mali. Villa commented that footballers "are an example for society and we have to be ready to get involved in these projects, where we can help people who need it."

Career statistics

Club

As of 27 August 2011

12 12 13 13 0 0 18 20 20 20 6 15 8 16 18 28 21 7 0

Club	Season	League	Cup	Europe	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists	!Apps	!Goals	!Assists
rowspan=3	Sporting Gijón B		30	|	0	—			—			30
2000–01 Segunda División B	2000-01	35	|	0	—			—			35
Total	65!!25!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!65!!25!!-
rowspan=4	Sporting Gijón		1	0	|	—			—			1
2001–02 Segunda División	2001-02	40	|	0	4	2	0	—			44
2002–03 Segunda División	2002-03	39	|	0	1	0	0	—			40
Total	80!!38!!0!!5!!2!!0!!0!!0!!0!!85!!40!!-
rowspan=3	Real Zaragoza		38	17	|	8	4	1	—			46	21	7
2004–05 La Liga	2004-05	35	|	5	1	2	0	10	3	2	46	20	7
Total	73!!32!!11!!9!!6!!1!!10!!3!!2!!92!!41!!14
rowspan=6	Valencia		35	25	|	4	2	0	1	1	0	40	28	8
2006–07 La Liga	2006-07	36	|	12	2	0	2	11	5	3	49	21	17
2007–08 La Liga	2007-08	30	|	7	6	1	2	7	3	2	41	22	11
2008–09 La Liga	2008-09	33	|	6	2	1	0	5	1	1	40	30	7
2009–10 La Liga	2009-10	32	|	5	2	0	1	11	7	4	42	28	10
Total	166!!108!!38!!16!!4!!5!!35!!17!!10!!212!!129!!53
rowspan=3	Barcelona		34	18	|	4	1	0	12	4	2	50	23	9
2011–12 FC Barcelona season	2011-12	0	|	0	2	1	0	1	0	0	2	1	0
Total	!34!!18!!7!!6!!2!!0!!13!!4!!2!!52!!24!!9
Career total		!418!!221!!56!!36!!14!!6!!58!!24!!14!!507!!259!!76

International

International statistics

''As of 14 August 2011.''

0 1 1 2 5 4 1 14

National team	Club	Year	Friendly	Competitive	Total
!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals	!Apps	!Goals	!Ratio
rowspan="7"	Spain		Real Zaragoza	2004–05	0	|	1	0	1	0
rowspan="5"	Valencia	2005–06	5	|	7	4	12	5
2006–07	4	|	7	6	11	7
2007–08	4	|	8	4	12	6
2008–09	4	|	10	8	14	13
2009–10	6	|	9	7	15	11
	Barcelona	2010–11	6	|	5	4	11	5
Career Total	29	|	47	33	76	47

Note: ''Each season is September - August''

International goals

''As of 25 March 2011.''

Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia 1 March 2006 13 June 2006 13 June 2006 27 June 2006 2 September 2006 2 September 2006 6 September 2006 11 October 2006 24 March 2007 6 June 2007 6 June 2007 26 March 2008 31 May 2008 10 June 2008 10 June 2008 10 June 2008 14 June 2008 6 September 2008 10 September 2008 10 September 2008 11 October 2008 15 October 2008 19 November 2008 11 February 2009 9 June 2009 9 June 2009 9 June 2009 14 June 2009 17 June 2009 20 June 2009 5 September 2009 5 September 2009 18 November 2009 18 November 2009 3 March 2010 29 May 2010 21 June 2010 21 June 2010 25 June 2010 29 June 2010 3 July 2010 3 September 2010 12 October 2010 25 March 2011 25 March 2011 7 June 2011

'''David Villa international goals
# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Goal !! Result !! Competition
'''2005–2006
1.	16 November 2005	|		1 – '''1	1 – 1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	|	Estadio José Zorrilla, Valladolid, Spain		1 – 1	3 – 2	Exhibition game>International friendly
3.	|	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany		2 – 0	4 – 0	2006 FIFA World Cup
4.	|	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany	Ukraine	3 – 0	4 – 0	2006 FIFA World Cup
5.	|	AWD-Arena, Hannover, Germany		1 – 0	1 – 3	2006 FIFA World Cup
'''2006–2007
6.	|	Estadio Nuevo Vivero, Badajoz, Spain		2 – 0	4 – 0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
7.	|	Estadio Nuevo Vivero, Badajoz, Spain	Liechtenstein	3 – 0	4 – 0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
8.	|	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland		1 – '''2	3 – 2	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
9.	|	Estadio Nueva Condomina>Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain		2 – 1	2 – 1	International friendly
10.	|	Santiago Bernabéu Stadium>Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain		2 – 0	2 – 1	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
11.	|	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	0 – '''1	0 – 2	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
12.	|	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	0 – '''2	0 – 2	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
'''2007–2008
13.	|	Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero>Manuel Martínez Valero, Elche, Spain		1 – 0	1 – 0	International friendly
14.	|	Nuevo Colombino, Huelva, Spain		1 – 0	2 – 1	International friendly
15.	|	Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria		1 – 0	4 – 1	UEFA Euro 2008
16.	|	Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria	Russia	2 – 0	4 – 1	UEFA Euro 2008
17.	|	Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria	Russia	3 – 0	4 – 1	UEFA Euro 2008
18.	|	Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria		1 – '''2	1 – 2	UEFA Euro 2008
'''2008–2009
19.	|	Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain		1 – 0	1 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
20.	|	Estadio Carlos Belmonte, Albacete, Spain		2 – 0	4 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
21.	|	Estadio Carlos Belmonte, Albacete, Spain	Armenia	3 – 0	4 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
22.	|	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia		0 – '''2	0 – 3	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
23.	|	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium		1 – '''2	1 – 2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
24.	|	El Madrigal, Villarreal, Spain		1 – 0	3 – 0	International friendly
25.	|	Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Sevilla, Spain		1 – 0	2 – 0	International friendly
26.	|	Tofik Bakhramov, Baku, Azerbaijan		1 – 0	6 – 0	International friendly
27.	|	Tofik Bakhramov, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	2 – 0	6 – 0	International friendly
28.	|	Tofik Bakhramov, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	3 – 0	6 – 0	International friendly
29.	|	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa		5 – 0	5 – 0	2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
30.	|	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa		1 – 0	1 – 0	2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
31.	|	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa		1 – 0	2 – 0	2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
2009–2010
32.	|	Estadio Riazor, A Coruña, Spain	Belgium	2 – 0	5 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
33.	|	Estadio Riazor, A Coruña, Spain	Belgium	5 – 0	5 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
34.	|	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria		1 – '''2	1 – 5	International friendly
35.	|	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria	Austria	1 – '''3	1 – 5	International friendly
36.	|	Stade de France, Paris, France	France	0 – '''1	0 – 2	International friendly
37.	|	Tivoli Neu, Innsbruck, Austria		1 – 1	3 – 2	International friendly
38.	|	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa		1 – 0	2 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup
39.	|	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Honduras	2 – 0	2 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup
40.	|	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria, South Africa	Chile	0 – '''1	1 – 2	2010 FIFA World Cup
41.	|	Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa		1 – 0	1 – 0	2010 FIFA World Cup
42.	|	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa		0 – '''1	0 – 1	2010 FIFA World Cup
'''2010-2011
43.	|	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	0 – '''2	0 – 4	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
44.	|	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland		0 – '''1	2 – 3	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
45.	|	Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain		1 – 1	2 – 1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
46.	|	Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain		2 – 1	2 – 1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
47.	|	Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui, Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela		0 – 1	0 – 3	International friendly

Note: According to virtually all sources, Villa's apparent 38th goal (against Poland) was actually an own goal by an opponent. Although FIFA credited the goal to Villa at the time, their own website now says his goal against Scotland was his 44th, not 45th.

Honours

Club

;Real Zaragoza

Copa del Rey: 1

:: 2004

Supercopa de España: 1

:: 2004

;Valencia

Copa del Rey: 1

:: 2008

;Barcelona

La Liga: 1

:: 2010–11

UEFA Champions League: 1

:: 2010–11

Supercopa de España: 2

:: 2010, 2011

UEFA Super Cup: 1

:: 2011

Country

;Spain

UEFA European Championship: 1

:: 2008

FIFA World Cup: 1

:: 2010

Individual

;Awards

Don Balón Award (Spanish Player of the Year): 2005-06

Zarra Trophy: 2005-06, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10

UEFA Euro 2008 Golden Boot

UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament

Man of the Match Spain vs Russia, Spain vs Sweden Euro 2008

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Shoe

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Team of the Tournament.

2010 FIFA World Cup Silver Shoe

2010 FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2010

Man of the Match Spain vs Honduras World Cup 2010

Male Athlete of the Year: 2010

FIFPro World XI: 2010

UEFA Team of the Year: 2010

Prince of Asturias Awards: 2010

;Achievements

Valencia Top Scorer: 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10

La Liga's Top Assisting Player: 2006-07

Spain all time top scorer: 46 goals

Spain's all time top scorer in FIFA World Cup matches

Most goals scored in one World Cup (by a Spanish international): 5

Most goals scored in one calendar year (by a Spanish international): 12 (2008, 2009) Largest streak of games having scored (by a Spanish international): 6

Notes

References

External links

FC Barcelona profile

BDFutbol profile

Transfermarkt profile

National team data

David Villa career stats at ESPN

Statistics and Analytics of David Villa at Footbalistic

The David Villa Campus official website

2010 FIFA World Cup profile

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name	Alexis Sánchez
fullname	Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez
birth date	December 19, 1988
position	Forward / Winger
currentclub	Barcelona
clubnumber	9
youthyears1	2003–2004 |youthclubs1 Cobreloa
years1	2005–2006 |clubs1 Cobreloa |caps1 47 |goals1 12
years2	2006–2011 |clubs2 Udinese |caps2 95 |goals2 20
years3	2006–2007 |clubs3 → Colo-Colo (loan) |caps3 32 |goals3 5
years4	2007–2008 |clubs4 → River Plate (loan) |caps4 23 |goals4 4
years5	2011– |clubs5 Barcelona |caps5 1 |goals5 1
nationalyears1	2007 |nationalteam1 Chile U20 |nationalcaps1 12 |nationalgoals1 3
nationalyears2	2006– |nationalteam2 Chile |nationalcaps2 41 |nationalgoals2 14
pcupdate	13:55, 13 July 2011 (UTC)
ntupdate	20:54, 15 August 2011 (UTC) }}

Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation: ; born 19 December 1988), is a Chilean footballer who plays as a forward for FC Barcelona and for the Chilean national team.

Sánchez began his career as a youth player for Cobreloa in 2003, aged 15, for then be promoted to the first adult team, two years later. His precocious talent caught the attention of Udinese, team of the Italian Serie A, and signed the 17-year-old for $3 million in May 2006, but was immediately loaned out to Colo-Colo, and then River Plate where he was able to mature in less physically demanding confines than the Italian first division.

He joined Udinese after becoming champion of the Argentina and Chilean leagues in June 2008. Sánchez made a steady progress in his first two seasons at Udinese, and in the 2010-11 season he established himself as one of the key player's that allowed Udinese to finish fourth in Serie A. On 27 February 2011, Sánchez scored four of seven goals as his team defeated Palermo 7-0, playing only the first 52 minutes of the game. This event meant he broke the record of goals scored by a Chilean player (in a single match) in the Italian Serie A, thus beating the records set by his historic countrymen Marcelo Salas and Ivan Zamorano.

Alexis made his international debut for his national team against Sweden in 2006 and scored his first goal against Switzerland in a 2–1 loss, being also the first goal of the Marcelo Bielsa era. During the period of Bielsa, he was the top-scorer of Chile with 14 goals surpassing to Humberto Suazo with 11 goals.

Early life

Born in Tocopilla, to a family of fishermen, Alexis quickly learned that his life would not be easy. His biological father abandoned Alexis and his family to go work in a mine, leaving Alexis to help his family out financially from an early age.

Acording to his relatives and his closest friends, Alexis was an extroverted boy at school. Alexis washed cars in a graveyard to earn some money, but clearly the dream of Alexis was to be a footballer. His fanaticism for football was shared with all his family, especially with José Delaigue, his uncle-in law and adoptive father. Being a former amateur footballer, Delaigue saw great potential in the young Alexis.

At the age of 15 while playing football with his friends in the neighborhood, he impressed the mayor of Tocopilla, who awarded him his first football boots. The mayor's decision was a worthwhile one, while playing for Tocopilla in a regional tournament, Sánchez dominated, in one particular match he scored 8 goals.

Club career

Early career

Alexis joined Cobreloa in 2004 and eventually made his first-team debut one year later at the age of 16 on 12 February 2005 in a 5–4 win against Deportes Temuco. In his second professional game, he set a Copa Libertadores record by becoming the youngest player to debut in the South American Club Championship. In the next season, Sánchez concentrated on his goal scoring for the Torneo Apertura 2006, netting six goals in 12 appearances. On 21 July, Cobreloa sold Sánchez to the Italian side Udinese for $3 million.

In July 2006, he was loaned to one of Chile's biggest teams, Colo-Colo on a season-long deal. His loan was due to a maturation project that Udinese implemented with youth players. After a notable season in the Cacique, and winning two league titles, it was assumed that Sánchez would return to Italy. He was loaned out again, however, this time to Argentina's River Plate.

Early seasons at Italy

After a successful season in Argentina, in July 2008, Sánchez left South America to officially join Udinese, where he would suit up with Chilean compatriot Mauricio Isla. Sánchez made his non-competitive debut in a 3–0 win over Bassano and was named the man of match. On 14 September, he played his first game in Serie A in a 1–0 loss with Juventus and four days later, he made his Europe debut against Borussia Dortmund. On 19 October 2008, Sánchez scored his first league goal against Lecce. After this first goal, Sánchez got into a minor slump, in which he took much criticism. The criticism ended after scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute against Bologna in a 1–0 win, being named the man of match.

In the following season, Sánchez played an important role for Udinese at Coppa Italia 2009–10, being a key player in the team that eliminated AC Milan, assisting Gökhan Inler for the winning goal. In the semi-final second leg, Sánchez was the man of match after playing a successful game against Roma, including scoring his first Coppa Italia goal in the 81st minute. It was not enough, however, as the aggregate score was 2–1 in favor of Roma. By the end of this year, Sánchez scored a total of five goals (four at the end of tournament) in 32 appearances.

Udinese

After participating for Chile in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Sánchez began to live an intense process of adaptation that consecrated him in Udinese with very good performances for the club, because of this, Sánchez has also attracted the interest from clubs such as Manchester United, Zenit St. Petersburg, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea,

On 27 February 2011, Sánchez scored four of seven goals as his team defeated Palermo 7-0, playing only the first 52 minutes of the game. This event meant he broke the record of goals scored by a Chilean player (in a single match) in the Italian Serie A, thus beating the records set by his historic countrymen Marcelo Salas and Ivan Zamorano.

During his successful season at Udinese Calcio, Sánchez and Italian striker Antonio Di Natale became one of the best scoring duos in Serie A tallying 39 goals between then, two goals short of the Del Piero–Trezeguet duo that completed 41 goals in the 2007–08 season. In recognition of his achievements he has been named the world's most promising youngster of the 2011 season, by the viewer of ''FIFA.com'', which the viewer had to choose between Sánchez, Gareth Bale, Javier Pastore and Ganso in that poll. Sánchez ranked 56th in May 2011 edition of Castrol Performance Index and 24th among the forwards.

Barcelona

On 20 July 2011, FC Barcelona confirmed they had agreed a €26m fee (plus certain bonuses) with Udinese for the transfer of Sánchez,thus becoming the first Chilean to ever play for the club. "Sánchez is very young," said manager Josep Guardiola. "He can play in all three attacking positions, he shows intense defensive skills, he's direct and from what I've been told, he's a very nice kid." The transfer was finalised five days later when he passed a medical and signed a five-year contract. "I want to learn from players like Messi and Xavi - and I want to help the club win more titles," said Sánchez.He made his debut against arch rivals Real Madrid. After the game he got positive comments from his team mates. He made his first goal in his first match in La Liga versus Villarreal C.F., the final result was 5-0.

International career

Alexis made his international debut for his national team against New Zealand on 27 April 2006. He was called up by the coach José Sulantay for play with his country in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup celebrated in Canada, achieving an historic performance, finishing in third place of the tournament.

After his participation in the youth championship, he scored his first goal in the Marcelo Bielsa era in a 2–1 loss against Switzerland on 7 September 2007. Due to the three-months injury that he suffered playing for River Plate, Sánchez missed the first four games of the FIFA World Cup qualification. Fully recovered now, he led to Chile to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, becoming the team's star player. His best game during the qualifiers was in a 4–0 win over Bolivia, scoring two goals of the victory. However, in the maximum global competition, he had a regular performance, but Alexis continued to be the favorite of the fans.

Prior to the 2011 Copa América, Sánchez has scored 2 goals in 4 games, those goals were scored against Uruguay and Estonia. On 29 June 2011, he was selected in the 23-man squad that will represent to Chile in the Copa América celebrated in Argentina.

International goals

Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria 4 June 2008 4 June 2008 11 February 2009 28 March 2009 10 June 2009 10 June 2009 12 August 2009 26 May 2010 26 May 2010 30 May 2010 17 November 2010 19 June 2011 8 July 2011

Sánchez – goals for Chile
# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
align="center"	1.	7 September 2007	|		1–1	2–1	Exhibition_game#Association_football>Friendly match
align="center"	2.	|	Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua, Chile		1–0	2–0	Friendly match
align="center"	3.	|	Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua, Chile	Guatemala	2–0	2–0	Friendly match
align="center"	4.	|	Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane, South Africa		0–2	0–2	Friendly match
align="center"	5.	|	Estadio Monumental "U", Lima, Peru		0–1	1–3	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)>2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
align="center"	6.	|	Estadio Nacional de Chile, Santiago de Chile>Santiago, Chile		3–0	4–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
align="center"	7.	|	Estadio Nacional de Chile, Santiago, Chile	Bolivia	4–0	4–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
align="center"	8.	|	Brøndby Stadium, Brøndby, Denmark		1–2	1–2	Friendly match
align="center"	9.	|	Estadio Municipal de Calama, Calama, Chile>Calama, Chile		1–0	3–0	Friendly match
align="center"	10.	|	Estadio Municipal de Calama, Calama, Chile	Zambia	2–0	3–0	Friendly match
align="center"	11.	|	Estadio Municipal de Concepción, Concepción, Chile>Concepción, Chile		2–0	3–0	Friendly match
align="center"	12.	|	Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago, Chile		1–0	2–0	Friendly match
align="center"	13.	| Estadio Monumental, Santiago, Chile ||		4–0	4–0	Exhibition game>Friendly match
align="center"	14.	|	Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza, Argentina>Mendoza, Argentina		1–1	1–1	2011 Copa América

Career statistics

Club

3 9 4 1 4 3 5 12 1

Club	Season	League	Cup	!colspan="2"	!colspan="2"	Total
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
rowspan="3"	Cobreloa		35	|	–		3	0	–		38	3
Chilean Primera División	2006	12	|	–		–		–		12	9
!Total	!47!!12!!colspan="2"
rowspan="3"	Colo-Colo		18	|	–		9	1	–		27	5
2007 Chilean Primera División season	2007	14	|	–		7	3	–		21	4
!Total	!32!!5!!colspan="2"
rowspan="2"	River Plate		23	|	–		8	0	–		31	4
!Total	!23!!4!!colspan="2"
rowspan="4"	Udinese		32	|	2	0	9	0	–		43	3
2009–10 Serie A	2009–10	32	|	4	1	–		–		36	6
2010–11 Serie A	2010–11	31	|	2	0	–		–		33	12
!Total	–!!112!!21
rowspan="2"	Barcelona		1	|	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	1
!Total	!1!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!2!!0!!3!!1
Career total	!198!!42!!8!!1!!36!!4!!2!!0!!244!!47

¹Includes continental competitive competitions, including the Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and UEFA Champions League. ²Includes other competitive competitions, including the FIFA Club World Cup, Supercopa de España and UEFA Super Cup.

''Statistics accurate as of match played 14 August 2011''

National team

|- |2006||5||0 |- |2007||4||1 |- |2008||9||2 |- |2009||9||5 |- |2010||7||4 |- |2011||8||2 |- !Total||42||14 |}

Honours

Club

; Colo-Colo

Chilean Primera División (2): 2006 Clausura, 2007 Apertura

Copa Sudamericana (1): Runner-up 2006

; River Plate

Primera División de Argentina (1): 2008 Clausura

; Barcelona

Supercopa de España (1): 2011

UEFA Super Cup (1): 2011

International

FIFA U-20 World Cup (1): Third place 2007

Individual

Serie A Player of the Month (1): February 2011

Serie A Footballer of the Year (1): 2010–11

Personal life

The adoptive father of Alexis, José Delaigue, died of a heart attack in June 2011 at age 75 when Sánchez was 22. On 19 June of that year, in Chile's 4-0 win over Estonia, on his team's last goal that Alexis scored he removed his jersey during his celebration to reveal a photo on his undershirt of his adoptive father, in tribute of the late man.

References

External links

FC Barcelona profile

Transfermarkt profile

2010 FIFA World Cup profile

Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:People from Tocopilla Category:Chilean footballers Category:Association football forwards Category:Chilean Primera División players Category:Cobreloa footballers Category:CSD Colo-Colo players Category:Serie A footballers Category:Udinese Calcio players Category:Primera División Argentina players Category:River Plate footballers Category:La Liga footballers Category:FC Barcelona footballers Category:Chile international footballers Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:2011 Copa América players Category:Chilean expatriate footballers Category:Expatriate footballers in Italy Category:Expatriate footballers in Argentina Category:Expatriate footballers in Spain

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