At 35 years old, an age where most players have already retired, David Villa hasn't stopped. The Valencia legend, who went on to star at Barcelona, has dominated MLS since his arrival in 2014, and he's been awarded with a quite the honor. The New York City FC man was called up by the Spanish national team on Friday for upcoming World Cup qualifiers after a three-year absence.
OFICIAL | Lista de la @SeFutbol para los partidos ante @Vivo_Azzurro y Liechtenstein / Spain's call up #SEFlive pic.twitter.com/BjlGCWqyM5
— Selección Española (@SeFutbol) August 25, 2017
A World Cup winner in 2010, this just goes to show how great he's been playing in MLS. He's been arguably the best player in the league since joining three years ago, having scored 58 goals in 91 matches.
Nearly a year ago, he said he would take the "first flight back to play in the national team," and I explained why it could happen. From our October 6, 2016 story:
What Spain has up top nowadays isn't a lot to write home about. Just look at that Italy-Spain friendly Thursday. You have Vitolo, Nolito and Lucas Vazquez in attack, and they aren't even true strikers. Alvaro Morata has been good as a No. 9 for Spain, Diego Costa has been inconsistent, Jose Callejon has little experience with the team and Paco Alcacer hasn't been playing at Barcelona.
Villa wouldn't even be the oldest striker that has been called up, proving that age doesn't matter for the Iberians. Aritz Aduriz of Athletic Bilbao has been called up to Spain at the age of 35 and could still be in the team's plans thanks to his fine form.
Lucas isn't in the team, Nolito either. Diego Costa hasn't been playing at Chelsea and wasn't called up, and neither was Callejon. And Alcacer? Not even in serious consideration for the national team. That shortage of guys in attack sees Iago Aspas and Morata as the forwards joining Villa, both players who have yet to accomplish a third of what Villa has. So in a sense, it was the perfect storm for him to return, and now he has a chance to cement a spot in the squad and - though it may be a tad early to think about it - maybe even earn a spot at the 2018 World Cup.
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