Having successfully negotiated his way to the top of Spain’s all-time leading goalscoring records, David Villa must now turn his attentions to a fixture which has also been occupying his mind for the last three months.
As impressive as his record at Valencia was, it was perhaps more startling he stayed there for so long, through two years of financial misery before the money-men, and the lure of Barca, finally came callingthis summer.
After finishing joint top-scorer in South Africa with Germany’s Thomas Muller, winning the World Cup and then becoming Spain’s record goalscorer in midweek, Villa’s 2010 has gone rather swimmingly so far.But Villa’s form is not an isolated case as while they are unsurprisingly fourth in La Liga, the Blaugrana still don’t look the side they were six months ago.
Defeat against Hercules last month was a huge shock but perhaps more troubling was the draw with Mallorca, where Guardiola’s side dominated for huge swathes of the game. but could not find their killer touch.
Which is precisely what €40m (Dh205.9m) was supposed to buy them when they signed Villa.
Captain Carles Puyol insists their lack of ruthlessness has to stop and is relishing today’s contest.
Puyol said: “It is not normal that we have let five points go against teams that are theoretically lower than us. Teams have been highly motivated against us and have shown that anyone can beat anyone. Things are very even.
“Valencia are a solid team and it will be difficult. They saw important players leave, but other good ones have joined and we will have to be attentive. If they continue playing like they have been then they could stay up there. They are one of the best teams at the moment.”
Villa successfully completed training yesterday after picking up a minor injury in the 3-2 win over Scotland for Spain while both Xavi and Pedro were also surprise participants, having initially thought to be struggling for the match.
Puyol added: “They are important players for us and I am pleased that they have recovered. I hope that they can play. Villa is one of the best strikers in the world and will score a lot of goals. I do not understand anyone that doubts Xavi. His statistics show everything. He always wants to play. If he is not playing it is because he is injured.”
For La Liga table-toppers Valencia, the game at the Nou Camp will represent a strange situation for many of their players, having worked with Villa for so long.
Their new talisman, Juan Mata, grew up through the club’s academy and witnessed Villa’s progress before finally earning the honour to play in the same side.
Now they are at opposite ends of the field and the young Spainard admits it will be a bizarre scenario but not one that should detract from the prize at stake.
Mata said: “It will be strange seeing him with another shirt because he is a great player and a great friend, but what I think about is winning. It could be a good time to play them. Also, because it always seems that games just after breaks for internationals are the most difficult for them.”Talk of a potential title has been wisely downplayed but should Unai Emery’s team succeed, they will be a difficult contender to ignore.
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