NYCFC's David Villa gets one last chance for Spain

It had been 3 years since David Villa had last stepped on the pitch for the Spanish National Team. That last time he saw the pitch for his country was in the 2014 World Cup, a 3-0 win against Australia in which he scored the opening goal, his 59th for Spain, the most ever for his country. It's even rare that a 35 year old would be playing for a national team, let alone a world super power. But when Villa was subbed on for Isco in the 87th minute last Saturday, he broke his 3 year absence. The Bernabeu broke into chants of "David Villa" before he even came on.

David Villa came in for Spain in the 87th minute of their win vs Italy. Photo:FourFourTwo

When David Villa left Atletico Madrid in 2014 for the MLS, no one in Spain thought they'd ever seen him again. The former star was moving to a new club, New York City FC, who play at Yankee Stadium, which, if you couldn't tell, is not a soccer stadium. But 3 years later, David Villa is producing numbers no one thought he could put up. That is, no one but Villa.
In the 2 1/2 years Villa has been in NYC, he's scored 60 goals for the team in 90 appearances. He was the league's MVP in 2016, and with 19 goals with 9 matches left, he has a chance to beat the MLS single season record of 27, and is looking like the favorite to repeat as MVP. David Villa plays with his heart out, and while he is, by trade, a forward, he plays whatever the team asks of him. When NYCFC played the Chicago Fire back in July, NYCFC midfielder Yangel Herrera recieved a red card in the 11th minute. With one less man on the field for the remaining 79 minutes of the match, Villa played one of his best games of his career. Villa scored a goal, and covered most of the field during the match, even dropping back on defense and making a few tackles. NYCFC won that game 2-1, against, at the time, the second best team in MLS. New York City now holds that distinction, now only behind Toronto FC on points.
David Villa played those last few minutes of Spain's match vs Italy with his heart on his chest, proving to the crows the old man still has it. While Villa did get injured in training after the match preparing for Spain's World Cup Qualifier at Lichtenstein, don't expect that to be Villa's last cal up for Spain. If he stays in this form at New York City, which, is very much possible, you can expect to see David Villa as a super sub for Spain at the World Cup in Russia next season.