Bloemfontein, South Africa - David Villa had many reasons to
be happy Wednesday, but he was not exactly smiling after scoring a
goal that booked Spain's place in the semi-finals of the
Confederations Cup in South Africa.
A low look, earphones in place, and a quick pace alongside a
Spanish federation press official: that was the picture of the
Valencia striker after the game. Indeed, in recent days, Villa keeps
remembering his love of music every time he sees a reporter.
'I am calm. I have made a decision, my agent knows it and I am
calm, there is no deadline.'
Those were the words that a Spanish television interviewer got off
Villa minutes after Wednesday's game. And that was all.
Will Villa play for Real Madrid or Barcelona? Will it be
Manchester United or Chelsea? The footballer's agent had turned off
his phone after Spain's 1-0 win over Iraq in the South African city
of Bloemfontein.
Stuck in a major financial crisis, Valencia are willing to trade
off the 28-year-old forward for as much money as they can get. And
Villa's performances in the Confederations Cup are pushing up his
price by the day.
On Wednesday, in a boring, lacklustre game from Spain, Villa
scored the winning header in the 55th minute. That was his 30th goal
with the national team, to beat Fernando Hierro in the records. Now,
he only stands behind Raul, who scored 44 goals in the Spain jersey
but who has now not worn it for two years and looks unlikely to
return.
Pressure on Villa - a man who is usually shy and does not speak
much - is huge in South Africa. While most of his team-mates enjoy
the Confederations Cup in the full knowledge of where they will play
next season, Villa is handling uncertainty thousands of kilometres
away from where his future is being decided.
And yet Spain coach Vicente del Bosque is sure that his striker is
not suffering because of the stress.
'He is fine, he is very interested (in national team duty) and he
is training very well, there is no problem with him.'
However, defender Carlos Marchena - a team-mate of Villa's at
Valencia - admits that things could be better for the striker.
'Uncertainty is not pleasant for anyone,' Marchena said Wednesday.
Under the headline 'Europe's most wanted,' the British magazine
Four Four Two devoted several pages of its June edition to explaining
why English clubs should empty their bank accounts to sign the best
striker in the world.
The unknown around Villa's future gets mixed up with debate on
what Manchester United will do with the 94 million euros (131 million
dollars) it will obtain from Real Madrid in exchange for Portugal's
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique - formerly with United himself
- has few doubts as to what the Old Trafford club will do.
'Now they have loads of money and, without a doubt, they will sign
a good player.'
And that could of course be Villa.
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