David Villa was one of the most sought after player in World Football for the past few years with clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United being linked with him. He was probably one of the best strikers in the world and playing with Valencia never looked like a grandiose prospect for a man of his caliber.
As things few by, financial constraints at Valencia prompted a departure for the Spanish talisman and Catalonia was his next destination. Guardiola caught the eye of many by paying such a hefty price in the acquisition of Zlatan Ibrahimovic but never did the latter establish himself into the hearts of the Blaugrana faithful. And the arrival of Villa was more like an obvious clue for the en to Ibrahimovic's short time at Spain- which eventually became a fact as the Swedish striker left for AC Milan.
Villa had always seemed like the 'perfect' striker for Barca considering how well he connected with the likes of Xavi and Iniesta while playing for the Spanish National Team. It was always looking to be destined for a success story when it came to Villa and he did no harm to his reputation by planting himself into the Barca roots pretty quickly. 18 goals in seven months or so at the club never once looked like a bad record for a new striker.
However as the tale goes, Villa has struggled to find the back of the net ever since he scored against Mallorca in February. Despite scoring in his country's EURO 2012 Qualifiers against the Czech Republic in March, the flamboyant striker admitted to being worried of his recent goal drought that could have partially contributed to his team's difficulties in unlocking the defence of Los Blancos in the past two Clasicos.
According to AS, Villa said: "Like everybody else, I'm now starting to get worried about my goal drought as well. "There's not really much I can do to get back my scoring boots except keep working very hard.
The statement from him represents a real feeling of desperation to get back to goal-scoring form, something that he CERTAINLY needs to do as Guardiola's men have to face Real Madrid twice again in the coming week. But the goal against Osasuna must have cleared all his throats although the job is not done yet. David Villa has to make a difference against Los Blancos tomorrow.
A little close inspection into the problems that Barca had in unlocking Madrid's defence can reveal the importance of David Villa.
Barcelona as usual governed possession of the ball with the Madrid players constantly closing them down to earn back control. However, there was this missing bit of magic in the final third. I mean, how much can Lionel Messi do when there is two or three men waiting to pounce on any ball being presented to the Argentinean maestro.
David Villa so often drifted to left hand side of the field and was basically poor all along with his first touches, which ultimately never presented him with lots of genuine chances. Barca did good enough to create chances but it was the toothless form of the Spaniard which brought failures to their offensive attempts.
Now, the stage has been set for Villa to bring back his glory days earlier in the season. Barca might have yet to win any of the Clasico marathon game that has been played so far. But be aware that two more of this epic battles are still to be played. One at the mighty Santiago Bernabeu and the other is at the colossal Nou Camp. What else can provide a better stage for David Villa.
The Spaniard has indeed scored lots of goals for Barca in his first season at the club. But what will all that even mean if he fails to make any sort of positive impact on their Clasico battles with Los Merengues. If ever there was an important and crucial week for the Spaniard, it has to definitely be the next 7 days. Santiago Bernabeu and the Nou Camp. Decide for yourself David.
