“David will not leave, we are very happy with him,” Tito Vilanova was quoted as saying by reporters on Sunday night.
Referring to the Spanish striker’s feat against Cordoba last Thursday, the Barcelona coach recalled:
“The other night, he scored two good goals.”
David Villa has indeed proven to be a great asset for Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. He leads the goal scorers chart with five goals ahead of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo who has four. At the Camp Nou, the former Valencia forward has struggled to find playing time.
His injury at the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup put him out of action throughout the rest of the 2011/12 season. The Spaniard even had to miss the Euro 2012 tournament in which his country triumphed. This term, David Villa has made 22 appearances, scoring 10 times in the process.
“He is still coming back from a long injury, and each time he gets more minutes. But he had some more problems. Last year we missed him a lot in the second half of the season,” Vilanova explained.
“It's been a long recovery process, but we know his importance to the team, and we are sure that he will help us.”
David Villa is poised to find a place in Barcelona’s starting XI for the midweek Copa del Rey clash against Malaga.
