The 30-year-old striker is believed to have fractured his tibia during Barca’s semi-final game against Al Sadd on Thursday. Villa was part of Guardiola’s starting XI for this 2011 FIFA World Club Cup encounter. He had to quit the field of play after 39 minutes only due to his leg injury.
1) FC Barcelona and Viktoria Plzeň will be facing each other for the first time in the Champions League. With this in mind, both teams will be looking to make history.
La Liga Table
Valencia currently sit above everyone else with three wins out of three. Nine points, a goal difference of three with six goals scored and three conceded has been good enough to give them a narrow advantage over Real Betis, who share the same amount of points.
Barcelona have scored fifteen goals and conceded only two thus far, yet - as a result of their costly 2-2 draw away to Sociedad on September 10 - they can only afford a place in the fourth position. A win for the hosts at the Mestalla would eventually cause a huge damage to Barca’s season, knowing that arch-rivals Real Madrid could hence regain the edge in the standings - depending on their score line against Racing Santander.
Lionel Messi unlocked the gates after only 5 minutes before Cesc Fabregas doubled the Catalans’ lead a few moments later. David Villa added a third goal inside the 34th minute to assure Barca supporters of the team’s strength in depth.
Barcelona last participated in the annual contest in 2009, when they narrowly edged past then-Europa League winners Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 in extra time thanks to a Pedro goal. For FC Porto, one will have to go back in 2003 to recall their last appearance, which saw them lose by a goal to nil to then-Champions League title holders AC Milan.
Barca obtained their Super Cup tickets after defeating Manchester United 3-1 at the Wembley Stadium on28 May 2011, while the Dragons turned into their opponents subsequent to their 1-0 triumph in last season’s all-Portuguese Europa League final against Sporting Braga on May 18.
Certainly, the teams have enough weapons to hurt each othe. But somehow, it is Porto who appear to have the less advantage.
La Pulga had the same attitude last summer following Barcelona's signing of top Spanish striker David Villa. However, Villa didn’t quite live up to the fans’ expectations.
The two stars have never faced each other in a UEFA Champions League match, thus May 28 will mark the start of an individual battle that could expand itself in further years to come—if ever both Barca and United keep meeting each other regularly. Below, Live Soccer TV brings you Champions League statistics and expectations of the two concerned players.
2011 Champions League Stats – David Villa
Goals: 3 against Panathinaikos (1), Rubin Kazan (1) and Arsenal (1)
Assists: 1 against Arsenal (1)
Appearances: 11, in his case, equal to 857 minutes played for Barcelona
Expectations: Having not scored for Barca in the semi-finals against Real Madrid despite having a host of chances, David Villa will be expected to have a much more productive contribution in the Wembley final against Manchester United. Villa has not made more than 3 shots in any game for the Catalans in the 2010/2011 Champions League season, and this just shows how quiet he is—even when he is needed to explode.
The first leg of this encounter brought nothing but an imaginable amount of malice from Barca at the Santiago Bernabeu, as a harmless Real Madrid side were controversially beaten 2-0. Lionel Messi was the man who netted the Catalans’ two goals, but his feat only came after the incorrect sending-off of defender Pepe.
Football as we know it today is a game full of unexpected surprises and magical moments. Nevertheless, the is never a way to escape their imminent truth that builds up football nowadays. And apparently, Barcelona's sheer dominance over Real Madrid is also a truth. When we say dominance, it doesn't have to necessarily be in terms of the result.
The Catalans are well-known for their grandiloquent brand of football that has seen them being touted as the best ever side in World Football. Sleek football combines with precision in passing has seem them bring massive devastation to opposition team on a regular basis.
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...
Vicente del Bosque's Spain dominated the first half of the game, pushing Czech Republic against its own goal, but Peter Cech denied Fury's every attempt to open the score.
The January Transfer window which ended yesterday brought yet another moment of madness in the transfer value. Like what Sir Alex Ferguson said, there is no value in the transfer market.
When Villa arrived at the Camp Nou from Valencia for almost £35M, he revealed one of his long-time ambitions: to face Real Madrid under a Barcelona jersey.
Portugal vs Denmark – Cristiano Ronaldo only has ONE option
After drawing 4-4 at home to Cyprus and losing 1-0 away to Norway, Portugal’s chances of entering the finals of the UEFA Euro 2012 are visibly slim. In addition to their problems, Carlos Queiroz’s replacement could be the source of instability issues among the squad; but although worries are piling up in the background, hope is not gone. Fortunately, Portugal still have one man who could lead them through the dark in their qualification for the European Championship, and that man is none other than Captain Cristiano Ronaldo.
Surely, for neutral football fans and Portugal followers, it is always exciting to see the world’s most famous active soccer superstar. However, in the situation where the Selecção presently are, big names with major club attainments are just priceless add-ons to a wounded army.
Today, Live Soccer TV compares the two players – Holland’s Wesley Sneijder and Spain’s David Villa. Who is the better player? Who deserves to win the Golden Ball award? Who will shine at the Soccer City Stadium on Sunday night? Who will end up on the losing side? Who will get his hands on the 2010 FIFA World Cup trophy? Wesley Sneijder or David Villa?
What is the Golden Ball Award?
The Golden Ball Award is a trophy presented to the World Cup’s best players. Nominees are selected by the FIFA Technical Study Group. Football experts such as Jomo Sono, Kalusha Bwalya, Christian Karembu, and Gerard Houllier are all part of this group. There are 10 Golden Ball award nominees. This year, the list goes as follows:
The UEFA Euro 2008 top scorer has not stopped showing his amazing goalscoring skills in South Africa. He is his team’s top scorer with 5 goals in 6 games, and a potent contender for the 2010 World Cup Top Scorer award. In this pre-World Cup final article, Live Soccer TV looks at the statistics of David Villa, so as to widen the supporters’ knowledge on the deadly Spanish attack, prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup final.
David Villa - Goal Scored in 2010 FIFA World Cup
Villa, the newly-signed forward of FC Barcelona, has not scored any penalty in the 2010 World Cup so far, since Xabi Alonso is Spain’s expert penalty-taker. However, Villa tops the goalscoring standings along with Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder; with all his goals being scored from open play.
He has been highly criticized for his inability to get a single goal in the tournament, despite appearing in most of Spain’s games. He was dropped in the semifinals against Germany subsequent to his long-term unimpressive performance; but he might appear again in the 2010 World Cup final against the Netherlands on the night of July 11.
David Villa vs Fernando Torres – Spain – 2010 World Cup
If this is the case, he will be playing alongside David Villa, the man who is said to be Spain’s commandant in the contest. Villa, (already lucky to have a side favored by referees in South Africa), scored vital goals against Honduras, Chile, Portugal, and Paraguay. He has wholly overshadowed a goalless Fernando Torres, and this does not seem to bother Coach del Bosque, who can only be worried by his team’s failure to take the maximum out of their chances.
Nevertheless, what if they got booked for a second time in the semi-finals? Can the supporters afford to see their stars miss the 2010 World Cup final? Certainly not! And for that reason, football’s governing body, known as the Federation International de Football Association or FIFA, has decided to reshuffle the rule for yellow cards so as to favor big players in the tournament.
Normally, a player receiving a yellow card on match-day 1 and then another yellow card on match-day 2 would be suspended on Day 3. In the same way, a player who was shown yellow in a quarter-final game, and then got booked again in his semi-final battle would usually be automatically suspended from the final. Yet, with the all-new FIFA rule for yellow cards, players are saved in the semi-final.
More on the 2010 World Cup rule on Yellow Cards
Yes, looking back at Michael Ballack’s suspension from the final during the 2002 FIFA World Cup semifinals when Germany advanced to face Brazil on the last day, FIFA decided days ago to favor the big names. For this reason, they have put in place a new regulation clearing players from their previous bookings in the semifinals; meaning that a player entering a semi-final game on yellow card will not miss the final even if he gets book in the ½ stage.
LiveSoccerTV.com travels to Spain, England, Switzerland, Holland and Italy to discover some of Europe’s finest goal scorers.
A quick reminder – What is the European Golden Shoe?
The European Golden Shoe is an award formerly known as the European Golden Boot. Many refer to it as the “UEFA Golden Boot” or the “UEFA Golden Shoe”. This award is given annually by the Union of European Football Associations to the overall top scorer of all the first division leagues in Europe.
Although the foundation of this award partly lies upon the idea of “being the top scorer” of a specific professional European football league, the high number of goals scored in a season isn’t the only criterion which makes a player eligible for this award.