March 10, 2017.
“This is our year” Villa said confidently to a group of reporters on media day.
The question asked was: what differences he sees coming into the 2017 season with some consistency. Given the fact that in 2015 Jason Kreis put together a ragtag group of castaways for his expansion roster, only to be replaced by rookie coach Patrick Vieira who turned over the roster even more, there hasn’t been much stability from year to year.
“I think it’s good, the first year of course I thought a lot of times, it’s difficult, being the first year for stability of the club, of the team. It’s always difficult, we improved the second year but the coach was new. He understands the league, he understands all the things happening in this league. This year we are more ready, we are more ready because it’s the second year of the coach, the club of course is more stable, I think we have new players that improve us a lot. Our focus is thinking about ‘this is our year’, we need to improve and do better than last year.”
David Villa was the team’s first signing and is the only starter from the team’s first MLS game in Orlando still left on the roster. There has been heavy turnover from the veteran filled, MLS heavy 2015 roster fielded by Jason Kreis to Patrick Vieira’s international heavy, and very young, 2017 squad.
Despite being 35 years old, El Guaje or “the kid” as he’s known in Asturias is still young at heart. When asked about about the age differences for his teammates or the fact that he’s getting older he simply looked at the reporter in a deadpan expression and said “The team is younger, last year and this year because Andrea and me are younger” before laughing.
“It doesn’t matter the age, it’s only that you do on the pitch. We (David Villa and Andrea Pirlo) stayed fit all the games so this is the most important, the most important is to stay strong. It doesn’t matter the age of the team, of the people” said Villa who had heard the questions about his age countless times over the offseason.
David is correct in his assessment that age is irrelevant in the game, 35 year old Zlatan Ibrahimovic is tearing up the Premier League, Villa won the MLS MVP award at age 34 last season, and 40 year old Francesco Totti is still starting European tournament games for Roma, what matters is that they are all performing at a high level.
Of course, given that their age was brought up right away, so was speculation about both of Villa and Pirlo’s future retirement.
“I don’t know if this will be my last, my last season. Now I think to play, to play well for the club. For me, when will be the time I decide the future,” Pirlo said when asked about his plans for the future. “I think to play now, after I don’t know my future. It’s important to play well after this season I decide if I continue to play or come back to Italy to retire.”
David Villa was a bit more philosophical in his answer to the question of whether 2017 is his final season.
In soccer you never know what happens in the day to day. So it’s difficult to (plan) because everything changes from the night to the morning so I’m only thinking about playing well.
Despite his very realistic world view, he reiterated what he’s told reporters several times over the course of the offseason.
I’m only thinking about staying strong, helping my team to be good this year and I told you, and I told your mates in the press conference some time ago, when the club thinks about the contract I don’t care if (its) for one year more or two years more. You don’t know what can happen in the future so my mind is only thinking about the day by day, working strong. It doesn’t matter what the contract is, if it’s for Sunday or if it’s for winter or for 2017 or 2018.
David Villa isn’t thinking about retirement, he isn’t thinking about his contract. He’s thinking about the next game and only about the next game. Villa has told reporters in the past that he’s working on a contract extension and barring any sort of devastating injury which would in fact change his world from one day to the other, it would appear likely that he will renew his contract with NYCFC when the season comes to an end.
When Villa was asked about defending his MLS MVP award he simply shrugged it off, saying he wasn’t thinking about it. “Of course I wish a NYCFC player stays with the trophy again this year, it would be good for the club but my focus is not on defending the MVP its on defending the club” he said.
While Villa isn’t focused on the MVP race, or his next career move, he is confident that 2017 will be the year of the boys in blue. New York City FC fans will hope that this is their year too.
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