“I would have David Villa over Kaka and Criatiano”- Vicente Del Bosque.

2011, Wembly. Lionel Messi sends Nani the wrong way and brings the ball inside United box. The ball rolls back towards Busquets, who passes it just outside the box….

And David Villa Sánchez aka “El Guaje” perfectly curls it in. That’s it. Barcelona-3, Manchester United-1. The boy once playing on the streets in Tuilla, born to a coal miner had now helped Barça win Europe’s biggest Club competition. It was his moment.

With 97 appearances and 59 goals, most for Spain NT, Villa announced retirement after 2014 WC, with almost every possible trophy won. And today, after 3 years, he is back. David Villa is considered one of the most complete forwards in modern game. He is widely regarded for his technical ability, eye for the goal, skills on the ball and intelligence off the ball. Even today at the age of 35, he has still got it; banging goals and worldies for NYCFC. He just doesn’t seem to age. How is it that he keeps on doing this? How is it that he keeps on going?

Back in Tuilla, a 4 year old kid used to playing on the streets once decided to try it out with older boys. A much heavier boy fell on him and injured the femur of his right leg. The accident was so bad that the kid was forced to wear a plaster from toe to hip for 60 days. The kid was at times frustrated. But José Manuel Villa, a coal miner in Tuilla was there, firm. José was a football fanatic, and from the moment David was born, he did everything in his power to help him become a professional footballer. Even after 60 days, the cast would remain for another 4 months. Undeterred, the Villa men went straight to work in the front yard of the house. With his arm stretched to the wall to support his weight and his casted leg moved out from the open, his father would roll the ball to his once uncomfortable left foot. Thanks to the injury, they had started developing him into an ambipedal player. Amusingly, this would help him become one of the finest strikers world has seen.

By the time he was 14, he had landed himself a spot in the youth setup of UP Langreo. At 16, he left Langreo due to lack of playing time and enrolled himself at Sporting Gijon. Finally he made his first team debut, although still in 2nd division, in 2000-01. He netted 25 times in his first two seasons. “He had great technical qualities. His first touch was superb and, although you can never be sure someone will make it, you could tell he was talented. He makes very clever diagonal runs, breaking away from defenders, and he invariably made the right decisions. He is very intuitive.” – Pepe Acebal, former Sporting Gijón manager

In 2003-2005 he went on to score 39 goals in 94 appearances for Real Zaragoza including a goal against Real Madrid in 2004 CDR final. But soon after his success with Zaragoza, things changed again. With the club needing money, he was sold to Valencia for €12m.

Valencia, now trying to become a powerhouse, provided Villa with the opportunity to announce himself on a bigger stage.

Villa’s tremendous form would continue into the 2006/07 season, with him forming a partnership up front with former Real Madrid star Fernando Morientes. Between them, Villa and Morientes netted 43 goals in all competitions. El Guaje’s evolution as a player was not really showing any bounds. His 12 assists would go on to lead the entire league, virtually making him indefensible.

“Villa is not only there to finish plays. Villa is synonymous with depth. It means always being ready to open passing lanes, to draw defenders and thus freeing space for others.”- said master Johan of him.

Whether it was up front on his own, alongside a partner or wide on the left, Villa always managed to mould himself into whichever shape the manager opted. In all, Villa netted 107 times for Valencia, just six less than Samuel Eto’o, the only person to score more than him. But with Valencia now struggling to keep their best players, they were forced to sell Villa for 40m to Barça. He had followed the footsteps of his hero Quini, from Gijon to Barça.

With Lionel Messi destroying defenses and Xavi playing passes with a sniper’s precision, at Barça Villa scored 23 goals in all competitions in his debut season. His work on and off the ball was vital, seamlessly fitting into Pep Guardiola’s style of play.

He was shifted to a wide forward role by Pep and once again, he had no difficulty in adapting. He maintained the width, stayed high up the pitch and thus helped in pinning back the opposition full backs. In 2010 CL final, Dani Alves stayed wide and allowed Villa to move from Right wing towards the centre, thus engaging United Centre Backs. It was his positioning that allowed Messi to enjoy the freedom in centre and wreck havoc in United defense, which boasted the likes of Vidic and Ferdinand. He scored 48 times in 119 appearances.

Villa suffered a very serious injury during the Club World Cup in 2011, and lost most of the 11-12 season, and never really made a difference for Barça in 12-13, being far from the player he was in 10-11. He was sold to Atletico Madrid, the details of which is not the subject here. A Liga title with Los Rojiblancos followed.

Just when he was written off in Europe, NYCFC was a new territory to conquer. A team built entirely around Villa, the inaugural signing, he has led them very well as a captain and a veteran. Just when it seemed he was past it, he proved the world wrong again.

It’s impossible to think of La Furia Roja reaching the Pinnacle without David Villa. From being in Raul’s shadow in 2006 World Cup, to succeeding his no.7 and surpassing his tally, from a kid playing in streets to taking Spain to the Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup glory, Spain’s historic treble, David Villa has done it all. When he wasn’t a Real Madrid or Barcelona player, he did it all with no media backing.

With just 3 short of 100 appearances for Spain, he decided to call it a day after a disastrous 2014 World Cup campaign for Spain.

And finally he is back. His form in MLS for NYCFC has forced Spain to call him out of retirement. At the age of 35, David Villa Sanchez is now a “La Furia Roja” player, AGAIN.

He has been preferred over Diego Costa and Aritz Aduriz.

With Spain, playing a 4th World Cup is still a remote possibility for him. But the fact that he was considered “Much needed” by Lopetegui, over 7 years younger Diego Costa back from a 22 goal season for Chelsea speaks for itself.

That’s David Villa, a timeless genius, constantly reinventing himself. A person who loves to keep on keeping on. And that’s the reason, the constant evolution is the secret of his timeless “youth”.