ODISHA FC HAVE ROPED IN David Villa into its Football Committee. The World Cup winning Spaniard will head the club’s global football operations, a statement from the Indian Super League club said.
“I will try to bring my experience. Obviously, I didn’t play in India but I played football for 20 years as a professional and before that in the academy. And in all of the projects that we [my team] are involved in, I try to give all of my experience that I have in football,” Villa said.
Villa’s induction into the Odisha FC management team is a major coup for the club’s recently-appointed British-Indian president Raj Athwal. Athwal noted, “David’s arrival is a statement of intent for Odisha Football Club, the region, the supporters and, of course, the Indian Super League in general.”
“Everyone knows David Villa was one of the most prolific, clinical strikers of his generation He’s won the World Cup, the Euros, La Liga titles, the Champions League, the list is endless,” Athwal told Sky Sports News.
“He’s clearly bought into our vision and aspirations as a football club. He brings a wealth of experience to the club and Indian football. The way we look at it is he is going to be very important for our success moving forward.”
Hailed as one of the best Spanish strikers of all time, the 39-year-old has donned the colours of many an elite club including Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Valencia and most recently Major League Soccer outfit New York City FC. The World Cup and Champions League winner is Spain’s all-time top scorer and also leads the charts for NYCFC among several other milestones.
Speaking about the development, Rohan Sharma, CEO of Odisha FC explained, “It’s crazy to think that when I started watching football I used to see David, on my TV. Now together we are trying to help grow football in Odisha.”
“(Villa) won the Euros and the World Cup with Spain, and La Liga and the Champions League with Barcelona, and we are hoping he will bring that formula to Odisha FC which will see Odisha FC hopefully make it to the top of the ISL table next year,” Vishal K Dev IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Sports and Youth Services, Government of Odisha added.
Former Odisha FC head coach Josep Gombau and Victor Onate have also been inducted into the club’s Football Committee, with their role including advising the coaching staff, improving the Indian and youth players, providing general support to the on field activities among others.
During the last ISL season, Odisha FC had sacked its then manager Stuart Baxter for using an offensive analogy about rape while talking about a refereeing decision.
