Sunday, April 29, 2018

Villa Gets 400th Goal Of Career (And Then 401) As NYCFC Beats Dallas

David Villa. Courtesy NYCFC.


New York City Football Club got two goals from David Villa, including the the 400th of his illustrious career, on their way to a 3-1 win over FC Dallas on Sunday night at Yankee Stadium.

It took just three minutes for NYCFC to get on the board, as Jesus Medina swooped in to drive home a rebound off a shot from Anton Timmerholm that rang off the right post to make it 1-0.



Dallas came right back, as Santiago Mosquera, on a feed from Maximiliano Urriti, fired a rocket in to tie it up at 1 in the 10th minute.

In the 36th minute, after a video review, a Dallas defender was called for a handball on a shot from Timmerholm.

Villa took the penalty kick and buried it to make it 2-1 NYCFC and give him 400 goals for his illustrious career.



David Villa celebrates with his teammates. Courtesy NYCFC.


This was Villa’s 68th goal with NYCFC, having scored for six other clubs across the globe as well as the Spanish national team.

Number 400 puts him in a highly respected class of current soccer stars: Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Los Angeles Galaxy’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic are the only other playing footballers to score as many times as Villa.

At NYCFC's next home match vs Colorado on Saturday, May 19th, there 
will be a pre-match ceremony to honor David’s achievement and the first 10,000 fans through the gate will receive a captain’s armband.


Villa's Goals By Team:
Valencia CF – 129
New York City FC – 68
Spanish National Team - 59
FC Barcelona – 48
Sporting Gijon – 41
Real Zaragoza – 38
Atletico Madrid – 15
Melbourne City – 2

Milestones:
1st Professional Goal – 10/10/01 vs Real Oviedo
100th Professional Goal – 03/19/06 vs Racing Santander
200th Professional Goal – 04/19/09 vs Sevilla
300th Professional Goal – 11/28/12 vs Alaves
400th Professional Goal – 04/29/18 vs FC Dallas

Villa has scored…
Against 118 different clubs and countries
Against 19 different countries’ club teams
Against 35 different clubs in Spain
On 6 of 7 continents
9 hat tricks for club and country
16 goals vs Sevilla – most vs any opponent
74 penalties for club and country


In the second half, after drawing a rare yellow card, Villa got past two Dallas defenders on the right side to notch Number 401 and give NYCFC a commanding 3-1 edge.

NYCFC improved to 6-2-1, 20 points, on the season, in first place by one point over Atlanta United.

POSTGAME REACTION:

David Villa:

On how special his 400th career goal is: “Perfect moment, first of all it was great for the team to comeback after a big mistake we made in Portland. It’s important for the mentality of the team to comeback as quickly as possible. We felt that on Thursday, when we came back to the training facility, we made a big mistake that we need to forget quickly. I think it was the first time we beat Dallas, tough game against a great team. First of all I’m happy to get the 3 points, then to arrive at 400 and 401 it is a great day for me. Now for me, it is time to rest and think of how I can score number 402 for the team.”

On his favorite goal throughout his career: “The big one has to be in the Champions League against Manchester United with Barcelona in the Final. This was the best, but I hope the best is coming. Why not give the silverware to NYCFC this year?

On his age and how goal number 401 proves he is still hungry: “I don’t know how to play any other way, I always play that way. Obviously, when you get older it gets more difficult fighting in the same way. I know what has made me successful throughout my career, give everything and training every day. And with the passing time, I need to take care of my body more. I don’t care if I’m 36, 37 or 20, I need to work in the same way that has made me successful.”

NYCFC Head Coach Patrick Vieira:

On how special it was for the club to have David Villa reach 400 goals: “I think it’s a fantastic achievement. On the personal side, I think that he’s just a fantastic player. You guys are just seeing what he’s doing on the field here, but I have a chance to work with him every day and I’m always amazed by his attitude and his desire to compete every single day and train. His goals reflect who he is as a person and he’s like that every day in training. When you see him work every day, you’re not surprised that he’s scored over 400 goals. I think we’re lucky to have a player like that in our football club, not just for what he’s done on the field but to use as an example. I think it would be really difficult to find someone better who can show to the young players how to conduct yourself to play more than 15 years at the higher level and to compete at his age, so he’s a really good tool for me to use regarding how to conduct yourself as a professional.”

On whether there are specific things Villa does that he’s pointed out to the younger players: “I think it’s just about the talent all the players have, but it’s about understanding how you conduct yourself as a professional. David would be early in the training round. He will do his exercise before going to the field. He will finish training. He will do what he needs to do before going home. He’s eating well. He’s doing what he needs to prepare himself. I think if the majority of the players understand that, I will be very happy.”

On whether David could play in the World Cup for Spain: “That is not my decision. That is the manager, but my first concern is to keep him fit and healthy, like all the players of course, to compete every weekend. Then after, if he goes to the World Cup, I will be very happy for him and the football club will be really proud.”

Next weekend:

NYCFC travels over to Red Bull Arena for the first installment of the Hudson River Derby as they take on the Red Bulls on Saturday at 2 pm.

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