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PREPARING SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD |
David Villa is undoubtedly one of the brightest stars on the global footballing stage, illustrated by his recent big-money move to reigning La Liga and world club champions Barcelona. Next on the agenda for the lethal Spanish sharpshooter is La Roja's bid for glory at the 2010 World Cup, where the UEFA EURO 2008 winners are firmly considered among the favourites. Buoyed by that triumph two years ago, but also heeding the warning signs of Spain's early exits at Germany 2006 and the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, Villa spoke exclusively to FIFA.com...  What's the secret behind Spain's recent irresistible form? I think that we settled on this style of play a good few years ago. The most important thing is this team wasn't put together a month or two ago, we've been together for three years now. We've got an established footballing philosophy and players who are in sync with that philosophy, and there's no doubt that's reflected out on the pitch. What's your verdict on Spain's group at South Africa 2010? We could have been drawn against theoretically tougher opponents, but they're still going make life difficult for us. We don't know much about Honduras, but they're a solid unit and deserved to reach the World Cup. Switzerland are young, dynamic and play a more European style. In my view, Chile are the most dangerous group rivals, given their great performance in South American qualifying. They're a very compact team, very competitive and also very dangerous going forward. How would you describe the strike pairing made up of you and Fernando Torres? We've been playing together for a long time now. The fact that we get on well together makes a difference out on the field. That's not vital, because at the end of the day you only really need to click on the pitch, but because we're friends it makes everything very positive. The way he plays really brings the best out of me and vice-versa. We've got a good partnership and have been proving that for some time. Finally, the record books show that only one team, West Germany in 1972 and 1974, have followed up victory in the European Championship with FIFA World Cup success. What are your thoughts on that? Well, these types of records are there to be broken and let's hope that's the case this time too. more interviews...
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