- Title: USA: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - New York City unveils star striker David Villa
- Date: 31st July 2014
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JULY 31 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DAVID VILLA PLAYING SOCCER WITH CHILDREN (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DAVID VILLA, SOCCER PLAYER, SAYING: "It's a good place for me. It's a club beginning from zero with great enthusiasm to grow. It is in an already very competitive league and wanting to be better. I hope I can meet the level of expectations and to help New York City (FC) and Major League Soccer to grow." VILLA KICKING BALL VILLA GREETING CHILDREN (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DAVID VILLA, SOCCER PLAYER, SAYING: "Very happy. He is a great player he is a living legend of our sport of the football in Europe and the world. I am very happy to have him as a teammate because of his quality and because of the history he represents of the sport." VARIOUS OF VILLA PLAYING SOCCER WITH GIRLS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DAVID VILLA, SOCCER PLAYER, SAYING: "Yes until October. It is truly a beautiful experience for me during this time of inactivity until the MLS starts. It is good for me to belong to a global football club like the City Football Group and to be able to play in Melbourne, in one of their clubs. I am sure the experience will be very positive on a personal level as well as professional." MORE OF VILLA ON FIELD SIGN OF YANKEE STADIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DAVID VILLA, SOCCER PLAYER, SAYING: "Well yesterday, if you saw you could tell that this is also a soccer stadium. The national team of Spain has played here. I think I played here with the Spanish team in 2011. I am very happy to play in a field that is so historic and we are not just going to play here, it is also going to be our home." VARIOUS OF VILLA ANSWERING QUESTIONS FROM CHILDREN CHILDREN LISTENING TO VILLA BOY TAKING PICTURE OF VILLA VILLA POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS WITH CHILDREN
- Embargoed: 15th August 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA1AZL54EHHUQVYSBF4FKCUJAEC
- Story Text: Spanish striker David Villa got a warm welcome at his prospective home ground, New York's Yankee Stadium on Thursday (July 31).
Villa has signed a three-year deal with newly formed the Major League Soccer (MLS) team New York City FC, jointly owned by English Premier League club Manchester City and baseball's New York Yankees.
Villa, who helped Atletico Madrid win last season's Spanish league title, will join the new club starting the MLS in 2015.
He told Reuters that the decision to move to New York was not hard to make.
"It's a good place for me. It's a club beginning from zero with great enthusiasm to grow. It is in an already very competitive league and wanting to be better. I hope I can meet the level of expectations and to help New York City (FC) and Major League Soccer to grow," he said.
NYCFC announced last week that Villa will be joined by former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, who has signed a two-year contract.
"He is a great player he is a living legend of our sport of the football in Europe and the world. I am very happy to have him as a teammate because of his quality and because of the history he represents of the sport," Villa said about his future teammate.
But before starting for New York in 2015 Villa will play for another City-owned club, Australia's Melbourne City FC, starting in October.
He said that "the experience will be very positive on a personal level as well as professional."
NYCFC has yet to secure their own stadium and will play their first season at Yankee Stadium, of which the 32-year-old striker said that it makes a good soccer stadium.
"I think I played here with the Spanish team in 2011. I am very happy to play in a field that is so historic and we are not just going to play here, it is also going to be our home," he said.
As well as Villa and Lampard, the club has recruited former L.A. Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders and former Montreal Impact defender Jeb Brovsky. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.