One of the Greatest Strikers in History Spent His Vacation Playing with Locals
Legendary Spanish goal scorer David Villa went to the Maldives with his family. He found a soccer pitch to host games with other hotel guests and staff.
David Villa has played in FIFA World Cups, European Championships, and Champion’s League and La Liga finals. He’s scored in almost all of those games, finishing his career in 2018 with more goals for the Spanish National Team than any player ever. He’s one of the great strikers in recent history, a legend in the game.
And last week in the tiny, tropical country of the Maldives, you could have played with him too.
While staying at the Soneva Jani hotel on Medhufaru Island, Villa decided to take the opportunity to be a soccer missionary, hosting clinics and pickup games for the hotel’s guests and staff and other locals.
“My entire life has been about soccer, and now that I am retired, every chance I have to develop [more] players, grow the game, and share my passion, I do my best to help the sport worldwide,” Villa told Religion of Sports in an interview last week.
Villa organized clinics and pick-up games. He gave kids pointers and made grown men’s dreams of playing alongside the best in the world come true.
When great athletes retire, it doesn’t typically change their level of passion and commitment. As Villa explained to ROS, “My whole life has been about soccer.” Instead, retirement forces athletes to find new ways to participate in their sport, to nurture their competitive instincts differently. Sometimes, those new avenues can lead to fresh realizations about a lifelong pursuit. “It doesn’t matter the scenario, or whether it’s your profession,” Villa told ROS. “It made me realize, it’s still soccer. It’s the same game, the same ball, the same goal, the same enjoyment.”
That’s what’s so special about “The Beautiful Game,” right? That anybody can play it, no matter what language they speak, where they live, or what their experience is. That David Villa can play in the World Cup Final and alongside Lionel Messi, or he can play on an undersized field against a janitor, and there’s really nothing different about the two scenarios. Playing soccer is a shared experience. It’s a universal love, unlike almost anything else on the globe.
“I hope the memories last forever,” Villa said.
For those who got to line up against him last week, they surely will.
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