David Silva (Arguineguín, 1986) had to stop doing magic with a ball ahead of time. A knee injury led him to make the decision to hang up his boots, even though he had one more year on his contract, the motivation and the energy to continue. His legacy remains extensive; 20 titles, including three of the most precious in Spanish football: the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships.
Let’s start at the end, how is your knee?
Very good, really. The work I am doing with Eduardo Álvarez, who is a great physio and a person I completely trust, is bearing fruit.
What were those days of the injury and the subsequent ones like, when you made the decision to hang up your boots?
Difficult, as you can imagine. They were days of much reflection, of contemplating different scenarios. But once I had confirmation that my cruciate was broken, everything was very natural. When it came to making the decision to leave football, it helped me to have had a career as satisfying as the one I have fortunately had. I had and have a clear conscience.
“The goal that I will remember most is the one in the final against Italy of the Euro Cup”
David Silva
AS recognizes your career, 125 games for Spain, 745 with five clubs, if you had a time machine, what game would you like to play again?
Well, one that I lost, to see if we change our luck and win it. Surely someone from the Champions League with Valencia or City, because I would have liked to play in a final.
Which goal do you remember most of the 179 you have scored with Spain, from the U-16 category, to the seven you scored with Real Sociedad?
I think one of the most beautiful goals in terms of execution was a long shot with Valencia against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League, although obviously the goal that I will always remember the most is the one in the Euro Cup final against Italy.
Was it more difficult for you to go from Arguineguín to Valencia or from Spain to England?
Both steps were difficult for me, because each one has its relevance at its time and in one’s personal cycle. From Arguineguín to Valencia I went very young, I was a child, and when I went to England you left with fears about the language, the routines… but I have been lucky that in all the places that football has taken me, Valencia, Eibar, Vigo, Manchester and San Sebastián welcomed me perfectly and in every phase of my life they were my home.
“The key to the 2008 Euro Cup was in the human group”
David Silva
You have a statue near the Manchester City stadium and a training ground at your Sports City is named after you, recognitions that came to you even before your retirement, something unusual. That’s also doing magic…
I don’t know if it’s magic, but it is something to be very grateful and happy. The affection of the people, the one they have given me in each place while I defended their shields and the one they have transmitted to me when I later returned, is one of the best things I have taken with me. And having a statue in Manchester fills me with pride, because it is a club and a fan that I have very much in mind.
Perhaps where it was most difficult for him to be truly recognized was with Spain, at least in the media. Do you agree with those who think that his role with the National Team was less than what his football deserved? And if you have that feeling, why do you think that It was like this?
Yes, definitely. Within the group I always felt important, both when I was one of the youngest and when I became one of the veterans. But in Spain if you don’t play for Real Madrid or Barcelona, it costs more to have media recognition.
“With Mendilibar I learned to work without the ball, with him at Eibar, having talent was not enough”
David Silva
You are one of the nine Spanish footballers who won the World Cup and the two European Championships, without forgetting that you were in two other World Cups, which is said quickly, what moment do you have?
With the first Euro Cup. There, with Luis Aragonés, we changed the history of Spanish football. At least recent history and from there, the other successes came.
Where was the key to success?
In the human group. From the coach to the cook, kit men, press people… The atmosphere that was experienced during that tournament was special. The figure of Luis Aragonés was key. He was a genius at harmonizing the group. In the concentrations is where a champion team that won two European Championships and a World Cup began to be built, which is said to be early.
“From the first call they made to me from Manchester City, they told me the project is today”
David Silva
Nowadays it is more common than in your time to see young footballers in the big teams. In fact, you had to cut your teeth at Eibar and Celta before settling in a Valencia team in the Champions League. What lesson did you learn with Mendilibar that stayed with you throughout his career?
To work without the ball. At Eibar, just because you had talent with the ball at your feet you were useless. With Mendilibar I learned to press, defend, bite… and do all that without forgetting to also play with the ball.
Which coach or coaches have had the most impact on you? Because you have worked with many and disparate ones, from the aforementioned Mendilibar to Imanol, passing through Quique, Koeman, Mancini, Pellegrini or Guardiola. And of course with Luis Aragonés and Vicente Del Bosque.
And you leave some more of those that I also learned, such as Robert Fernández, Fernando Vázquez, Unai Emery, Julen Lopetegui, Fernando Hierro, Imanol and even Voro. I have learned things from everyone. Perhaps Mendilibar influenced me a lot because he was the first one with whom I really felt professional and logically I have a special affection for Luis Aragonés for that Euro Cup.
Looking back, where do you think the best David Silva has been seen?
That’s what the others will have to say. I have felt comfortable in all the clubs and I have always given the maximum I had in each game.
How many people do you think will have regretted having settled on their height rather than their talent when they first started in football? Has anyone ever admitted to you: how wrong I was about you?
Well, I don’t know if there will be many or few, I do know that some of them got carried away by my height. I hope that all those who think this way have repented later, it will be a sign that I have changed their minds and shown them other virtues.
You were a perfect youth player for Valencia, because you gained sporting performance (168 games, 32 goals, 36 assists and a Copa del Rey) and also financially (about 30 million), what do you take away from your time at Mestalla?
Valencia is a place that I will always have in my memories, because it was the first club that bet on me. There I trained as a youth player, as a person and I grew as a footballer, there I won my first title, I debuted in Europe, I received my first call from the National Team… Mestalla is an incredible stadium.
Why did you choose Manchester City? Because it wasn’t the only offer he had, Real Madrid knocked on his door several times, and that City wasn’t the transatlantic it is now.
First because they bet very hard on me. I felt your trust and support from the first call. Then because in those conversations they already told me that the project was going to be what it finally was. The ambition was to become one of the greats of Europe and today it is.
How did you experience from within the evolution of City towards what it is today on the world stage?
With great enthusiasm and commitment, because I feel a participant in that growth, as do all the footballers with whom I have shared a locker room there over the years. I would tell you that the expectations were even higher than those I had when I arrived in Manchester.
Leave City and sign for Real Sociedad, why? I mean, many other colleagues of his generation had opted for other types of projects: Japan, MLS, China, Qatar…
I had different options, really. She wanted to continue competing at the highest level. They spoke very well to me about Imanol (Alguacil), that my way of playing would fit perfectly into his style. Furthermore, I felt very comfortable during the time I lived in the Basque Country, when I played for Eibar, and San Sebastián is a spectacular city.
In his three full seasons at Real Sociedad he made good the phrase that “old rockers never die”, would his signing for the San Sebastian club, given how things went there until his injury, be classified as one of his wisest decisions?
Yes, definitely. Everything turned out perfect, except the injury, of course. The culmination was being able to win another title. In these three years I have enjoyed a lot and I celebrated the Copa del Rey a lot.
The last one, what plans do you have for the future, beyond collecting the AS Award for your career?
For now, recover and enjoy those things that when you are a soccer player you can’t do, like traveling with the family. In addition, I can also dedicate myself to my businesses, specifically the project I have at Bodega Tamerán.