David Villa is all over the headlines after bagging his 50th and 51st NYCFC goals over the weekend. Even though he's already made it clear that he's hungry for more, the world can't stop talking about his impressive milestone.
As Ives Galarcep writes on Goal.com, that hunger has come to define his presence for NYCFC: "By all accounts, Villa is loving life in New York, and seeing him fight and scratch and claw through 90 minutes on Saturday once again showed us a player who remains supremely motivated, even though it would be easy for a somebody with his resume to rest on his laurels."
Across the pond we go to The Guardian, who say Villa sets an example for MLS' biggest stars:
"When Villa describes growing the league as an important career goal," writes Matt Pentz. "You see it in the tireless work he puts in week-in and week-out.
"It is testament to the Spaniard that he has done all that and still chases his latest goal with such evident hunger. MLS is a better place for his efforts, and when all is said and done, Villa will hold an exalted place in its all-time hierarchy."
Meanwhile on ESPN, coverage of Villa's milestone achievement comes from Graham Parker, who focused on the foundation Villa has helped NYCFC build both on and off the pitch.
As Parker notes, Villa has been ever-present for the Blues, both on the scoreboard and in the community: "And it's that fact -- the relentless, functional presence of Villa in an NYCFC jersey -- that is at least as important an element for the team's foundational mythology as the caliber or quantity of the goals he has scored."
"As David Villa rattled in goals Nos. 50 and 51 in his New York City FC career," adds Parker, "The club's social media team, long prepared for this inevitable moment, sprung into action with a series of highlight clips, graphs and stats meant to illustrate the magnitude of his achievement in hitting that mark."
Go ahead and check those out on our Twitter. They're pretty remarkable.
Elsewhere on ESPN, ESPN FC named David Villa their player of the week in their weekly MLS awards video.
"How about David Villa?" asked Alejandro Moreno, "Two more goals, and anything and everything that is productive in the final third has his finishing touch on it."
On Saturday, that was undoubtedly the case, as Villa slammed in the equalizer and the game-winner in the second half against Seattle.
Back across the pond, the Daily Mail has the scoop on the match that was.
"New York responded well to going a goal behind," writes Rory O'Callaghan, "And should have equalised before the interval when Villa struck the bar in the closing moments of the half."
It's a darn good thing Villa made up for his miss!
Some folks say Landon Donovan is the best player in MLS history. Other's are already saying the honor belongs to Toronto FC's Sebastian Giovinco. On MLSsoccer.com, the ever-eloquent Will Parchman waxed poetic on why he believes David Villa is MLS' G.O.A.T.
"Villa, to put it bluntly, is better at doing what he was hired to do than any player at their respective position in the league’s history," he writes."
Hard to argue with that, if you ask us.
Parchman adds: "The guy does not stop. He’s now scoring at a goal-per-130 minutes, which is better than Thierry Henry, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, Obafemi Martins and, yes, Giovinco over any like-for-like time frame."
Sold!
Elsewhere on MLSsoccer.com, Susannah Collins and Calen Carr chatted about Villa's milestone and the upcoming Hudson River Derby on the latest edition of "This Week in MLS."
Before Saturday's match, NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira sat down with Taylor Twellman to chat about David Villa, the US National Team, and a wide range of other topics.
When asked about the level of talent in MLS, Vieira said: "When you look at what this league has achieved in and the number of talent they have in the last 20 years, can you just think about what will happen in the next 20 years?"
Yes we can.
