Bhubaneswar: Spanish football legend David Villa Thursday joined Indian Super League (ISL) side Odisha FC to spearhead their global football operations.
Former OFC manager Josep Gombau and Victor Onate are also part of the club’s technical committee along with Villa.
“World Cup winner and Spanish football legend @davidvilla has been brought in by Odisha FC to spearhead our global football operations,” tweeted Odisha FC from their official handle. “Former OFC Head Coach, Josep Gombau and Victor Onate are also a part of the club’s Technical Football Committee along with David Villa.”
Speaking to Sky Sports in an exclusive interview, Villa admitted that OFC were interested to know he wanted to play for the club but the World Cup winner said he was content in retirement.
“I took a decision a year ago to stop playing because I thought that was it was the [right] moment, not because I felt that I cannot play soccer anymore. I believe if I train I can play soccer for sure,” he said.
“But I thought that moment [when I decided to retire] was the right time. As you know, life is not just about soccer I am 39 and I played for 20 years as a soccer player,” he added.
“I think I can help more the sport of football and the world of football in my position right now than on the field. I think I took the right decision because I am very happy now. I miss football a little bit, but i think I can help in the position now more than the things I can do on the field,” he said.
In a career that spanned for 20 years, Villa played for some of the biggest clubs including FC Barcelona, Valencia and Atletico Madrid.
The 39-year-old has won three La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies, a UEFA Champions League title, a FIFA World Cup and a UEFA European Championship among a host of other honours.
