S is for Silva
David Silva’s World Cup pedigree matches his peerless reputation as a player – simply the best.
Manchester City fans, of course, need no reminding about David’s magical midfield qualities which, over the past eight years, have seen him stake a claim to be regarded as amongst the Club’s finest-ever players.
Three Premier League titles, three League Cup trophies and an FA Cup are testament to the huge impact David has made since moving to City from Valencia in the summer of 2010.
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And that success has been replicated on the international stage with Spain, for who he has won more than 120 caps since making his international debut in 2006.
In addition to two European Championship crowns won in 2008 and 2012, El Mago also belongs to that small, select band of players who have tasted World Cup glory.
Currently embarking on his third World Cup finals campaign, Silva was part of the Spanish squad that secured football’s greatest prize in South Africa back in 2010.
And as a key part of La Roja’s current vintage out in Russia who is to say that Silva won’t achieve a second World Cup triumph?
Back in 2010, he started in Spain’s opening group game against Switzerland and was also involved from the bench in their semi-final win over Germany, then was an unused substitute as Vicente Del Bosque’s side overcame the Netherlands 1-0 in the final after extra-time.
From the high of 2010 however, David and his Spain colleagues then experienced the flip-side of football’s capricious nature as they sought to defend their crown in Brazil in 2014.
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Spain never really recovered from a shock 5-1 defeat to the Dutch in their opening group game and they then went down to a 2-0 loss to Chile, effectively consigning them to an early exit though they did finish with a 3-0 victory over Australia.
Now Silva and Co are seeking to right that wrong and after finishing top of Group B after a 3-3 draw with Portugal, a narrow 1-0 win over Iran and a tense 2-2 draw with Morocco, Spain will seek to step up their campaign when they tackle hosts Russia in the last 16 on Sunday afternoon.
And Silva will again one of the key components in Spain’s bid to rule the world.
