As David Silva leaves City after 309 appearances and four Premier League titles, we look back at the career of the little magician.
To sum up Manchester City midfielder David Silva's 10-year stay in the Premier League, we'll have to go back to his first goal in the league almost a decade ago. Playing against Blackpool away at Bloomfield Road, he scored City's third goal in what almost turned out to be a nervy affair for the visitors with a final score of 2-3.
Throughout his Premier League career, David Silva performed magical feats almost every week, as he glided around in his own little force field, while the world seemed to stand still.
Silva announced last year that he would leave the club at the end of the 2019/20 season. And so Silva's 83-minutes outing in City's final game of the season against Norwich City on 26 July proved to be his final Premier League appearance. City strolled to a comfortable 5-0 win against Norwich, and the match seemed to be just an excuse for players, coaches, commentators and pundits to heap encomiums on the Spaniard.
Speaking on the pre-match programme, former Manchester City graduate and United legend Ryan Giggs said, "Forget about the stats, he's more than that... he's a player that demands respect. He's brilliant to watch." Alongside him, former Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood lauded the player's professionalism. "His attitude has been the same since the day he walked into the club when Pep Guardiola wasn't around, till today. He trains like it's the last day of the world. He's out there on his own... He's one-off," he added.
Whilst he didn't score on Sunday, the 34-year-old still controlled the game like he has always done throughout his stupendous career with City: four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and four League Cups, among the major trophies.
Silva signed for City from Valencia ahead of the 2010-11 season on the back of a victorious World Cup campaign with Spain. He was one of the many expensive summer arrivals at the club, along with the likes of Yaya Toure and Jerome Boateng. City was on the rise thanks to the lavish investments of the Abu Dhabi United Group, which purchased the club in 2008. But the 24 million pounds City paid for Silva back then, now looks like one of the deals of the decade.
He ended his first season in England with 53 appearances across all competitions and played a key role in City winning the 2010-11 FA Cup, their first major trophy in 35 years. Next year, he helped City win the league after 44 years. With 15 assists and 6 goals in the league that season, Silva was one of the key components of City's winning midfield.
There were, however, some initial doubts about him. Many pundits and fans feared that his non-physicality and lack of pace would expose him to the bustle of the English game. And yet, the Spaniard proved everybody wrong season after season. Speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan recently, Silva's former teammate Micah Richards said: "Yes, he was small but that was never going to stop him. He was just a different class to anything we'd seen before."
Silva typifies the classical left-footed attacking midfielder, with a low centre of gravity, a quick brain and an uncanny ability to pick a telling pass. Richard says, what set Silva apart was his ability to "run the game for you" and "set the tempo every single week". "Playing the killer forward pass is the hardest thing to do in football... and he wants to do it every time he gets on the ball. Wherever he is on the pitch, he's never afraid to try," adds Richards.
The numbers back up his talent. Silva has played 309 times for City in the league, scoring 60 goals and providing 93 assists. That puts him sixth in the all-time Premier League assists list, behind only Denis Bergkamp, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas and Ryan Giggs. His tally of 18,801 passes is the fourth highest in the Premier League's list of all-time player stats. He has also come up with 455 accurate long balls during his time and averaged close to 61 passes per match.
Silva's also been impeccably disciplined as a player, with just 32 yellow cards and zero red cards in his Premier League career. When he had the ball at his feet, the chances of mistake were almost nil. According to Premier League stats, he's made zero errors that has led to an opponent scoring against City. And, for an attacking midfielder, his 71% tackle success rate is quite brilliant.
There was recent talk of whether or not David Silva should get a statue at City's Etihad Stadium when he departs. The El Mago/ Merlin has been, after all, a brilliant symbol of the club's rise to dominance, alongside club legends Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero. A fifth league title would have perhaps sufficed, but City were dethroned as Premier League champions this season by an excellent Liverpool side after defending their title for continuous two long seasons. Winning the Champions League this season remains a distinct possibility, and there would be no better farewell that for the little magician to lift the Old Big Ears in the sky blue of City, the only cup that has eluded them, and Silva so far.
"As a passionate football fan of Manchester City, we would like to say thank you for everything you have done for our club. You are one of the most humble players we've seen and the effort you have put in our club to make us successful is incredible and something City fans would never forget and forever appreciate. You're without doubt one of the best Premier League players of all time and we're glad that you have represented our club in the way you have. You have been influential in that midfield from the moment you made your first appearance back in 2010 and your ability to dominate the game and creating chances out of nothing is something that the Premier League will never forget. Although you'll never step on the Etihad turf again, your legacy will always be there. We're extremely sad to see that you're time here is almost up, but we wish you only the best in the future. Love you El Mago." - A big thank you from all the Citizens around the whole world.
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Saif
