Arguineguín, as well as boasting a thriving fishing community, boasts another footballing family. The father, Fernando Jimenez, used to work as a municipal police officer in and around the town and the Mother, Eva, is of Japanese descent. Their son, David, joined the Valencia youth academy in 2000, the same year Juan Carlos Valeron left the island of Majorca for the capital city and Atletico Madrid.

David still lives with his parents and up until today he worked with one of them too. His father is the security guard of the Paterna training ground of Valencia. Each morning as David rolled his shiny black car into the training ground, he would find his dad, armed with a smile and quite possibly a word of assurance. That is, up until today, when David Silva completed a £30 million move to frivolous cash spenders Manchester City.

Silva has always had talent; evident right from the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship’s when the Los Che’s man netted four goals. 2005 proved to be quite a prolific year for the midfielder. He followed his compatriot Valeron to Galicia, albeit on loan. Silva turned out for Celta de Vigo, the chief rivals of Valeron’s Deportivo. At the age of nineteen, Silva proved a mainstay of the Celta side, amassing thirty-four appearances and leading the Galician’s charge to the UEFA Cup. With Silva’s talent apparent to everyone, Valencia quite happily cart horsed their man back to Eastern Spain in a package labelled “valuable goods.”

Four years, and one-hundred-and-nineteen appearances in the crisp white shirt of Valencia, later the boy from Arguineguín is hot property. The £30 million dished out by the blue and white half of Manchester indicates his standing in world football. The man described by City manager Roberto Mancini as “one of the best midfielders in Europe” will have to produce the performances to match the hyperbole.

Guillem Balague, resident Spanish expert of just about everywhere, remained sceptical when speaking to Sky Sports News. He suggested Silva may struggle to adapt to the pace of the Premier League and the turgid rain-sodden lifestyle of us up in Manchester.

What may be more pressing is the feeling of homesickness. This is a man who, up until recently, lived with his parents and worked with his favour. The lack of familiar faces in Manchester may cause him some distress. Fortunately his national team pal Mr Fernando of Torres lives just a small hike up the road in the delightful city of Liverpool. But, with Torres, possibly, about to jump the gun for a European team with serious ambitions, poor old David may have to rely on phone calls to his dear mum and dad or conversations with the injury ridden Roque Santa Cruz to receive his daily Spanish top up.

The jury will be out on the Spanish midfielder and with Premier League pundits not accepting a good player is a good player until they can “go and do it on a cold Tuesday night in Wigan,” Silva will have to prove the doubters wrong. He has the support of his manager and a hefty cheque each week to see him through, so he should be alright!

Birmingham City and Tottenham Hotspur fans must be rubbing their hands together with glee at the tantalising prospect of witnessing Nikola Zigic enter into combat with Peter Crouch at set pieces in games between the two clubs next season.

At a slightly lower altitude, but perhaps a higher plane of technical ability, it will also be fascinating to see what Jose Mourinho does to stop Barcelona‘s new superstar David Villa from breaching his new Real Madrid defence next season. The new boss at the Bernabeu may end up wishing that this headline from last summer had actually reflected, y’know, real-life events and stuff.

Away from El Clasico, and a lot further away from St Andrew’s and White Hart Lane, Manuel Llorente will probably care little about the exploits of Villa and Zigic. The Valencia president has a distinct gap to fill as a result of their departures over the past fortnight. Try spotting a ‘FW’ among this lot.

To say the club is in a transitional period would be an understatement. Los Ches have Champions League football to look forward to, as a result of finishing just the twenty-eight points behind Barcelona. However, they are saddled with massive debts and only staved off enforced relegation as recently as August last year.

Llorente’s steadfast refusal to sell Villa last season, albeit after some flirtation with the idea of selling El Guaje to one of the big two, ensured that David Silva and Juan Mata both stayed. The gamble worked to the furthest extent that it could, with Valencia comfortably attaining a top four spot, but the debts are still there and the new stadium has not arrived.

Time to tighten the belts, then. Time to sell off the family silver and rebuild on a massive scale. Valencia will not miss Zigic too much. The gigantic targetman was seldom used last season and the £6million received from Birmingham was good money for a 29-year-old substitute.

Quirkily, it is the second time in twelve months that Llorente has ended his working relationship with a gigantic Serbian athlete. Before commencing his current term at the helm last summer, he was president of Valencia’s basketball team containing the 7 ft 2 in Kosta Perovic. Following the sale of the relatively miniature Zigic, Llorente will be hoping that his replacement does not cost a packet.

Valencia have been fortunate to hold onto the likes of Vicente and Joaquin, despite the prominence of attacking midfielders Silva, Mata and Pablo Hernandez. Keeping any three of these five should be enough to remain competitive both in La Liga and the Champions League. Coach Unai Emery will, in all likelihood, be able to bring the best out of the likes of Silva and Pablo Hernandez in a more advanced position, should both stay.

Mata has recently been linked with making the same journey up the coast that Villa has already embarked upon, while Los Ches have confirmed the signing of highly-rated Grenoble youngster Sofiane Feghouli, surely not the first, tenth or hundredth player to labelled ‘the new Zidane’. Emery will be hoping that the young Frenchman does not turn out to be the new Adel Taarabt.

Filling Villa’s boots will be something rather trickier altogether. In January, the rumours spoke of Villarreal forward Nilmar as a replacement for the man from the Asturias. By last week, this had become Andre-Pierre Gignac in an article which also mentions Getafe’s Roberto Soldado and Lorient forward Kevin Gameiro as potential signings. The French market is certainly one familiar to Valencia’s scouts, Feghouli joining fellow Frenchman Jeremy Mathieu at the Mestalla.

In addition to the embarrassment of attacking riches at Barcelona and Real Madrid’s disposal, other top Spanish clubs are able to call on a wealth of strikers. Sevilla, final-day Champions League qualifiers at the expense of Mallorca, have the ubiquitous Luis Fabiano, Fredi Kanoute and Alvaro Negredo available as well as Javier Chevanton and Arouna Kone returning from loan. Europa League winners Atletico Madrid possess not just Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero but also the promising youngsters Eduardo Salvio and Ibrahima Balde.

Valencia, on the other hand, have many to supply the goods but no-one to pay the bills. Wanted: one world-class centre forward. Minimal cost attached. Apply within.

The ball breaks to David Silva on the edge of the box. According to reports, Silva may well be wearing white next season. For all his effectiveness tonight, he might as well already be wearing it. Nevertheless, his side have started to play a little and Silva is intent on hauling them level. He swings his left foot, sending a fierce shot against the angle of post and bar with his Spanish international colleague Iker Casillas beaten. Silva’s effort is just a couple of inches away from striking a damaging blow to Real’s title hopes, close to finding the same corner of the net that Barcelona‘s Pedro Rodriguez successfully located seven days earlier.

Instead, the ball rebounds to safety. Real are let off the hook and Cristiano Ronaldo goes some way to banishing the memory of his forgettable display against Barca by doubling the hosts’ lead shortly after. Another potential banana skin avoided, with Real anticipating a week of relaxed preparation for their trip to Zaragoza next Saturday. In contrast, top of the table Barca will be undertaking at least one 16-hour coach trip in the name of fulfilling their European duties in Milan. The nature of the champions’ journey is a minor concern given that Jose Mourinho’s Inter side will almost certainly make them work extremely hard once they arrive in the Italian capital. Barca will be glad to find basement boys Xerez waiting at the Nou Camp upon their return to league action next weekend. The newly-promoted Andalucians have been rejuvenated in recent weeks but will surely struggle to impose themselves on even an understrength and overworked Barca outfit.

For Real, however, this weekend was an important test and one which they passed with flying colours. In much the same way that it was important for Arsenal‘s pride that they bounced back from their humbling at the hands of Chelsea in November, something they did with a second half fightback at Anfield two weeks later, Real needed a reaction after El Clasico. While that seems a somewhat tenuous parallel to draw, Real’s defeat at the Bernabeu last weekend mirrored Chelsea’s win at the Emirates in that the home side were handed a lesson by a far superior side after enjoying a fine run of form. And while Liverpool were dispatched to re-establish Arsenal’s title credentials at the time, Real needed to see off Valencia to get back on track in the two-horse race at the top of La Liga.

It could be argued that Real would already have been crowned worthy champions of any other league in the world by a country mile, despite the stage fright displayed last month when failing to overturn the first leg deficit accumulated in Lyon. The attacking talent at their disposal is well-documented and Kaka’s recent injury has only served to allow Rafael van der Vaart to flourish in the Brazilian’s absence. Further forward, Higuain remains among the most potent strikers in world football despite a poor showing against Barca. They also have that turbo-charge button more commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo up their sleeve.

It all makes for a thrilling final few weeks in the Spanish title chase. Barca lead by a point but still face trips to El Madrigal and the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, the homes of Villarreal and Sevilla respectively. Real’s relentless romps against all other opposition are leaving no margin for error and Barca may not be able to afford another two points dropped as understandably happened on the outskirts of their own city this weekend. The Messi vs Ronaldo debate, if anyone is still in any doubt about such a question, can thankfully be left on the shelf for the run-in. Both Barca and Real will have to dip into the depths of their comprehensive reserves to remain on course for glory towards the end of a tiring season.

Game on.

Navas has long been considered one of Spanish football’s most promising players but he has yet to represent the senior national side, mainly due to his problems with anxiety and panic attacks when away from home for extended periods.

However, Navas has worked on coping with those issues and last week made himself available to Spain coach Vicente del Bosque, who included the pacey wideman in his 23-man squad for the friendly double-header.

Aside from the anticipated call-up of Navas, Del Bosque has largely kept faith with the same group of players that has served Spain so well over the last few years during the World Cup qualifiers.

Of the squad Del Bosque recently named for the final two World Cup qualifiers against Armenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Fernando Torres, Albert Riera, Santi Cazorla and Marcos Senna all miss out through injury.

Osasuna’s Nacho Monreal also drops out, but star striker David Villa is fit for inclusion along with Pablo Hernandez, Alvaro Arbeloa as well as Jesus Navas.

This weekend Torres travelled back to spain for a second opinion on his groin injury, but it is believed the Liverpool hitman does not want an operation on the problem.

It is also thought the 25-year-old wanted to play for Spain against Argentina on Saturday at his former home ground, Atletico Madrid’s Vicente Calderon stadium, but Del Bosque has opted against calling up the prolific striker.

“We’ve spoken with Torres and (Rafael) Benitez and come to the conclusion that it’s best not to force him. I’m sure that he would’ve liked to be here, but these problems have made the decision,” Del Bosque said.

After facing Argentina this weekend, Spain travel to Vienna – the scene of their European Championship success in 2008 – to take on Austria the following Wednesday.

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Manuel Reina (Liverpool), Diego Lopez (Villarreal).

Defenders: Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Andoni Iraola (Athletic), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

Forwards: Dani Guiza (Fenerbahce), Pablo Hernandez (Valencia), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), David Silva (Valencia), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), David Villa (Valencia)

The Rojiblancos looked the most threatening side in the first half as they attacked Madrid with pace down both flanks, Jesus Navas was causing many problems for Real, who had some of their key superstars missing the most notable being the in form Cristiano Ronaldo.

It was the home side who took the lead in the 33rd minute, a brilliant cross from Fernando Navarro found the head of Navas who nodded past Casillas to give Sevilla a deserved lead going into half time.

Sevilla didn’t want to stop at that and straight after the brake, they should have doubled their lead, a world class save from Casillas, somehow managing to claw away a certain tap in by Perotti.

Madrid managed to draw level soon after that chance, as Guti found the head of Pepe to bring Madrid back to life in the 48th minute. They should have made it two straight after as Xabi Alonso’s corner was headed wide by Mahamadou Diarra.

It was end to end midway through the second half as both sides looked to find a potential winner, Sevilla still looking the most likely managed to get it in the 66th minute, Navas’s corner finding the head of the unmarked Renato who comfortably nodded the ball home.

Madrid could not cope with Sevilla and were lucky not to concede more as Navas went close once more, Sergio Ramos could have rescued a point late on but his effort blazed wide as Sevilla closed the game out to grab the three points which moves them level on points with Real in 3rd.

Current champions Barcelona remain top of La Liga with a 100% record as they narrowly beat a spirited Almeria 1-0 at Camp Nou. Almeria clearly had a game plan to stop the free flowing Barca in the middle and it worked as Xavi was unable to get into the game, he was man marked throughout as Barca were left frustrated by their opposition.

Barca, as they always do dominated possession and they made it count when it mattered as the talented Pedro fired in a beauty on the half hour.

Almeria continued to frustrate Barca in the second half and if it wasn’t for Maxwell they may well have equalised as tension grew amongst the fans who in truth had expected a romp. Barca continued to dominate possession and had efforts through Xavi, Ibrahimovic, Messi and a long range effort from Marquez but they couldn’t match goals to their dominance as the game finished 1-0.

Elsewhere there were wins for Deportivo and Valencia as they try to keep pace with the top three, Depor winning 1-0 away to Tenerife and Valencia off the back of an excellent Europa League win against Genoa beat Racing away 1-0. Meanwhile at the other end of the table Atletico Madrid managed to kick start their campaign with a 2-1 home win against Real Zaragoza but the struggle goes on for Villarreal though as they are still searching for their first win of the season as they played out a 0-0 draw with Espanyol at home.

Other Results:

Getafe 2 – 1 Osasuna
Coliseum Alfonso Perez (11,800)

Xerez 1 – 1 Málaga
Estadio Municipal de Chapín (17,430)

Sporting Gijon 4 – 1 Mallorca
Estadio Municipal El Molinon (20,000)

Valladolid 2 – 2 Athletic Bilbao
Estadio Nuevo José Zorrilla (19,800)

Saturday saw Barca travel to Malaga, a horrible pitch really disrupted Barca as they could not get a grip on the game at all and their usual free flowing football was stopped by a physical battle with Malaga. It was Malaga who wanted to get forward early on as they tried to attack Barca with aggression, they didn’t manage to threaten with any venom as Barca weathered the storm and tried to get playmaker Xavi pulling the strings.

Malaga were starting to show their weaknesses as the first half grew, gaps appeared and Zlatan Ibrahimovic beat the offside trap only to see his effort well saved. Lionel Messi was looking dangerous and just seconds after Ibrahimovic should have scored this time he did, he chested down a lovely through ball by Messi and fired the ball home sending Barca 1-0 up at the break and continuing his excellent start to the season.

The second half started the same as the first half, Barca were showing their battling qualities which often get overlooked by their sublime attacking play, they really do know how to win the ball back and they battled just as much as Malaga did. Barca were really starting to dominate the game, substitute Gerrard Pique wasn’t on the field long before he got on the end of Xavi’s free kick to tap the ball past Gustavo Manua, the keeper should have done a lot better in all honesty.

The football was flowing as Messi and Pedro were skipping past their opposition, Pedro managed to find Pique who seemed to forget which box he was in as he blazed the ball over the bar. By now Malaga were getting reckless in both their football and their temper as a few rash challenges were made, one in which former Newcastle flop Albert Luque received a harsh straight red with a tackle on Dani Alves, a couple of rolls on the floor by Alves seemed to sway the referee’s decision.

Barca dominated the second half, some of their football was top class as Xavi, Messi and Alves tested Malaga late on, Malaga managed to prevent a rout but in all honesty  5-0 wouldn’t haven been harsh at all.

Earlier on Real Madrid welcomed newcomers Tenerife to the Bernabeu as they looked to continue their impressive start to the season. It was a dull first half as Tenerife battled hard and really went at Real who at times looked very shaky. Cristiano Ronaldo was looking dangerous as he looked to continue his impressive start to the season, his blocked shot fell to Mr Madrid, Raul, who’s effort was saved by Sergio Aragoneses. Not a lot to get excited about in the first half.

Kaka and Guti were introduced in the second half to spark Los Blancos into life, it seemed to worke as Karim Benzema got on the end of a Xabi Alonso cross to give Real a perfect start to the second half, 1-0 to Real.

That goal seemed to spark Tenerife into life too, within the next 10 minutes both teams had their chances, Tenerife going close twice only to be denied by Iker Casillas and a brilliant solo run by Ronaldo was kept out by Aragoneses. Goals looked likely and it was Real who delivered, Benzema using his power to muscle his way past the defence and curling a shot round Aragoneses to put Real 2-0 up. Real then went close again with Ronaldo and Benzema  but Tenerife didn’t give up and should have at least got a goal, Casillas brilliantly keeping them out with a fine double save.

As the game drew to a close Tenerife tired and Real punished them further as Kaka picked up Raul’s blocked shot and thumped the ball in the back of the net from outside the area to seal the win. A battling Tenerife gunned down in the end by a good second half display by Real.

Elsewhere Valencia looked set to pile more misery on Atletico Madrid after their disastrous start to the season as Pablo and Villa struck within two minutes of each other in the first half to cancel out an early Kun Aguero strike for the visitors. Valencia couldn’t hold on as Maxi Rodriguez snatched a valuable point with a last gasp equaliser in a very close encounter. Sevilla continued their good start to the season too as they hammered Athletic Bilbao 4-0 away with Renato, Negredo, Kanoute and Navas on target.

Other Results:

Mallorca 3 – 0 Valladolid
Estadio Son Moix (12,809)

Almeria 2 – 2 Racing Santander
Estadio Mediterraneo (15,000)

Osasuna 1 – 0Sporting Gijon
Estadio Reyno de Navarra (15,000)

Espanyol 0 – 0 Xerez
Estadio Olimpico de Montjuic (33,000)

Real Zaragoza 3 – 0Getafe
Estadio La Romareda (24,000)

Deportivo La Coruña 1 – 0 Villarreal
Estadio Riazor (20,000)

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