Adiós David Silva: Manchester City’s twinkle-toed ballerina
By Duncan Kwok
The Premier League season is well and truly over.
Liverpool fans will be rejoicing over what has been a remarkable season for them. Man Utd fans will reflect over a season which has been a roller-coaster of emotions, a brilliant win followed by a couple of disappointing results.
Manchester City fans will be breathing a sigh of relief after the CAS judgement which paves the way for them to participate in next season’s Champions League. But all Premier League fans will be reflecting on a titan of the league leaving after 10 seasons of sheer magic and pure ecstasy, ecstasy created by the twinkle-toed ballerina, David Silva.
On 30 June 2010, Manchester City signed a highly-rated Spaniard who was called David Silva. Little would Manchester City fans and in general football fans know that Silva alongside Yaya Toure would the purveyors of change in the Premier League and establishers of an era of dominance in the Premier League.
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Mind you, it wasn’t all an effortless transition to the Premier League as Roberto Mancini often started Silva as a left-winger and rumours were abound that Real Madrid and Barcelona would swoop for the diminutive playmaker as he struggled to adapt to the English game. Yet, even in those tough moments like a rainy night at Stoke, you could always count on a bit of David Silva magic to instantly reignite your interest in a game that probably had you falling asleep.
In recent years under Pep Guardiola, he has ushered a new period in English football, breaking records with City all the while doing it effortlessly. Without him, it’s hard to think where Manchester City would be, his longevity at the very top as well as the class he exudes has truly made the Premier League a better league than when he once arrived.
If there has ever been a player in the Premier League that encapsulated the artistry in football, it has to be David Silva, those rapid one-twos, shuffle of the feet before gliding past an opposition player ever so ethereally. It’s hard not to just have a wry smile and think to yourself “I witnessed greatness.”
Because if you witnessed David Silva in full motion, you truly did witness greatness. There are not many players like him in the world and even fewer in the Premier League, Kevin De Bruyne is one of them and Phil Foden if he fulfils his potential could join Silva and Co. Yet, I fear players of the ilk of Silva are a dying breed, the modern game is all about pace.
Liverpool’s road to success was based on an industrious midfield allowing their speedy front 3 to wreak havoc. Borussia Dortmund has had a resurgence built on lightning-quick counterattacks. Even the tika-taka masters, Barcelona look a shell of their former selves, their pass and move ideology seemingly ineffectual and tiresome.
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Few players will have as much of an impact on not just the Premer League but football in general as David Silva and certainly not at what can now be considered a bargain £25 million. Wherever Silva plays next, one can be certain he will do it in the same way he has always done it, feinting and weaving like a twinkle-toed ballerina. Adios David Silva.