Top 5 Moments From David Silva's Illustrious Footballing Career

5)  The First Trophy Of Many

Trophies seemed inevitable when Manchester City slowly began to amass some of the continent’s top talent: Silva, Yaya Toure, Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero each combined to City’s eventual success throughout the 2010s, but it was the first two who started off and finished the move that brought this new era of Man City its first piece of silverware. 

The 2011 FA Cup final pitted the Cityzens as the favourites against Stoke City, though it proved to be a much trickier task than expected. A stubborn Stoke side unsettled the usually dominant City, but it was Silva who looked at his creative best, eventually starting the move that allowed Toure to fire home a late strike to finally break the deadlock, and usher in this new Manchester City era in style. 

4)  Homecoming Heroics

After his 2020 departure, Silva opted to return to his native Spain for one last run of glory, settling with Real Sociedad who would indeed go on to be his final club before retiring. 

Even after a decade in the Premier League, Silva instantly looked comfortable on home soil, thriving in La Liga’s more traditional, conservative style of football compared to the Premier League’s quick tempo and physicality. Within a short time of his return, Silva had already scooped both club and league nominations for Player Of The Month. 

But his greatest achievement for Sociedad came in the Spring of 2021, when the postponed Copa del Rey final added more silverware to Silva’s cabinet full of gold. Real Sociedad emerged victorious in a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao thanks to a penalty from Oyarzabal. 

3) “Spain’s Lionel Messi”

Vincente Del Bosque is a man who’s managed some of the very best midfielders football has had to offer, but to liken one single midfielder to the arguably the greatest footballer of all time is particularly high praise. 

As we’ll delve into a little more later, Silva emerged as one of the leading lights in Spain’s golden generations, rivalling the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets for his creative output for his country. With 35 goals in 125 caps, only prolific forwards like Raul, Fernando Torres and David Villa have found the back of the net more than Silva has: a man who was truly more than a playmaker. 

2)  The EURO’s Premier Midfielder

EURO 2012 saw the apex of international footballing prowess achieved, as we saw Spain dominate a tournament like never before. 

Having already been part of the Spain squads that won EURO 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, Silva found himself in a more involved, relied-upon role for La Roja, far and away the best player in this next generation of marquee Spanish talent. 

With Silva in the side, Spain swept aside much of their opposition, with Silva himself bagging the first goal in the 4-0 rout of Italy in the final, and finishing the tournament as the joint-top assist provider.