There can be no underestimating the impact that both Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa have had on English football. The two brought a new dimension to Tottenham’s play, a slower, more measured approach to football – something English football hadn’t seen before. Ricky Villa has spoken about the difficulties he had in adapting to the English game.
“England was really quick and they seemed to want to get the ball into the penalty area as soon as possible. England was always long ball and I found it difficult. Now England has lost that long-ball style with the introduction of more foreigners.”
The introduction of foreigners, like Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa changed the way English football was seen abroad. The whole philosophy has changed, in no small part to these players. The English game is of course still quick but there is a sophistication to the play now. English players have learnt to mix both quick and direct football with flair and imagination. English football is the most entertaining to watch, and it was the introduction of foreigners like Ardiles and Villa that has propelled the Premier League to where it is today.
Ricky Villa’s new book ‘And Still Ricky Villa – My Autobiography’ is a book about his life. The book examines Ricky’s life before he moved to England, and how his talent allowed him to leave his home town, Roque Perez. The book has allowed Villa to show how his life has changed because of football. From when he was in Argentina to when he moved to London, and how it effected him at the time.
The book also explores the difficult decision Ricky Villa had to take to miss the 1982 FA Cup Final. He goes into detail about how difficult it was for him when his country was fighting against the country was living in. For a footballer to be placed in such a situation must have been extremely difficult, and the press hounded him. Still to this day Ricky Villa does not say whether he made the right or wrong decision but he explains that he simply could not play. He saw the FA Cup final as a celebration of football, but wasn’t comfortable knowing what was happening back home. Its is a very honest account, how a footballer was thrown under the political spotlight and they way he had to deal with it.
As well as this, Villa goes into great detail the difficulties he had in settling into English culture. He rarely gave television interviews, preferring to hide behind Ossie Ardiles. He explains his lonely existence – without the help of television or the internet, he found himself isolated and very lonely in England. It is a very honest account, and one that football fans should take time to read and get to know the real Ricky Villa.
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