"Playing with Leo is a privilege"

David Villa arrived at Barcelona last summer and was reinvented as a player after a career as the main striker for Valencia, Zaragoza and Sporting Gijón. To accommodate both Spain's highest scorer — Villa eclipsed Raúl's record for the national side during the European qualifying tournament against the Czech Republic — and Leo Messi, Villa was converted into a winger, a position he has taken to so well that he is one of the league's top assist providers and has still chipped in with a goal every other game.

Question. What do you feel when you're playing?

Answer. The essence. I always wanted to be a soccer player but I've achieved things I could never have dreamed of. Before it was a game. Now, it's demanding. The idea that what's important is participating doesn't exist. You always have to play to win.

Q. They say you love the game so much you rarely disconnect.

A. When I'm with my daughters, yes. But it's true that I spend more time thinking about soccer than I should, much more than just in training, matches and the travel. But I like it. It's just as well I have girls, if I had boys I'd switch off even less, although my eldest likes to watch the matches in the stadium.

Q. How do you get on with the Catalans?

A. Well, I already knew the culture and the club. I knew what I was going to find, there were no surprises. Well, there was one, the calçots [a kind of spring onion popular in Catalonia]. They told me, 'We're going to a calçotada,' and I thought, 'Where?' But everything else is fine. Coming from Valencia I was already used to the language.

Q. A change of club also brings a change of habits on the field. In your case they seem very accentuated.

A. Yes, I have other jobs. Offensively, it's the same: slip my marker, be alert in the area, try to open up the pitch... but defensively it's different. I'm proud to have adapted to a position that until recently wasn't mine.

Q. You shoot less but combine more with your teammates.

A. I get into the area and have chances, but I play more for the team. At Valencia I was the main striker, alone, and my job was to look for space and score goals. Now I operate in other areas, I open up play. It's different and more versatile.

Q. How has Pep Guardiola helped you?

A. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have adapted. He and his staff support me a lot. There's a lot of work in this team. It isn't just a consequence of the talent of the players. The míster is the one who joins together these talents.

Q. Your goal-scoring average has improved.

A. There is an uncontrollable element of luck in scoring goals. One day you send it to the corner flag like in Prague, another you hit the target like at Wembley [during the 2011 Champions League final against Manchester United].

Q. Was that your best goal for Barça?

A. Everything came together. It placed me in the history of a club as big as Barça. Because of the result, the beauty of the goal, because it was the last [Edwin] Van der Sar conceded...

Q. This year it seems that the league will be between Barça and Real Madrid again, that the division is a two-horse race.

A. You have to win the league every Sunday. We only play Real twice but it is a strong team that has reinforced with excellent players. The challenge to beat Real is greater every time because it is a better team every time.

Q. How is Leo Messi?

A. He's a player that demands a lot of those around him. You have to be prepared for the impossible with Leo; it's not just what he can do, but what he can make everybody else do. He scores a lot of goals but contributes much more to the team. Playing alongside Leo has made me a better player. One day, when photos of Leo appear and I'm in them too, I'll be able to say 'I played with Leo Messi.' It's a privilege.