David Silva

He was born on January 8, 1986, in Arguineguín, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain, to Fernando Jiménez and Eva Silva. His father, a municipal police officer of Spanish descent, was responsible for the safety of the ‘Valencia CF’ stadium. According to the Canarian media, his mother is of Japanese descent.

He began his football career with the youth team of ‘UD San Fernando.’ Initially, he started as a goalkeeper and then turned into a winger.

He became a youth player with ‘Valencia CF’ at the age of 14 and remained part of the youth set-up of the Spanish football club till he was 17 years old.

His first representation for Spain saw him netting 3 goals during the 2003 ‘FIFA Under-17 World Championship’ held in Finland.

His made his professional debut in the 2004–2005 season, with ‘Sociedad Deportiva Eibar,’ after being loaned by ‘Valencia.’ He was loaned out to the Spanish professional football club ‘Celta de Vigo’ the next season. He netted 4 goals at the 2005 ‘FIFA World Youth Championship.’

The summer of 2006 marked his return to ‘Valencia.’ On November 5, 2006, he scored his first league goal. He was named as part of the Spanish national ‘Under-21’ football team in 2006, while he made his senior international debut on November 15 that year.

Silva was included in the squad of 23 for the ‘UEFA Euro 2008.’

While many ‘Premier League’ teams showed interest in Silva, he went for a five-year contract extension with ‘Valencia’ in August 2008. He won one ‘Copa del Rey’ in 2008, his first title in Spain, as ‘Valencia’ garnered a 3–1 victory over ‘Getafe,’ earning the trophy for the seventh time in the club’s history.