David Villa’s rough Monday morning turned into a pleasant afternoon when the New York City FC captain learned Domenec Torrent would be replacing Patrick Vieira as the club’s manager after Vieira accepted the same role at OGC Nice.
“It was a difficult day because in the morning, we found out that Patrick is leaving,” Villa told NYCFC.com. “Patrick was so important for the club and for us, so it was a difficult day of news but after that, when we found out that ‘Dome’ and his staff were coming to replace Patrick, it was great news after the bad news.
“I know him and I know some of his staff. I think it’s the right and best person we could have to replace Patrick. Finally, it was a difficult day in the morning but a happy one in the afternoon.”
Villa worked with Torrent for two years at Barcelona under Pep Guardiola where the team won nine trophies between 2010 and 2012, including the UEFA Champions League.
Torrent was an an assistant with Guardiola for 11 years, moving to Bayern Munich after Barcelona and then to Manchester City.
“Knowing Patrick and knowing Dome and knowing how they work, I don’t believe the team will be affected a lot in the change,” Villa said. “Every coach has their own situations or decisions but Dome is a similar style of coach to Patrick.
“It’s always hard to change coach in the middle of the season, I’ve been through it before earlier in my career, it’s a difficult period but, in this case, thanks to the City Football Group and this commitment between the clubs, I think it’s not so hard to change the coach in the middle of the season in this situation.”
