Melbourne City have changed the A-League forever this morning, with the announcement of a name change as well as the signing of Spain’s all-time leading goal scorer David Villa on loan.
After being taken over by Manchester City earlier this year, it was widely assumed that Heart would change their name, and it was confirmed by the club this morning.
They also confirmed a change of kit from red and white to blue and white, with their away kit to pay tribute to the club’s heritage and remain red.
Ferran Soriano, CEO of the City Football Group (CFG) who own Manchester City, Melbourne City and New York City football clubs said that “Following a lengthy consultation with the Club’s members, partners, the FFA and a range of other stakeholders, we believe the changes announced today will strengthen the Club’s ties with the community to which it belongs while expanding its ability to grow commercially and harness the many benefits of belonging to the City family.”
» What David Villa’s arrival means for the A-League
» Melbourne City: The fight for a name
It has been a controversial change, with Sydney FC blocking any move from the new owners to have sky blue as the primary colour on the jersey. But most are of the view the kit change shouldn’t prove too controversial.
Scott Munn, CEO of Melbourne City, added: “The Club has worked hard to create an identity for Melbourne City FC that reflects the traditions of its existing fan base and embraces the many sporting, operational and commercial benefits that are provided by our association with Manchester City FC and New York City FC.”
They have also revealed their new club logo:
Oofffft. This is perfect. pic.twitter.com/RpkUhjHsyJ
— Vince Rugari (@VinceRugari) June 5, 2014
While the announcement of the name change may have been expected, the announcement of David Villa, Spain’s leading goalscorer, joining the club for 10 games was less set in stone.
There had been weeks of whispers leading up to the announcement, but nothing concrete.
The confirmation that the Spanish superstar will join the club before he takes a spot in New York City FC’s side is possibly the biggest signing news in the history of the A-League, with only Alessandro Del Piero rivalling the former Valencia, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid player for profile.
Villa scored 33 goals in 77 performances for Barcelona, 13 goals in 36 for Atletico and an astonishing 108 goals in 158 showings for Valencia.
ANNOUNCEMENT | David Villa will join the Club for a period of the 2014-15 season > http://t.co/9zDkgdOZ8Z pic.twitter.com/LSIvaG06ml
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) June 5, 2014
“It’s very good for me in every sense,” Villa said.
“From a football point of view it’s the opportunity to play in a new league in a different country, and of course it will be ideal for me to get some competitive football in the period before the MLS season gets under way. I’m sure that playing for Melbourne City FC will be a marvellous experience.”
“What I’ve always done throughout my career is do the best I possibly can. That is what I will do for Melbourne City FC in every game that I play for them. I’ll be giving everything for the team, just like I have with every club I’ve played for.”
City Coach John van’t Schip said he was delighted Villa would be joining the Club for part of the 2014-15 campaign.
“David Villa is still at the peak of his game; he is playing his third World Cup in Brazil, has just won the Spanish league and is an instinctive and gifted striker who will contribute significantly to Melbourne City FC,” van’t Schip said.
“We are confident David will be an incredible asset to the playing group and his experiences in Europe and for his country will help our players not only on the pitch, but in training as well”, he added.
The jersey change and the logo will be two of the most controversial changes.
These are the jerseys @Guaje7Villa and the Melbourne City players will wear next season | http://t.co/uxqiHAdxsR pic.twitter.com/LF1LzhPoN0
— FOX SPORTS Football (@FOXFootballLive) June 5, 2014
We put the question out on Twitter, and it’s safe to say people weren’t too impressed by it:
@TheRoarSports Just no.
— Sir Onetwothree (@derpyonethree) June 5, 2014
@TheRoarSports a ram, a whale, a cow, an old ship, a crown….yeh, makes total sense.
— Josh Wakerman (@MorningSportGuy) June 5, 2014
What are your views Roarers? Villa? Name change? Logo? Jersey?
Lots to talk about, that’s for sure.
David Villa Career Highlights:
– David became the first player to score 50 goals for his national team Spain
– All-time leading goal scorer for the Spanish National Team
– Won the World Cup with Spain in 2010 scoring 5 goals and was top goal scorer with 4 goals as Spain won the European Championships in 2008
– He has been named in the Spain squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil
– Won two La Liga titles with Barcelona in 2010/11 and 2012/13 and again with Atlético Madrid in 2013/14
– Won the UEFA Champions league with Barcelona in 2010/2011Player Details
David Villa
DOB: 3 December 1981 (32)
Position: Forward
Place of Birth: Langreo, Spain
Previous Clubs: Atlético Madrid, FC Barcelona, Valencia, Real Zaragoza, Sporting Gijon
rmc
Guest
if only brisbane roar and sydney fc "traditionalise" their kiddy NRL look and feel, that would be fantastic
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Hard to predict - MV have a fair lead right now - most Heart fans will stay with City, you'd think, but there aren't a whole lot of them - will the likes of a Villa do a guest stint each season on their way to New York? maybe, maybe not Will City ever be treated by its new owners like anything more than a colonial outpost? A few crumbs from the table, the occasional loaned player, maybe a star looking to eke out another season? I don't think anyone knows the answers to these questions.
Michael
Guest
Fadida, I had a proper chuckle when I saw your comment about Tinkler and the Jets. Seriously though, big ownership like MCFC is going to make regional teams like the Jets also-rans in spite of the salary cap. p.s. David Villa signing is immense
ciudadmarron
Guest
I hoped so :lol:
house of love
Guest
In five years time Melbourne City will be the biggest A-league team in Melbourne, I just cannot see MVFC competing against this Melbourne City juggernaut.
Terrosilops
Guest
@Davo, Man City are not the richest club in the world. That would be Real Madrid. And owner wise. There are a few owners that have more money than them. One owner of a club is the second richest man in the world, just behind Bill Gates. Difference between City owners, is the amount that is invested. But it will take them a few years and few trophies to get near the top 5 clubs.
MRL
Guest
AUFC?
AZ_RBB
Guest
Yeah but I'm certain he will as Heart have 2 games scheduled at Parra next season. Surely one will be in the first 10 rounds but A-League fixtures can be a funny thing.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I'm always intrigued by the hypothesis that FoxSports will insist on exclusive rights to the best games. If FoxSports were offering "pay per view" then, for sure, they would insist having exclusive rights to the best HAL matches. However, FoxSports offers bundled packages. It's just irrational for FoxSports to think consumers are going to pay $1k/year to watch 10 matches with David Villa. In my opinion, HAL fans who subscrible to FoxSports don't subscribe for 1 match, 2 mathches, or all 27 matches for a particular club. Rather, HAL fans who subscribe to FoxSports do it because they want to watch the majority of the 140 ALeague matches, plus ACL, plus National Teams & maybe some EPL, MLS & LaLIga. Having the best HAL games on FTA TV won't stop these people from subscribing, because they want more than the simply 'the match of the round' each week. And, people who only want to watch the "big event matches" won't spend $1,000/yr to watch these big matches. IF the big matches are all on Foxtel, they all miss out.
langou
Roar Guru
It would be pointless bringing him to WSW as their games sell out regardless.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
I rather like the crest - the light blue on red reminds me of 'u Liotru, perhaps one day they can have a shirt that combines the colours (a 3rd shirt). The home strip is a bit meh. For their away strip, I reckon they should have held onto the Peru-inspired sash.
Cpaaa
Guest
Kit i give it a 10 for home and away. I love the white shirt as home team. Every other team in any code seems to have flagged the beautiful colour of home team white, while respecting the Melbourne Heart stripes away. Funny David Villa will play in the same away strip as he did in Atletico. This transition has been handled superbly. How many times am i going to say this. "next season is going to be the best season ever"
Matthew Skellett
Guest
On a positive note the new name will put an end to all those awful "heart" puns lol ;-)
Griffo
Roar Guru
I was being sarcastic ;-) . That would be a huge disadvantage and a missed opportunity to grow crowds every second week at home. Still FoxSports and the FFA will be keen to exploit the draw during that period. We may not see Melbourne City on SBS as much this coming season as we saw Melbourne Heart last season I think.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
ha ha porque me gusta!!
Cpaaa
Guest
Will do Bondy. As this is recent news papers were printed last night therefore missing the story. The tv media is all over it. By tomorrow i think most of the Spanish population will know of Melbourne City FC.
ciudadmarron
Guest
I suspect they will want to take advantage at home and start to build their crowds rather than do that.
ciudadmarron
Guest
Senor futbol, por que estas leyendo "Wikipedia" en espanol....?
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@Johnno The real test of the global reach of a sport will be found in the parks - are people playing the sport in large numbers? If they are, then it means the local culture has embraced the sport. That's how Football spread around the world. English workers took the game with them & the game flourished. Interestingly, football was merely the winter activity for those English workers to keep them occupied in winter, when they couldn't play cricket. So, cricket was also introduced to all the countries where football was introduced ... Yet, cricket was not embraced by the locals. PS: Track & field is massive in Europe, outside the Olympics. With stadiums filled & big prize money offered
Johnno
Guest
Rocco75 Have a look at some of the iPL bids for players million dollar deals I think you'll be pleasantley suprised. http://www.espncricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2014/content/story/718245.html