David Villa out of Euro 2012 Squad: Alternative Options for Spain

Vicente del Bosque and Spain were dealt another tough blow when it was announced that David Villa would join Carles Puyol in the stands this summer.

Xoel Cardenas—BR's Voice of Barcelona—received word of the decision before most major sites did and wrote this article about the breaking story.

Xoel lays out the history of Villa's injury as well as recent developments there, so I highly recommend checking his article out.

With David Villa being unable to recover in time, Spain will now be without its defensive captain and all-time leading scorer going into the Euro this summer.

Xoel wrote a piece about the three best candidates to replace Carles Puyol, and I wrote about how Spain's starting XI would look without Puyol and Villa in it.

What I will do now is specifically discuss the alternatives to Villa for del Bosque. He was in poor form even before his injury, but make no mistake, Villa will be sorely missed this summer.

Spain may not struggle to find goals, but they will struggle to find consistency in the attack.

Read on to see what options Spain will have for this summer's tournament.

Fernando Llorente, Athletic Club

This one is perhaps the most obvious. Llorente would have been on the squad with or without Villa's inclusion.

Llorente featured often in the Euro qualifiers as del Bosque tried to find a suitable replacement for Fernando Torres and then David Villa.

He is the most dangerous threat in the air of any forward here. He is not very pacy, but has a tremendous eye for goals and has a lot of range. He is also one of the best passing forwards available.

Llorente is a powerful forward, which makes him the ideal man for the 4-2-3-1 that Spain often uses. With players like Jesus Navas out wide—which was the most accurate crosser in La Liga this season—Llorente can do a lot of damage with minimal opportunities.

The Lion King scored 17 goals, the most of any Spaniard—along with the second man on this list.

Prediction: Llorente will play this summer and will start most matches when del Bosque uses a lone forward.

Roberto Soldado, Valencia

Another near certainty is Soldado. He has done as much as any other Spanish striker this season so he should get the call.

Soldado matched Llorente for goals this season in La Liga with 15. The form of both players gives del Bosque two great options and two different styles.

Both have played as lone forwards at their clubs and del Bosque experimented with each player there in the last year. He also used a 4-3-3 to see who worked better with help up front.

Soldado has a bit better technique on the ball and can be much more clinical, but is not quite as strong as Llorente.

Soldado is the player most similar to Villa in that he has great awareness, good feet and body control, and has a quick, very instinctual shot.

Prediction: Soldado will get the call and share time with Llorente.

Fernando Torres

Beyond Llorente and Soldado, nothing is certain. Those two are not guaranteed a spot this summer either, but they are at least more likely than anyone else to play for Spain in the Euros.

Despite his poor form over the last two seasons, Fernando Torres will still be one of the favorites to play this summer.

A single goal with no defenders in sight and in an open net against Barcelona may be viewed as redemption for some Chelsea fans, but it should not be viewed as such for supporters of La Roja.

Torres would only be included based on his reputation and past experience.

With Fernando Llorente and other Bilbao and Barcelona players unavailable, Torres received a spot in their friendly against Serbia this weekend.

It will be the first time he plays with the squad since being left off the roster in February for the first time in five years.

It will be Torres' last chance to impress del Bosque enough to play this summer since the manager will likely announce his final roster the next day.

Prediction: Torres' experience and recent Champions League victory will earn him the chance to play in the tournament—but as the third-choice striker, still featuring a fair amount.

Negredo, Sevilla

Fernando Torres may have the international experience, but Negredo has been the better striker for the last three seasons. He was also the hottest Spanish forward on this list in the final month of play.

Let's look at some numbers. Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two players over the last two seasons:

League Goals per Season

	2009-2010	2010-2011	2011-2012	Total
Torres	18	10	6	34
Negredo	11	20	14	41

Over the last two seasons, Negredo has more than doubled the goal output of Torres. And he played at Sevilla while Torres was at the Liverpool and the billionaire-backed Chelsea.

I will debate anyone about the quality of La Liga defenses vs. those of the EPL, but not even the most biased EPL fan will argue that defensive differences account for twice the amount of goals on a far weaker team.

Past reputation and experience may be on the side of Torres, but the goals and performances favor Negredo.

Prediction: Losing Puyol and Villa will weigh too greatly on del Bosque's mind. Negredo will be the odd man out as the fourth striker for Spain.

Adrian Lopez

Along with Fernando Torres, this is the other man being given a trial in this weekend's friendly.

Adrian has never featured for the national side, but was a key player in last year's U-21 European Championship title run for Spain.

He was the top scorer in the tournament and only continued his great form after signing with Atletico Madrid this season.

He scored seven goals this season as well as eight in his final season with Deportivo. He does not have the experience, but would be an energetic and in-form option coming off the bench for Spain.

He is definitely deserving on talent alone, but does not have the experience that del Bosque might be looking for.

Prediction: I expect Adrian to play in the Olympics as an over-age option rather than the Euros.

Raul

Clearly the long shot on this list, the former captain will almost definitely miss out on his second consecutive European Championship.

Raul has not been chosen for the national squad since 2006. He missed out on his country's most glorious victories in history and at the age of 34, will not likely play in a major tournament again.

However, a recent admission of Raul being worthy of playing in the tournament by manager Vicente del Bosque at least warrants discussion about the Real Madrid legend.

Over the past two seasons with Schalke, has also been more productive than Fernando Torres, scoring 25 goals to Torres' 17.

Prediction: Raul is well past his prime and, barring something drastic, will not feature this summer.

Wide Options

All of the aforementioned players are direct replacements for David Villa as a central striker. I expect only three pure strikers to get called to the tournament.

However, his absence may also open the door for an extra winger or side option to join Spain in Poland and Ukraine. We saw del Bosque use wingers as second strikers or in the 4-2-3-1 formation during qualifiers.

We saw Juan Mata play alongside Soldado and other strikers often, and he did well there. The Player of the Tournament in last year's U-21 Championships will be the most obvious choice.

Del Bosque recently spoke less than hopefully about Pedro being on the 23-man roster. Iker Muniain will likely be in the Olympics, and playing in both tournaments would be asking too much from the youngster.

The problem with leaving Pedro off is that it eliminates Spain's best scoring threat from the wings. Neither Mata nor Iker really is as clinical as Pedro, even with his poor form this season.

David Silva and Jesus Navas will be on the team, but as attacking midfielders as much as wingers.

Juan Mata is almost certain to be selected so it really comes down to Pedro vs. Iker if del Bosque chooses a winger.

But again, Villa's absence may push del Bosque to include a second winger instead of a third striker.

Prediction:  Pedro and Iker battle for the final spot in the Copa del Rey final this Friday and del Bosque goes with the experience of Pedro—unless Iker really impresses.

Final Prediction

In order of likelihood, here are the players I think del Bosque will call up for the Euros this summer:

1. Llorente
2. Soldado
3. Mata
4. Torres
5. Pedro

In order of who I think deserves a spot based on form and the needs of the team, here are the players who should be called:

1. Llorente
2. Soldado
3. Negredo
4. Mata
5. Muniain

Just so you can get a visual, here are the other attacking options—to be used as forwards in the 4-3-3 or as attacking midfielders in the 4-2-31:

Jesus Navas
Santi Cazorla
David Silva
Andres Iniesta
Cesc Fabregas
Juan Mata