What is David Villa's Role in Barcelona's Setup?

David Villa made his much awaited move from Valencia FC to Catalonia, where he has signed for 40 million Euros (34.2 million pounds).

While many feel he made the perfect choice since there was so much interest from other top European clubs, let's peek into his possible role within the squad come next season.

Villa is an out and out striker. He's a goal scorer, he has speed, great ability, and the advantage of having already been in the La Liga for years.

His role at Valencia was more of leading the attack, being the spearhead, and it worked for him—he scored a lot of goals.

Now, Villa needs to adapt to having more of a team effort, feeding off players like Xavi and also assisting the likes of Ibra and Messi.

He will, without a doubt, be used by Pep as the target with balls played into him, but Barcelona is all about momentum and inter-play.

Using the ball and using the spaces, with great speed and follow up play, is what makes Barcelona so dangerous.

We would like to think that Barca will play with two strikers in Ibrahimovich and Villa, but as we know Messi, Pedro, and Xavi alwys join the front men, maybe Xavi little less.

Also, Barcelona are known for putting the ball in the box, working from the wings with Alves and Maxwell doing an excellent job this season.

I'm looking forward to see how Villa will link up with Ibra. Ibrahimovich, being a tall player, likes the ball in the air but is also great along the ground. He's had an off and on season in his first year in Spain.

A lot will also depend on where Messi plays, as we know Pep has the advantage of chopping and changing positions due to the versatility in the squad.

Messi, usually on the right, likes to drift in-field, leaving a gap which is almost every time covered by Alves. This means the right back area is open, but with Barca holding the ball for such long spells, teams hardly get an opportunity to counter.

Villa has already played with may of the Barcelona players in the Spain national team. Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, and Pique will get a chance to play alongside him during the World Cup, with Valdez and Pedro also included in the squad.

So while I feel Villa might play just in front of Ibra, using Ibra as a decoy at most, for Pep goals are what's important—making sure the opposition is always chasing.

Villa has an amazing goal scoring record and will look to bring that along as he will look to help Barca hold off the Madrid resistance.