VILLA, Julio Ricardo (1978-88)
Position: Midfield
Height: 6ft
Weight: 12st 5lbs
Born: Buenos Aires, Argentina, 18 August 1952
Signed from Racing Club June 1978
Transferred to Fort Lauderdale Strikers June 1983, released
Also played for: Quilmes, Athletico Tucuman, Racing Club, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Deportivo Cali, Defensa y Justicia, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Spurs Record:
Debut: 19 August 1978 v Nottingham Forest (FL) (a) drew 1-1
Appearances: League 124(9), FA Cup 21, League Cup 15(1), Europe 8(1)
Goals: League 18, FA Cup 3, League Cup 3, Europe 1
If ever there was a player who experienced the ups and downs of a footballer’s life it was Ricky Villa. In the space of five days the Argentinian went from the despair of forlornly traipsing round the Wembley pitch to the joy of being a hero, scorer of the greatest goal ever to win an FA Cup Final.
The big, bearded Argentinian – who at the time was the most expensive player transferred from one Argentinian club to another - joined us in June 1978, alongside his compatriot Ossie Ardiles. And while Ardiles was thought to be the more significant signing, Villa was a superbly talented footballer in his own right who many knowledgeable pundits thought might make the greater impact.
In the end Ardiles did prove the more successful of the two, but Villa will be remembered by many as the man who made their dreams come true.
He began life at White Hart Lane with a bang, scoring on his debut at Nottingham Forest, but soon fell victim to injury, a problem that was to plague his whole career at Spurs. A versatile player who could operate in midfield, out wide and up front, his ability to play in a number of positions perhaps meant he never quite nailed down one in particular but, wherever deployed, Villa would always give his best.
Despite his size and sometimes languid style Villa was a lovely footballer who, while he could use his strength and bulk to advantage, possessed deceptive skills for such a big man. At his best he would run at players, the ball under total control, tricking his way through with a sudden switch of the ball from one foot to the other and back again, impossible to dispossess. He had a remarkably deft touch and unorthodoxy about his play that meant nobody knew what he was going to do next.
Villa played over 120 League games for us but it was the FA Cup that brought the best out of him and it is his exploits in that competition in 1980-81 for which he will always be remembered.
The competition did not begin well for him as he limped off in the third round tie at Queens Park Rangers with another injury. He did not return until the first semi-final meeting with Wolverhampton Wanderers but in the replay, had one of those nights when he could do no wrong. Garth Crooks scored twice but it was Villa who controlled the game, crowning his performance with a superb left-foot shot from 25 yards after cutting in from the wing.
In the final against Manchester City, Villa will be the first to acknowledge he had a disappointing game and, in the 70th minute, was replaced by Garry Brooke and cut a sorry sight as he tearfully headed for the dressing room, his big day ruined.
It would have been all too easy for manager Keith Burkinshaw to have left Villa out of the replay but his decision to stick by him was vindicated in a fashion none could have imagined. After only seven minutes Villa lashed home a loose ball to put us ahead. The confidence that had flooded out of him five days earlier returned with renewed vigour but it was another 70 minutes before he won the game with the best individual goal seen at Wembley.
Taking the ball from Tony Galvin on the left, he weaved his way past four defenders, feinted to shoot and then slipped the ball past Joe Corrigan. His dash across the Wembley pitch into the arms of Burkinshaw will be remembered for ever. It’s a goal and a moment that has transcended generations of Spurs fans and one which Villa himself cannot quite believe still gets talked about whenever he returns to north London.
It proved to be the pinnacle of his Spurs career. Omitted from the 1982 FA Cup Final team because of the Falklands conflict, Villa left us in June 1983 for Fort Lauderdale Strikers before ending his playing days back home in Argentina. But his moment of magic at Wembley will never be forgotten.