Global Gallery: david silva soccer players biography

David Josué Jiménez Silva (Spanish pronunciation: [daˈβið xoˈswe xiˈmeneθ ˈsilβa]; born 8 January 1986) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Manchester City in the English Premier League, and the Spanish national team.

Silva is capable of playing on the wing, as a traditional number 10 and sometimes as a supporting striker. He spent six years of his professional career with La Liga side Valencia CF, appearing in more than 150 official games and winning one Copa del Rey, before moving in 2010 to Manchester City where he has been mainly deployed in a trequartista role by manager Roberto Mancini.

A Spanish international since the age of 20, he was a member of the squads that won both the Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup.
Childhood and early career
Silva was born in Arguineguín, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands to Fernando Jiménez, a former municipal police officer who eventually was responsible for the safety of the Valencia CF stadium, and Eva Silva. His father is Canarian and his mother is of Asian descent. He has two younger siblings, sister Natalia and brother Nando.

Silva began playing football in the youth team of UD San Fernando, near Maspalomas. When he was 14, he received an offer to become a youth player at Valencia CF, which he accepted. He stayed in Valencia's youth set-up until he was 17.
Silva made his professional début in 2004–05, with Segunda División's SD Eibar, while on loan from Valencia, playing 35 league games and scoring on five occasions. In the following season, he was again out on loan, this time to Celta de Vigo, where he played 34 matches, scoring four goals. After two late substitute appearances, the first in a 2–0 home win over Málaga CF on 28 August 2005, Silva finished as an undisputed starter as the Galician side reached the UEFA Cup straight from the second-tier.

Silva returned to Valencia in the summer of 2006, becoming an automatic first-choice despite his young age (20). In two seasons combined, he only missed six matches and netted 14 goals (his first coming on 5 November 2006 in a 1–1 draw at RCD Espanyol). In August 2008, he extended his contract by five years, amidst interest of several Premier League teams.

After not appearing in the first three months of 2008–09 due to a chronic ankle ailment, Silva returned to the call-ups in mid-December. On 3 January 2009, he scored twice in a 3–1 home win over Atlético Madrid,[5] still contributing with 19 matches (four goals) as the Che qualified for the Europa League.

In the 2009–10 season, Silva scored a career-best eight goals, as Valencia finished in third position and returned to the UEFA Champions League. On 15 April 2010, he scored a brace against Athletic Bilbao for a 2–0 home win,[6] adding three assists in the 4–4 thriller at SV Werder Bremen, for the Europa League's round of 16.