Villa's tally of 18 goals in 33 games has finally laid to rest the national debate over whether former captain Raul should have been included in Spain's squad.
The 26-year-old Villa possesses the same opportunist streak as Raul did at his peak, is speedier and has the knack of scoring winning goals.
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Valencia had a traumatic season, changing coach on three occasions and dicing with relegation, however Villa still managed to notch 18 goals in 28 games for the club.
A muscle strain kept him out for several weeks at the business end of the season but meant he arrived at Euro 2008 fresher than most.
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