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underestimate the extent, value, or importance of (someone or something)."a very underrated film"
synonyms: , underestimate, underappreciate, do an injustice to, sell short, play down, understate, minimize, diminish, downgrade, trivialize
Let's talk about the word underrated in the sense of football. In particular, how certain players always tend to gain respect from players and fans that follow the club, but not from individuals outside of that circle. In this case, 29 year old David Silva falls in this category. Consistency, reliability, durability and out and out quality are all traits that the City midfielder possess. Traits that would prove valuable in a season that had plenty of inconsistencies.
An aspect of Silva's game that was an inconsistency left City fans asking for more was the Spaniard's ability to get balls in goal. In 2014/2015 he answered any doubts as he scored twelve times, which was the second highest of any player of his position and tied for tenth in the Premiere League. This was something that we hadn't seen Silva do in such high volume in his career, as he had 7 in 2013, and only four in the 2012 season.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/21LVA">@21LVA</a> the guys passing is unreal.</p>— Daniel Sturridge (@D_Sturridge) <a href="https://twitter.com/D_Sturridge/status/597387868991057920">May 10, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Now to the meat of David Silva's feast of a game. His ability to see the field is still only rivaled by a few, and yet seemingly unrecognized by many. The PFA Team of The Year did not include Silva, nor did he receive any player of the month recognition outside of the club, truly a crime. Silva assisted on 8 goals this year, and his 18 through balls were the fourth highest total on the continent and unmatched in England. Absolutely amazing.
Silva's ability to dictate the game with short, medium and long passes were on full display in the passing campaign, as he was typically the link between the defense and Golden Boot winner Sergio Aguero. His tiki-taka style was the most prominent when coupled with French teammate Samir Nasri, and although Nasri spent the latter half of the season in the training room, it was evident that Silva was able to adapt to any of his attacking players, providing them with service and spacing that wouldn't have otherwise been available. Going back to the 2012/13 season, no player has created more chances than Silva, even the golden boy Eden Hazard is trailing the City player by nearly thirty opportunities.
Looking toward the future, Silva is now approaching the second year of a four year extension and is approaching 30 on a side that is beginning to lean towards youth. He's undergone ankle surgery in the US to rectify a nagging issue, and taking the time to heal in a summer that won't call for his services on an international level. Whispers of who can replace him are getting louder, but I can guarantee this, no one can ever replace David Silva.
Bitter and Blue 2014/2015 Rating: 8
Bonus:
This was likely Silva's best match of the year, a February victory against Newcastle, where Whoscored? graded Silva with a 9.99:
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Double Bonus:
This was my favorite sequence in as long as I can remember:
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