Cazorla the comeback king with a magic touch

SANTI CAZORLA’S grand return to Villarreal last month proved a truly magical affair. In a stunt carried out by local illusionist Yunke, 4,500 supporters inside the Estadio de la Ceramica watched in anticipation as an empty glass capsule on the pitch began to fill up with smoke.

When the plumes had cleared, inside stood their new signing: the lauded former Spain international midfielder, with arms folded and sporting a big grin.

Yet for all the emotional pull of returning to the club where his celebrated career began, for Cazorla, starting a La Liga match nine days later trumped his theatrical unveiling.

A 2-1 home loss to Real Sociedad on August 18 was a disappointing result. But it was the 33-year-old’s first competitive action in nearly two years, ending a painful disappearing act of 22 months away from competitive action.

Cazorla (below) was not to know it at the time but an appearance against Ludogorets in the Champions League on October 19, 2016, would be his last of a six-year spell at Arsenal.

A bacterial infection was eating away at his Achilles tendon and his ankle bone, sending him down the road to injury hell.

But the two-time European Championship winner, who missed his nation’s World Cup win in South Africa in 2010 through injury, is now back fit and ready to make up for lost time in the twilight of his career.

According to the former Spanish international defender Marcelino, who is now an agent and La Liga broadcaster, Cazorla’s extraordinary ability marks him out as one of the finest ever midfielders in the best period in Spain’s footballing history.

Tomorrow evening, the little magician will be hoping to make Rangers’ dreams of a strong start to Europa League Group G go up in smoke.

‘In Spain, there have been some fantastic midfielders who all arrived at the same time for the national team,’ Marcelino — who played for Mallorca and Newcastle United — told Sportsmail.

‘The likes of Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta have made it a fantastic era for Spanish football. But, in terms of talent, Santi Cazorla is up there amongst those big names that have contributed so much to Spanish football in recent years.

‘Despite these big names, Santi’s international career was not limited. He has played 77 times for Spain and won two major trophies. That shows you his quality.

‘He’s enjoyed a fantastic career in Spain and then in England with Arsenal. Now he is back at Villarreal.

‘I saw him play recently in La Liga and he was in good form.

‘Of course he is now not at the peak of his career but he is still very capable of showing the kind of player that he is. He is still hungry and he still has a lot to offer. He is someone Rangers will need to be wary of.

‘It’s not easy to come back from the kind of injury that Santi had. To get back fit and to be able to return for a team as good as Villarreal in La Liga is a remarkable feat in itself.’

After a slow start to the La Liga season, their worst in 20 years, Villarreal secured their first win of the campaign on Sunday.

A 1-0 triumph at Leganes courtesy of Carlos Bacca’s second-half goal moved them up to 13th in the table.

Cazorla was left on the bench, rested ahead of Villarreal’s clash with Rangers.

But the veteran is not the only clear and present danger in Javier Calleja’s side.

The Yellow Submarine may have lost gifted striker Cedric Bakambu to Chinese side Beijing Sinobo Guoan in a £35.5million move in February. And in the summer, the 2006 Champions League semi-finalists received £31m from Atletico Madrid for their star midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez.

But Marcelino warns that Gerard Moreno and Pablo Fornals will make it a tough night for Steven Gerrard’s men.

‘Villarreal are a team that is constantly reshaping after selling their star players,’ he said.

‘First they lost Bakambu and then they sold Rodri to Atletico Madrid. When you lose players of the kind of Bakambu and Rodri, they are very difficult to replace.

‘But in addition to Cazorla, they have some real talent up front. Moreno is Villarreal’s best-quality player. He has magic in his boots and can create as well as score. ‘Fornals is another very good player who can create chances out of nothing. Those are the two players Rangers will need to watch out for.

‘Villarreal are not a big club like Barcelona, Real Madrid or Atletico. But they remain a very important side in Spain. ‘They continue to produce very good players and they are always a hard team to beat, with a lot of quality.’