It’s hard to believe Spain striker David Villa will not be playing in the Champions League again this season.

The Valencia frontman was in irresistible form against Belgium in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday when the European champions romped to a 5-0 victory in La Coruna.

Villa won and then missed a first-half penalty, before making amends by scoring two and setting up another two as Spain maintained their 100 percent record in qualifying to all but assure themselves of a place in South Africa next year.

Villa was already Spain’s second highest scorer of all time and now has 33 goals from 51 appearances –- just 11 short of Raul’s national record of 44.

What makes his tally even more impressive is that the former owner of Spain’s number seven shirt, Raul, bagged his total over 102 appearances.

Villa has time on his side, he turns 28 in December, and is on course to set a new Spanish benchmark at the World Cup finals.

But at club level, Villa will only be playing in the Europa League after Valencia finished sixth in La Liga last season.

It isn’t as though his talents have not been noticed by Europe’s leading clubs. He was tournament top scorer at Euro 2008, and has averaged almost 20 goals a season in La Liga with Real Zaragoza and then Valencia over the last six years.

Financially-troubled Valencia said they would consider offers that were “scandalously scandalous” over the summer as the big clubs circled.

But reports said Villa was keen to stay in Spain, which left big-spending Real Madrid and treble-winners Barcelona as his only possible destinations.

Real and Barca landed Cristiano Ronaldo (94 million euros) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (66 million euros) respectively, but neither were willing to stump up the money for one of the world’s most complete strikers, despite both clubs registering their interest.

For Real president Florentino Perez, who came closest to landing Villa but baulked at paying more than 40 million euros, the reasoning was thus:

“(Ronaldo and Kaka) are players that have won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA world player of the year awards, who I describe as ‘investment’ players because they have an international reach which others maybe haven’t reached,” he said in June.

Villa could be accused of a lack of ambition by wanting to stay in Spain, but Real or Barca may live to regret not signing him come next May.

PHOTO: Spain’s David Villa celebrates a goal against Belgium in Coruna, Sept.5 REUTERS/Juan Medina

Giorgi Megreladze - remember the name, it may well earn you some money in later life.

Why, I hear you ask. Well, the FC Olimpi forward has become the first man to score a goal in the newly revamped UEFA Europa League.

Yes UEFA’s second tier competition is underway on the second day of July, with Wimbledon still being played, the British Open yet to tee-off and England and Australia still preparing for their Ashes series to start.

Formally known as the UEFA Cup, the competition has undergone a major overhaul in a bid to boost its appeal.

We’ll see about that. Extending the amount of teams competing and the number of matches played may prove counter-productive as fans are likely to demand quality not quantity, especially in a global economic downturn.

Still, I’m sure Megreladze is not bothered by that!

Now, who was the first man to score in the revamped Champions League in 1992?

STARTER FOR 10, NO CONFERRING: UEFA President Michel Platini attends the UEFA Executive committee meeting in Bordeaux, in September 26, 2008, when the new Europa League format was announced. REUTERS/Olivier Pon

What have the UEFA Cup and the Eurovision song contest got in common?

A) Some people don’t take them as seriously as they could.

B) They give lesser known participants the chance to appear on prime-time TV.

C) East European countries have started to dominate them

And the answer, I’m starting to think, is C … because of A and B.

This year will be the third year in the past six that an ex-Soviet team plays in the UEFA Cup final after victories by Russian sides Zenit St Petersburg last year and CSKA Moscow in 2005.

Watching Shakhtar Donetsk’s dramatic victory over fellow Ukrainian team Dynamo Kiev, I wondered why eastern European teams were enjoying such a love affair with a competition others have lost their passion for.

Then it struck me — it’s not the competition itself, it’s the winning. Winning anything … even the things no one else takes every seriously.

In a similar trend to Europe’s second-tier club competition, seven of the last 10 winners or runners-up in the continent’s bottom-rung singing competition have been east European.

While others plonked some Z-list no-hopers on the stage, Russia brought out Olympic figure skating champion Yevgeny Plushchenko to perform during their song and duly won last year’s edition.

While English sides like Aston Villa sent several reserve players on to the pitch, Russian and Ukrainian teams showcased their strongest sides, usually featuring several expensive Brazilian or African imports.

They really want to win it.

Before their defeat in the semi-final second leg Ukrainian league leaders Dynamo Kiev had a survey on their website asking fans which competition should be the club’s top priority.

When I last looked, 87 percent of more than 10, respondents had plumped for the UEFA Cup.

I can’t imagine if the same question was asked of Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur fans, the result would be the same — surely they would vote for the Premier League.

During several years spent in Moscow, I used to notice that when a Russian team or person won anything it was the government who was among the most excited — perhaps a throwback to Soviet times where sporting victories were a useful way of showing the country in a good light to the rest of the world.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has got in on the act this year.

“I am convinced that on May 20 in Istanbul in the UEFA Cup final Ukrainian club football will once again confirm its might, tactical talent and irrepressible striving for victory,” local media quoted him as saying.

Were it not for Dynamo drawing Metalist Kharkiv in the last-16, Ukrainian teams might have grabbed three of the last four places, as English ones did in the Champions League.

They have certainly not had an easy ride in the competition, having overcome teams like Valencia, Tottenham Hotspur, Sampdoria and Olympique Marseille.

But the question in my mind is are these ex-Soviet teams actually better than the rest or are they just winning because no one else can be bothered?

They certainly have much to gain with victory — foreign players may be even more tempted to join their leagues if they win European trophies, if they weren’t already convinced by the very attractive salaries the clubs’ wealthy owners can offer.

FOOTBALL PHOTO: Players of Shakhtar Donetsk react against Dynamo Kiev during their UEFA Cup semi-final in Donetsk, May 7, 2009. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

EUROVISION: Svetlana Loboda of Ukraine performs during rehearsals for the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow May 6, 2009. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin