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Xavi

 
Wikipedia: Xavi
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Xavi
Xavi - 002.jpg
Personal information
Full name Xavier Hernández i Creus
Date of birth 25 January 1980 (1980-01-25) (age 29)
Place of birth Terrassa, Spain
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Barcelona
Number 6
Youth career
1991–1997 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1997–2000 Barcelona B 55 (3)
1998– Barcelona 333 (32)
National team‡
1997 Spain U17 10 (2)
1997–1998 Spain U18 10 (0)
1999 Spain U20 6 (2)
1998–2001 Spain U21 25 (7)
2000– Spain 83 (8)
2000– Catalonia 7 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 December 2009.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2009
This is a Spanish name; the first family name is Hernández and the second is Creus.

Xavier Hernández i Creus (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈʧabi erˈnandeθ]; born 25 January 1980 in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia), commonly known as Xavi, is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a central midfielder for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona. Widely considered among the finest playmakers in world football, Xavi was named the official Man of the Match of the 2009 Champions League Final as he helped Barcelona defeat Manchester United to win their third European Cup. He was named Best Player by UEFA at Euro 2008[2] and was one of the five finalists for the 2007-08 FIFA World Player of the Year. In all he has been capped 80 times for the Spanish national team and has played for his country in the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2004, 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Contents

Club career

Xavi with FC Barcelona

Xavi is a product of Barcelona's youth system and has spent all of his footballing life at the Camp Nou since the age of 11. He quickly made his way through the youth and reserve teams and was a key member of Jordi Gonzalvo's Barcelona B team that won promotion to the Segunda División.

His progression through the teams earned him a first team debut on 18 August 1998 in the Super Cup final, in which he scored against Mallorca. He quickly went on to become a key member of Louis van Gaal's title winning team.

Xavi is considered the successor of Josep Guardiola in the Barça engine room and after Guardiola left the club, Xavi became the chief playmaker in the side. Since the title-winning season of 2004–05, he has been a vice-captain of the team. In the 2005–06 season, Xavi tore the ligaments in his left knee in training; he was out of action for five months, missing the majority of the playing season, but returned in April and was on the substitutes bench for the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final.

The 2008–09 season was Xavi's best season so far, by performances and achievements. He was a main part of Barcelona's treble, performing with excellence in all three competitions: He scored the 4th goal in the 4-1 win in the Copa del Rey 2008–09 final against Athletic Bilbao , with a free kick. In La Liga, among many fine performances, perhaps the most significant one is the 6-2 El Clásico victory vs Real Madrid on 2 May. He assisted 4 out of 6 goals (once to Puyol, once to Henry and twice to Messi), and this performance and this win definitively led to Barcelona winning the 2009 title. Finally, Xavi helped Barcelona win the 2009 Champions League Final versus Manchester United, which ended 2-0, assisting the second goal by raising the ball to Leo Messi's header after 69 minutes and also nearly scored as his shot from just outside the penalty box hit the post. Xavi was recently voted "UEFA Champions League best midfielder" for his contribution during Barcelona's victorious 2008-09 UEFA Champions League campaign. Xavi was La Liga's highest assisting player with 20 assists. He was also the highest assisting player in the champions league with 7 assists.

Xavi is under contract to Barça until 2014 after extending his contract during the 2008–09 season. The new contract will make him one of the club's biggest earners, and entitle him to €7.5 million a year.

Xavi equalled Carles Rexach in the all-time appearances list for Barcelona when he made his 452th appearance in his 11th season at the club on 14 February 2009. He is now second only to Migueli, who made 548 appearances.

International career

Xavi was named UEFA Euro 2008 Player of the Tournament.

Xavi was first called up for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring two goals as Spain won the trophy. He made his senior debut on 15 November 2000 against the Netherlands and has since been a regular fixture in the Spanish squad. His trip to the 2006 FIFA World Cup was in doubt due to a knee ligament injury, but he recovered in time and was named as part of Luis Aragonés' squad. His importance to the team was summed up by Aragonés when he said, "People say it is a gamble to take Xavi with us, but I say it would be a crazy gamble to leave him at home."[3] Xavi was named Man of the Match in Spain's match against Ukraine and played in all of Spain's other three matches, before they were knocked out by the experienced French team in the second round.

Xavi vs England

During UEFA Euro 2008, Xavi played a vital role in Spain's successful campaign. Partnering with fellow Barça teammate Andrés Iniesta in the midfield, he was the fulcrum between the defense and the forward line regularly supplying the strikers with vital passes and crucial assists. He scored the opening goal in the 50th minute in the semi-final against Russia which was the 500th goal ever scored in the European Championships.[4] In the final against Germany, he slid a well-timed pass to Fernando Torres who slotted in the winning goal. He was selected as the Player of the Tournament by UEFA officials.[5]

Xavi was called up again for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers by the new manager Vicente del Bosque and continued his good form from Euro 2008. In their 3-0 win over Estonia, two of the goals were scored from his free kicks. He was selected in the 23-man squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and started all three of Spain's group games.

All-time club statistics

As of 19 December 2009[6][7]

Club Season League Cup Europe Other [8] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B 1997–98 33 2 - - - - - - 33 2
1998–99 18 0 - - - - - - 18 0
1999–00 4 1 - - - - - - 4 1
Total 55 3 - - - - - - 55 3
Barcelona 1998–99 17 1 2 0 6 0 1 1 26 2
1999–00 24 0 4 1 10 1 0 0 38 2
2000–01 20 2 7 0 9 0 - - 36 2
2001–02 35 4 1 0 16 0 - - 52 4
2002–03 29 2 1 0 14 1 - - 44 3
2003–04 36 4 6 0 7 1 - - 49 5
2004–05 36 3 1 0 8 0 - - 45 3
2005–06 16 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 22 0
2006–07 35 3 7 2 7 0 5 1 54 6
2007–08 35 7 7 1 12 1 - - 54 9
2008–09 35 6 5 1 14 3 - - 54 10
2009–10 15 0 1 1 6 1 5 1 27 3
Total 333 32 42 6 113 8 13 3 501 49
Career totals 388 35 42 6 113 8 13 3 556 52

International appearances

As of November 22, 2009.[9]
National team Season Apps Goals
Spain 2000–01 1 0
2001–02 5 0
2002–03 8 0
2003–04 5 0
2004–05 8 1
2005–06 13 0
2006–07 7 2
2007–08 16 4
2008–09 14 1
2009–10 6 0
Total 83 8

International goals

As of August 12, 2009.[9]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 26 March 2005 Estadio El Helmántico, Salamanca, Spain  China PR 2–0 3–0 Friendly
2. 6 September 2006 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland 0–1 3–2 UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
3. 11 October 2006 Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain  Argentina 1–0 2–1 Friendly
4. 12 September 2007 Estadio Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo, Spain  Latvia 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
5. 21 November 2007 Estadio Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain  Northern Ireland 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
6. 4 June 2008 Estadio El Sardinero, Santander, Spain  United States 1–0 1–0 Friendly
7. 26 June 2008 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria  Russia 0–1 0–3 UEFA Euro 2008
8. 20 August 2008 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark  Denmark 0–2 0–3 Friendly

Honours

Barcelona

Spain U20

Spain U23

Spain

Individual

References

Source national teams caps and goals: HISTORIA DEL FÚTBOL ESPAÑOL, SELECCIONES ESPAÑOLAS (Spanish) ISBN 978-84-8229-12-3-9

  1. ^ Xavier Hernandez Creus. FC Barcelona official website. Retrieved on 2009-05-19.
  2. ^ "Xavi emerges as EURO's top man". uefa.com. 2008-06-30. http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind=1/newsid=729378.html#xavi+emerges+euros. Retrieved 2009-04-20. 
  3. ^ http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060618/1/7ucb.html
  4. ^ Russia 0-3 Spain
  5. ^ euro2008.uefa.com - Xavi emerges as EURO's top man
  6. ^ Official site statistics
  7. ^ Soccernet player statistics
  8. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
  9. ^ a b Fútbol en la Red
  10. ^ http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premio_Don_Bal%C3%B3n

External links

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FC Barcelona – current squad

1 Valdés · 2 Dani Alves · 3 Piqué · 4 Márquez · 5 Puyol (c) · 6 Xavi · 8 Iniesta · 9 Ibrahimović · 10 Messi · 11 Bojan · 13 Pinto · 14 Henry · 15 Keita · 16 Busquets · 17 Pedro · 18 Milito · 19 Maxwell · 21 Chygrynskiy · 22 Abidal · 24 Touré · 35 Jeffrén · Coach: Guardiola

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