"Xavi is a player who has the Barcelona DNA: someone who
has the taste for good football, someone who is humble and someone who has
loyalty to this club. From the first moment I saw him play, I knew he would
become the brain behind Barcelona for many years to come."
-Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, September 2008.
Xavier Hernández Creus
was born on January 25, 1980, in Terrassa, Spain. The son of a former professional
soccer player, Xavi demonstrated impressive athletic abilities at an early age
and joined La Masia, the training academy of FC Barcelona, at age 11. A rapid
rise through the academy's ranks earned the midfielder a spot on the 1997-98
reserve team, which won its division to earn a promotion. Embodying the style
taught at La Masia, the midfielder used his precise passing skills to lead
Barcelona to multiple titles. He helped Spain win the 2010 FIFA World Cup along
with the 2008 and 2012 European Championships, and finished third in Ballon
d'Or voting from 2009-2011.
He made his first-team
debut against RCD Mallorca on 18 August 1998. Since then he has played 700
matches, scored 82 goals and made more than 180 assists for over 50 players.
Xavi is the first player in FC Barcelona's history to play 150 international
matches. Highly regarded for his humble persona and team ethos, Xavi is viewed
as being the embodiment of the tiki-taka passing style of play, and is
considered to be one of the greatest central midfielders of all time.
"I've been lucky enough to be brought up on the
Barcelona ethos. Which has taught me the value of being part of a team. 'Today
for you, tomorrow for me.' Those qualities are essential for life in
general."
-Xavi on learning the team ethos of Barcelona while at the
club's youth system
The 1998-99 season was a successful one for Xavi, who scored
a goal in his senior-side debut in August 1998 and went on to be named La Liga
Breakthrough Player of the Year. He was also a member of the FIFA World Youth
Championship–winning team in 1999, and earned a silver medal at the 2000 Summer
Olympics.
Then in upcoming three years, FC Barcelona was on the verge
of bankruptcy and struggling to keep its place in La Liga's elite. Playing in
the midfield, but with more defensive role, Xavi made 20 assists and scored 7
goals in those two seasons. On 16 March 2002, Xavi scored his first goal in El
Clásico.
By 2004-05, Xavi was a leader of a talented Barcelona side
that featured fellow La Masia products Carles Puyol and Andrés Iniesta, as well
as Brazilian stars Deco and Ronaldinho. Xavi's style was considered an
embodiment of the passing and moving techniques taught in the Barcelona system,
and it was effective enough lead Barcelona to league and Super Cup wins in
2005. He was named La Liga Spanish Player of the Year in 2005.
Torn knee ligaments forced Xavi to miss most of Barcelona's
La Liga–winning season and Champions League victory in 2006, though he helped
the club win another Super Cup that August.
Xavi was a crucial part of Barcelona’s treble winning side in
2008-09, which included a particularly impressive performance as he assisted
four goals in a 6-2 El Clasico league victory over Real Madrid. His
performances in the Champions League were particularly impressive as Barcelona
beat Manchester United 2-0 in the final and he was named man of the match.
Nominations In 2010, he was named as one of three finalists for the FIFA Ballon
d’Or, along with his teammates Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, with Xavi
finishing second behind Messi. Xavi has enjoyed a glittering international
career to date. On 25 March 2011 he earned his 100th cap in a Euro 2012
qualifier against the Czech Republic.
Xavi's profile received a boost with his performance at the
2008 European Championship, when he scored in a semifinal victory over Russia
and assisted on the lone goal in the final vs. Germany to earn Player of the
Tournament honors. It was the start of an amazing stretch for the outstanding
midfielder and his Barcelona teammates, who went on to win a staggering six
titles in 2009. Afterward, Xavi finished third in voting for the Ballon d'Or
award for the first of three consecutive years.
Spain claimed its first FIFA World Cup championship in 2010,
with Xavi earning a well-deserved spot on the tournament All-Star team. Two
years later, he again earned all-tournament honors at the European Championship
as Spain became the first country to win three successive major international
events.
This talented football player has been asset to the club
Barcelona and the Nation Spain. His talent has given the team and himself the
different honors and achievements. For the team, he had assisted in winning the
seven La Liga, two Coupe del Rey, six Supercopa de Espana, three seasons of UEFA
Champions League, two UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011. For
Spain, he played in the team in the victory of “FIFA World Youth Championship
1999”, “Summer Olympics Silver Medal 2000”, “UEFA European Football
Championship: 2008,2012” and the “FIFA World Cup 2000.” Besides these, he has
bagged several other titles and award in his name as the player of the year at
different matches at different times. He was also awarded with the Spanish
Sportsman of the year in 2009,” “Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting
Merit 2010” and “Prince of Asturias Award for Sports in 2010 and 2012.
With so much success under his belt, it was only a matter of
time before the playmaker secured the top spot in the record books of his club
and his country. In January 2011, he set a record with his 550th career
appearance for Barcelona. A victory in the 2013 Super Cup gave Xavi 25 career
titles, tops among Spanish players, though he undoubtedly hopes to add to that
number before his superb career is finished.
On 5 August 2014, following the 2014 FIFA World Cup where
Spain were eliminated at the group stage, Xavi announced his retirement from
international football having made 133 appearances for the national side in a
14-year period.
Spain's World Cup winning manager Vicente del Bosque paid
tribute, stating that Xavi was 'a key part of the team's style of play' and 'he
was more important to us than even the manager', and added 'We will miss him
both on and off the pitch. He is a player who we hold in great esteem both
personally and as a player. He is and always will be a person and a player who
is greatly valued by the federation, the coaching staff and by myself.
The claim that Xavi is one of the best central midfielders of
all-time. relies largely on his ability to find and exploit space. As he said:
"That's what I do: look for spaces. All day. I'm always looking".
Finding space, he would appear for a team-mate to receive and then move the
ball on, with his coach Pep Guardiola putting it: ‘I get the ball, I give the
ball, I get the ball, I give the ball’.
Xavi's abnormally good vision, pinpoint accurate passing and
world class ball control allow him to dictate the flow of play while rarely
relinquishing possession. His ability to completely control some matches has
earned him the sobriquet, "The Puppet Master". A style introduced to
the club by former coach Johan Cruyff, Barcelona president Sandro Rosell
believed Xavi, together with Messi, Iniesta and Busquets, perfected the club's
tiki-taka style of play.
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