Abel Xavier

Faisal Xavier

Personal information
Full name	Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier
Date of birth	30 November 1972 (1972-11-30)
Place of birth	Nampula, Mozambique
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Full back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1990–1993	Estrela da Amadora	85	(5)
1993–1995	Benfica	45	(4)
1995–1996	Bari	8	(0)
1996–1998	Real Oviedo	58	(0)
1998–1999	PSV	19	(2)
1999–2002	Everton	43	(0)
2002–2003	Liverpool	14	(1)
2003	→ Galatasaray (loan)	11	(0)
2003–2004	Hannover 96	5	(0)
2005	Roma	3	(0)
2005–2007	Middlesbrough	18	(1)
2007–2008	Los Angeles Galaxy	21	(0)
National team
1993–2002	Portugal	20	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Faisal Xavier (born Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈbɛɫ ʃɐviˈɛɾ]) on 30 November 1972) is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a full back. He last played for Los Angeles Galaxy and also made 20 appearances for the Portuguese national team.

Career

Xavier was a part of the Portugal national squad that participated in the U-17 World Cup in Scotland.

He debuted in the Portuguese top division with Estrela da Amadora. Xavier's play there earned him a transfer to Lisbon giants Benfica. He helped Benfica win the Portuguese League in 1994, and a season after, he moved to Serie A side Bari. This stint with the Italian club started a series of transfers across Europe: in 1996, Xavier was sent to Real Oviedo, then after two seasons he moved to PSV, and then to Premier League club Everton, where he stayed for three years. Xavier was then sold to Merseyside rivals Liverpool where he scored on his debut against Ipswich Town. He stayed at Liverpool for two years, scoring once more against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, then started another set of one-year stints with Galatasaray (2002–2003), Hannover 96 (2003–2004), and finally Roma (2004–2005).

For the national team, Xavier missed UEFA Euro 1996, but came back strong in UEFA Euro 2000, and became one of the key figures in the competition, not only due to playing some of his best football but also due to his eye-catching bleached hair and beard. In the semi-final against France, he went from close to hero, as Fabien Barthez blocked what looked a sure goal, to a villain, when he deflected a shot by Sylvain Wiltord near the post in the dying seconds of golden goal extra time with his hand. Zinedine Zidane scored the penalty and put France in the final. Xavier was initially slapped with a nine-month ban from football for his vociferous protests against the referee's decision to award the penalty, but it was eventually reduced to a six-month one. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he was part of the squad, but played only as a substitute in the final group stage match against the Republic of Korea.

At the start of the 2005–06 season, Xavier was without a club but at the end of August, he signed for Middlesbrough to replace Michael Reiziger once the Dutchman was sold to PSV. Following the UEFA Cup tie against Skoda Xanthi, Xavier was administered a drugs test and failed. On 23 November 2005, he was found guilty of using the anabolic steroid methandrostenolone (also known as dianabol). Although he has always denied any wrongdoing, the tribunal banned him from professional football for a period of 18 months. Xavier appealed the decision but on 21 December, UEFA turned down the appeal. The ban got shortened to 12 months in June 2006, making him eligible to play again from November 2006.

In the summer of 2006, Xavier began training with Middlesbrough and on 8 November 2006, was offered a contract with the club for the remainder of the 2006–07 season. He scored his first Boro goal in January 2007 against Bolton Wanderers.

On 14 May 2007, it was announced that he was to join Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS). He played in his first game with the Galaxy on 17 June 2007 against Real Salt Lake, registering an assist.

Xavier was waived by Los Angeles on 18 July 2008. Later, in an interview to an online football site, Xavier criticized then-Galaxy manager Ruud Gullit and MLS. In December 2009, Xavier quit football. He also converted to Islam and has changed his first name to Faisal.

Abel Xavier: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 October 1998	Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia	Slovakia	0–3	0–3	Euro 2000 qualifying
2	9 October 1999	Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal	Hungary	3–0	3–0	Euro 2000 qualifying

Honours

Winner

• 1993–94 Portuguese League Championship, with Benfica
• 1998–99 Dutch Super Cup, with PSV

Runner-up

• 2001–02 FA Premier League, with Liverpool
• 2002–03 Charity Shield, with Liverpool
• 2002–03 Turkish First Football League, with Galatasaray
• 2007 North American Superliga, with Los Angeles Galaxy

See also

• List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences

External links

• Abel Xavier Career Profile
• MLS profile

• Abel Xavier career stats at Soccerbase
• Abel Xavier PortuGOAL profile
• FootballDatabase career stats
• SkySports.com - Abel back in Boro fold (08/11/06)