Xavi

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"Xavier Hernandez" redirects here. For the former Major League Baseball player, see Xavier Hernandez (baseball).
Xavi Hernández
Xavi Hernández - 001.jpg
Personal information
Full name Xavier Hernández i Creus
Date of birth 25 January 1980 (1980-01-25) (age 32)
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 61 (4)
1998– Barcelona 404 (46)
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 U23 6 (2)
2000– Spain 108 (10)
1998– Catalonia 9 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 March 2012.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 March 2012
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Hernández and the second or maternal family name is Creus.

Xavier Hernández i Creus (born 25 January 1980), commonly known as Xavi Hernández or simply Xavi (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈʃaβi]), is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, where he has spent his entire 15-year career.

Xavi came through La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, at the age of 11. He made his first-team debut in 18 August 1998. Since then he has played 670 matches, scored 72 goals and made more than 160 assists for above 50 players. He was an integral part of the sextuple-winning Barcelona side in 2009, the only time which a club has achieved six titles in a year.

He has been capped 107 times for the Spanish national team, with whom he won UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at UEFA Euro 2008.[2]

Xavi played for Spain at the young levels, before making his international debut in 2000.

He received five Ballon d'Or nominations, and finished on third place in 2009, 2010 and 2011 (in all these years, his colleague, Lionel Messi was the winner). He won the World Soccer Player of the Year in 2010, especially for his performance with Spain national team at the World Cup 2010.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Born in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia,[1] Xavi is a product of Barcelona's La Masia youth system and has been a regular at Camp Nou since the age of 11. He made his way through the youth and reserve teams and was a key member of Jordi Gonzalvo's FC Barcelona B team that won promotion to the Second Division.

[edit] Club career

[edit] 1998–2004

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 RCD Mallorca. His début in La Liga came against Valencia CF on 3 October 1998 in a 3–1 victory for Barcelona. Initially featuring intermittently both for the reserve and senior teams, Xavi scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Real Valladolid when Barcelona were 10th in the league. Sustained impressive performance meant that he became a key member of Louis van Gaal's title-winning team. Xavi finish his debut season with 26 matches played and winning Spanish League. He also was named 1999 La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year.

Xavi became Barcelona's principal playmaker, after an injury to Pep Guardiola in the 1999–00 season.

[edit] 2004–2008

He was named the vice-captain in the 2004–05 season and helping the Catalans to win Spanish League and Spanish Supercup. He was named La Liga Spanish Player of the Year in 2005.

In the 2005–06 season, Xavi tore the ligaments in his left knee in training; he was out of action for four months, missing a part of the season, but returned in April and was on the substitutes bench for the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. He also win again Spanish League and Spanish Supercup.

[edit] 2008–09 season

He was a main part of Barcelona's treble and 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 games, one of the most significant 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). Finally, Xavi helped Barcelona win the 2009 Champions League Final versus Manchester United, which ended 2–0, assisting the second goal by passing the ball to Lionel Messi's header after 69 minutes. Xavi was voted "UEFA Champions League best midfielder" for his contribution during Barcelona's victorious 2008–09 UEFA Champions League campaign.[citation needed] Xavi was La Liga's highest assisting player with 20 assists.[citation needed] He was also the highest assisting player in the Champions League with 7 assists. Xavi earned 29 assists overall that season.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

[edit] 2009–10 season

Xavi (far left) playing for FC Barcelona against Real Madrid

During the 2009–10 season, journalists increasingly noted Xavi's contribution to the Barcelona side. For example:

"Quite simply the best player of all time. World class for several years now, it is the past three seasons in particular where the 30-year-old has been untouchable. Xavi’s passing is up there with Michel Platini, he creates countless goals with genius through balls while virtually never relinquishing possession."[3]

In the 2009–10 season, Xavi again topped the assists table and provided both the assists in Barcelona's 2–0 victory against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. He was acclaimed the 2nd best player of Barcelona in a season-long voting as Barcelona won the league title with a record 99 points.[citation needed] On 3 June 2010, the Madrid-based newspaper Marca awarded Xavi third place in the annual Trofeo Alfredo di Stéfano award for the best player in La Liga, behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.[4]

[edit] 2010–11 season

On 9 June 2010, Xavi signed a new 4 year contract with the club, which may be automatically renewed up to 30 June 2016 based on number of games played.[5] On 29 November he scored his third goal against arch-rivals Real Madrid in a 5–0 home win. On 18 December he scored another goal against RCD Espanyol in a 1–5 win. In the Champions League, Xavi scored a valuable goal against English side Arsenal during a home match in the UEFA Champions League that saw Barcelona passing through to the quarter-finals with an assist by teammate David Villa.

He was one of the three finalists for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or, alongside Barcelona teammates Messi and Andrés Iniesta. He finished third on the vote behind Messi and Iniesta.[6][7]

He narrowly defeated Lionel Messi to win Player of the Year designation from World Soccer Magazine.

On 2 January 2011, in a league match against Levante UD, Xavi made his 549th appearance for the club in all competitions, matching the record held by Migueli. Following this match Xavi is the player with most appearances with Barcelona of all time.[8]

[edit] 2011–12 season

Xavi began the 2011-12 season in fine goalscoring form and seemed to grow in his influence of the team despite the long anticipated return of Cesc Fàbregas and the promotion of Thiago Alcântara to create added competition for places in Barca's star-studded midfield. A tap-in against Real Sociedad[9] was followed up by a delightful lob in the 8-0 mauling of CA Osasuna[10] with further goals coming from a header in a win over Racing Santander[11] and a wonderful 25-yrd free-kick versus Granada CF.[12] Xavi scored his first UEFA Champions League goal of the campaign when he netted the winner at the San Siro ensuring Barcelona finished top of the group with a 3-2 win over Milan.[13] It was announced on the 5th December 2011 that Xavi had once again made the final three-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d'Or.[14] Xavi made his 600th club appearance in El Clásico, a game which Barca won 3-1 despite going a goal down in the opening seconds of the match. The midfielder marked the occasion with a goal; a long-range volley which took a big deflection off Marcelo to wrong-foot Casillas.[15] Xavi won his fifth trophy of 2011, and 19th overall,[16] when he scored and made a goal in the FIFA Club World Cup final against Santos FC in December. Xavi laid on the first goal for Lionel Messi before volleying in the second to claim his seventh goal in all competitions.[17] The eighth followed soon after, when Xavi scored the fourth in Barca's amazing 9-0 rout against CE L'Hospitalet.[18] Xavi scored his first goal of 2012 when he found himself in the right place to put the ball into an empty net after Cesc Fabregas had hit a post in the 4-2 win over of Real Betis.[19] Xavi made it into double figures when he finished off a flowing Barca move in the 2-0 win over Valencia CF in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg, and in doing so matched his best goal scoring return in a single season.[20] And Xavi went one better in the league meeting between the two sides when he came off the bench to net the fifth in a 5-1 win, scoring with another fabulous lob in the dying minutes.[21] An eighth league goal, and twelfth overall, came in a 3-1 victory over Sporting Gijon with yet another chipped effort.[22]

[edit] International career

Xavi against Sweden at Euro 2008

Xavi's abilities on the football pitch have led his teams to numerous titles and placed him among the most decorated footballers of all time. The playmaker has won major international titles with Spain and FC Barcelona in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. His successes on the European stage include winning the UEFA European Football Championship and the UEFA Champions League (three times). Xavi is also a six time Liga BBVA Champion and played in the Barcelona side that won the famed unprecedented Spanish treble, which culminated in a record six trophies, the sextuple, in one calendar year.[23] On 25 March 2011, Xavi earned his 100th cap for Spain in the 2-1 home win against the Czech Republic in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

He played for the nation at the 2000 Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2004, 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

[edit] UEFA Euro 2008

Xavi was named Euro 2008's player of the tournament after Spain defeated Germany 1-0 in the final. Xavi was dominant in midfield, making tackles, shaping attacks and driving Spain to their first silverware since the 1964 European Championships.

"We have chosen Xavi because he epitomizes the Spanish style of play. He was influential in the whole possession, passing and penetrating kind of game that Spain played," said Andy Roxburgh head of UEFA's technical committee.

  • Semi-finals - Russia v Spain (0-3)

Xavi scored the first goal of Spain in the semi-final against Russia. His goal had stunned the Russians.

  • Final - Germany v Spain (0-1)

Xavi made a perfectly-weighted ball, rolled towards the German area, from which Torres scored the final winning goal.

[edit] 2010 World Cup

Xavi was named in Spain's squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, culminating in winning the World Cup title. The midfielder was a crucial player for Spain, finished with an 90 percent pass completion rate over the course of the tournament, completing 599 passes out of 669 passes attempted over all of Spain's seven games.[citation needed]

He was able to provide the most number of passes and he crossed the ball inside the 18 yard box more than any other player performing in that tournament. For example, in the final he made 57 accurate forward half passes.[24]

Xavi also covered a lot of distance on the pitch - 80.20 kilometres throughout the competitions, which average at approximately 11.5 kilometres per each game.[25] In the final he covered a distance of almost 15 kilometres.[26]

  • Round of 16 - Spain v Portugal (1-0)

After a nifty backheel pass from Xavi Hernandez in the 63rd minute, David Villa had his shot with his left foot blocked by Eduardo, but then he put in the rebound with his right foot for the winning goal.[27]

  • Semi-finals - Germany v Spain (0-1)

Xavi snaps the corner out to the edge of the six-yard box, where Puyol crashes an immense header into the top-right corner.[28]

[edit] International appearances

Xavi takes the free kick against England in a friendly match
As of 14 December 2011[29]
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 1
2006–07 7 1
2007–08 16 4
2008–09 14 1
2009–10 17 0
2010–11 7 1
2011-12 6 1
Total 107 10

[edit] International goals

[edit] Style of play

Xavi’s stake to claim as one of the best midfielders of his generation relies largely on his ability to find and exploit space. As said by Xavi himself: “That’s what I do: look for spaces. All day. I’m always looking”.[30] Xavi's abnormally good vision, pinpoint accurate passing and world class ball control allow him to dictate the flow of play whilst rarely relinquishing possession. His ability to completely control some matches has earned him the sobriquet, “The Puppet Master”.[31][32]

[edit] Career statistics

Xavi takes a corner during the 2009-2010 UEFA Champions League
As of 7 March 2012.[33][34]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other [35] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B 1997–98 39 3 – – – 39 3
1998–99 18 0 – – – 18 0
1999–2000 4 1 – – – 4 1
Total 61 4 – – – 61 4
Barcelona 1998–99 17 1 2 0 6 0 1 1 26 2
1999–2000 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 34 3 3 2 11 1 5 1 53 7
2010–11 31 3 6 0 12 2 1 0 50 5
2011–12 21 8 6 2 5 1 4 1 36 12
Total 404 46 56 9 135 11 18 4 613 70
Career totals 465 50 56 9 135 11 18 4 674 74

[edit] Honours

[edit] Barcelona

[edit] Spain

[edit] Individual

[edit] Decorations

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Xavier Hernández Creus". FC Barcelona. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/futbol/temporada_11-12/plantilla/jugadors/xavi.html. Retrieved 19 May 2009. 
  2. ^ "Xavi emerges as EURO's top man". UEFA. 30 June 2008. http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind=1/newsid=729378.html#xavi+emerges+euros. Retrieved 20 April 2009. 
  3. ^ Garganese, Carlo (19 April 2010). "Inter-Barcelona All Time Greatest XI". Goal.com. http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2010/04/19/1885511/inter-barcelona-all-time-greatest-xi. Retrieved 19 April 2010. 
  4. ^ "Barcelona Star Lionel Messi Wins The Trofeo Alfredo Di Stefano". Goal.com. 3 June 2010. http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2010/06/03/1957099/barcelona-star-lionel-messi-wins-the-trofeo-alfredo-di. Retrieved 15 June 2010. 
  5. ^ "Xavi extends deal until 2016". FC Barcelona. 9 June 2010. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/noticies/futbol/temporada09-10/06/09/n100609111479.html. Retrieved 27 June 2010. 
  6. ^ "Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta shortlisted for Ballon d'Or". The Guardian. 6 December 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/dec/06/ballon-dor-messi-xavi-iniesta-barcelona. Retrieved 13 December 2010. 
  7. ^ http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/fifaballondor/player=229397/index.html
  8. ^ "Xavi: "I feel privileged"". FC Barcelona. 2 January 2011. http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/noticies/futbol/temporada10-11/01/02/n110102114899.html. Retrieved 2 January 2011. 
  9. ^ "Real Sociedad 2-2 Barcelona". FC Barcelona. 10 September 2011. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/futbol/temporada_11-12/arxiu_partits/lliga/jornada03/Real_Sociedad_Barcelona/partit.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
  10. ^ "Barcelona 8-0 Osasuna". FC Barcelona. 17 September 2011. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/futbol/temporada_11-12/arxiu_partits/lliga/jornada04/Barcelona_Osasuna/partit.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
  11. ^ "Barcelona 3-0 Racing Santander". FC Barcelona. 15 October 2011. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/futbol/temporada_11-12/arxiu_partits/lliga/jornada08/Barcelona_Racing/partit.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
  12. ^ "Granada 0-1 Barcelona". FC Barcelona. 25 October 2011. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/futbol/temporada_11-12/arxiu_partits/lliga/jornada10/Granada_Barcelona/partit.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
  13. ^ "AC Milan 2-3 Barcelona". FC Barcelona. 23 November 2011. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/match-archive/2011-2012/champions-league/round-5-h/milan_fc-barcelona. Retrieved 24 November 2011. 
  14. ^ "Xavi and Messi nominated for 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or". FC Barcelona. 5 December 2011. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/leo-messi-and-xavi-hernandez-finalists-for-ballon-dor-again. Retrieved 14 December 2011. 
  15. ^ "Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona". FC Barcelona. 10 December 2011. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/match-archive/2011-2012/lliga/jornada-16/real-madrid_fc-barcelona. Retrieved 14 December 2011. 
  16. ^ "Xavi wins 19th Title". FC Barcelona. 18 December 2011. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/xavi-hernandez-wins-19th-title-with-barca. Retrieved 28 December 2011. 
  17. ^ "Santos 0-4 Barcelona". FIFA. 18 December 2011. http://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/matches/round=257437/match=300180901/index.html. Retrieved 18 December 2011. 
  18. ^ "Barcelona 9-0 l'Hospitalet". FC Barcelona. 23 December 2011. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/fc-barcelona-l-hospitalet-nine-goal-thriller-9-0. Retrieved 26 December 2011. 
  19. ^ "Barcelona 4-2 Real Betis". FC Barcelona. 15 January 2012. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/match-archive/2011-2012/league/round-19/fc-barcelona_betis. Retrieved 7 February 2012. 
  20. ^ "Barcelona 2-0 Valencia". FC Barcelona. 8 February 2012. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/fc-barcelona-valencia-the-insatiable-cup-kings-2-0. Retrieved 10 February 2012. 
  21. ^ "Barcelona 5-1 Valencia". FC Barcelona. 19 February 2012. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/match-archive/2011-2012/league/round-24/fc-barcelona_valencia. Retrieved 19 February 2012. 
  22. ^ "Barcelona 3-1 Sporting Gijon". FC Barcelona. 4 March 2012. http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/match-archive/2011-2012/league/round-26/fc-barcelona_sporting-de-gijon. Retrieved 4 March 2012. 
  23. ^ "Kings, queens and a young prince". FIFA. 23 December 2009. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/news/newsid=1151723.html. Retrieved 7 January 2011. 
  24. ^ "Accurate Forward Half Passes in World Cup Final 2010". FIFA. 23 August 2010. http://www-958.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/manyeyes/files/thumbnails/8d41dba8-8d43-11df-a224-000255111976.wm.png. Retrieved 7 January 2011. 
  25. ^ "Distance". FIFA. 24 August 2010. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/southafrica2010/statistics/players/distanceandspeed.html. Retrieved 9 January 2011. 
  26. ^ "Players Heat Map". FIFA. 26 August 2010. http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/01/27/28/20/64_0711_ned-esp_playersheatmap.pdf. Retrieved 12 January 2011. 
  27. ^ "Spain - Portugal". FIFA. 27 August 2010. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/southafrica2010/matches/round=249717/match=300061498/report.html. Retrieved 13 January 2011. 
  28. ^ "Germany - Spain". FIFA. 28 August 2010. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/southafrica2010/matches/round=249719/match=300111114/report.html. Retrieved 14 January 2011. 
  29. ^ "Fútbol en la Red". Futbol.sportec.es. http://futbol.sportec.es/seleccion/ficha_jugador.asp?j=675&n=xavi/xavier/hernandez/creus. Retrieved 15 June 2010. 
  30. ^ Lowe, Sid (10 February 2011). "I'm a romantic, says Xavi, heartbeat of Barcelona and Spain". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/feb/11/xavi-barcelona-spain-interview. Retrieved 14 December 2011. 
  31. ^ [1]
  32. ^ [2]
  33. ^ "Official site statistics". FC Barcelona. http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/futbol/temporada_10-11/estadistiques/jugadors/Xavi/fitxa.html. Retrieved 15 June 2010. 
  34. ^ "Transfermarkt player statistics". Transfermarkt. http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/xavi/leistungsdaten/spieler_7607.html. Retrieved 15 June 2010. 
  35. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
  36. ^ Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo 2010

[edit] External links

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