Xavi has spent all his footballing life at Barça, having joined the club in July 1991, when he was only 11 years old.
Birthday: 1980/01/25
Full name: Xavier Hernandez Creus
Place of Birth: Terrassa, Spain
Height: 1.70 m
Weight: 68 kg
Position: midfielder
Nickname(s): Xavi
Lives in: Terrassa
Xavi Hernandez Biography
Xavier Hernandez I Creus was born on 25 January 1980 in Terrassa, Barcelona, although he is better known as simply Xavi. He is a one of the best football players around the world and he plays in the best football club in the world, FCBarcelona. He plays with the best football players so he is better each time because their peers also were the best football players. Xavi Hernandez is characteristic for his match vision and his great ball touch. He was awarded as best player of Euro cup at 2008 in Austria.
He came through Barcelona’s La Masia youth system and made his professional debut on 18 August 1998 in the Super Cup Final. Xavi’s performances for the first team were limited until the 1999-00 season when he solidified his place in the team’s midfield.
He made rapid progress and in the 97-98 season was promoted from the youth team to Barça B, where he was the central playmaker in Jordi Gonzalvo's team which won promotion to the second division.
Xavi's dream of making his official debut with the first team squad came true when he played in the Spanish Super Cup against Mallorca in the summer of 1998. He couldn’t have hoped for a better start, for not only was he in the starting line up, but he also scored. Xavi also played an important role in the league-winning season of 1998-99 with Van Gaal as manager, most notably.
Career
2004-2006 season
His strong performances led to him being named Barcelona’s vice-captain in 2004. The following season he tore the ligaments in his left knee and missed five months of action. He was on the substitute’s bench as Barcelona beat Arsenal to win the 2006 UEFA Champions League.
Later performances
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. He has also contributed nine goals from midfield as the Spanish National team have enjoyed great success in recent years.
Xavi was a member of the Spanish squads that won the UEFA European Football Championship in 2008 and the FIFA World Cup in 2010. He played particularly well in the 2010 World Cup as he led the tournament in pass completion average at 89% (he completed 599 out of 669 passes attempted).
Club Career
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 May 2nd. 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 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 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." 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.
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. 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.
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.
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