Xavi

Xavi
Personal information
Full name	Xavier Hernández i Creus
Date of birth	25 January 1980 (age 29)
Place of birth	Terrassa, Spain
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	FC Barcelona
Number	6
Youth career
1991–1997	FC Barcelona
Senior career1
National team3
Competitor for Spain
Men's Football
	1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of April 11, 2009.; 2 Appearances (Goals).; 3 National team caps and goals correct as of June 20, 2009

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This is a Spanish name; the first family name is Hernández and the second is Creus.

Xavier Hernández i Creus (born 25 January 1980 in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia), commonly known as Xavi, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central or defensive midfielder for FC Barcelona. Widely considered among the finest playmakers in world football, Xavi has been capped more than 70 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 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He was named Best Player by UEFA at Euro 2008^[2] and was one of the five finalists for FIFA World Player of the Year 2007-2008. He 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.

[edit] Club career

Xavi is a product of FC 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 FC 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 RCD 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 5 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.

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 ranks joint second with Rexach in the all-time appearances list for Barcelona with 452 appearances in his eleventh season at the club on 14 February 2009.

On 11 January 2009, Xavi scored a goal in his 300th La Liga appearance against CA Osasuna. On 22 March 2009, Xavi produced his most magnificent game of this season in the La Liga clash against Malaga at Camp Nou. Xavi opened the scoring in FC Barcelona's 6-0 victory and created goals for Thierry Henry and Eto'o. The Camp Nou faithfuls gave him a standing ovation when he was substituted in the second half.^[3] He nearly scored in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final on 27 May 2009 in the 2-0 victory against Manchester United, when his free kick from 18 m hit the post, and also produced a brilliant assist for Messi's goal. Xavi was also voted as the official UEFA man of the match, with Messi the Fan's man of the match.

[edit] International career

Xavi was first called up for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring 2 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 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."^[4] 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 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. In the final he slid a well-timed pass to Fernando Torres who slotted in the winning goal against Germany. He was selected as the Player of the Tournament by UEFA officials.^[5]

Xavi was called up again for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers by the new coach 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.

[edit] All-time club statistics

As of 30 May 2009

Club	Season	League		Cup^[6]		Europe^[7]		Club World Cup		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC Barcelona B	1997–98	33	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	33	2
	1998–99	28	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	28	0
	Total	61	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	61	2
FC Barcelona	1998–99	17	1	3	1	6	0	-	-	26	2
	1999–00	24	0	4	1	10	1	-	-	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	2	0	4	0	-	-	22	0
	2006–07	35	3	9	3	8	0	2	0	54	6
	2007–08	35	7	7	1	12	1	-	-	54	9
	2008–09	35	6	5	1	14	3	-	-	54	10
	Total	318	32	46	7	108	7	2	0	474	46
Career totals		379	34	46	7	108	7	2	0	535	48

[edit] International appearances

As of June 9, 2009.

National team	Season	Apps	Goals
Spain	2000–01^[8]	1	0
	2001–02^[8]	4	0
	2002–03^[8]	8	0
	2003–04^[8]	5	0
	2004–05^[8]	9	1
	2005–06^[8]	21	0
	2006–07^[8]	15	2
	2007–08^[8]	18	5
	2008–09^[8]	20	0
Total		99	8

[edit] International goals

As of April 1, 2009.^[8]

#	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
80	20August 2008	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	Denmark	0–2	0–3	Friendly