Xavi

"Xavier Hernández" redirects here. For the former Major League Baseball player, see Xavier Hernandez (baseball). For other uses, see Xavi (disambiguation).

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Hernández and the second or maternal family name is Creus.

Xavi

Xavi being presented as a new Al Sadd player
Personal information
Full name	Xavier Hernández Creus
Date of birth	(1980-01-25) 25 January 1980
Place of birth	Terrassa, Spain
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Al Sadd
Number	6
Youth career
1991–1997	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2000	Barcelona B	61	(3)
1998–2015	Barcelona	505	(58)
2015–	Al Sadd	28	(3)
International career
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)
2000–2014	Spain	133	(13)
1998–2014	Catalonia	11	(2)
Medal record Representing Spain Men's Football 2000 Sydney Team Competition Winner UEFA Euro 2008 FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 Winner FIFA World Cup 2010 Winner UEFA Euro 2012 Runner-up FIFA Confederations Cup 2013
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:57, 15 December 2015 (UTC)

Xavier "Xavi" Hernández Creus (Catalan: [ˈ(t)ʃaβi ərˈnandəz ˈkɾɛws] Spanish: [ˈtʃaβj erˈnandeθ ˈkɾeus]; born 25 January 1980) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Qatari club Al Sadd SC. Xavi came through La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, at the age of 11. He made his first-team debut against Mallorca in 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 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. He is also considered by some to be the greatest Spanish player ever.

Xavi won the U-20 World Cup for Spain in 1999, and the Olympic Silver Medal at the 2000 Olympics. Since making his senior team debut in 2000, he has been capped 133 times for the Spanish national team, and has been seen as an influential figure in the team's tremendous success. He played an integral role in Spain's victory at the 2010 World Cup, as well as their successes at both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. He had a 91% passing success rate at the 2010 World Cup and was named in the World Cup All-star Team. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at Euro 2008. He was also named in the UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament in 2008 as well as 2012. After the 2014 World Cup, Xavi announced his retirement from international football.

Xavi won 28 trophies, only surpassed by Andrés Iniesta as the most successful Spanish player in history. He came third in the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year, followed by third place for its successor award, the FIFA Ballon d'Or, in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, he was runner up to Lionel Messi for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. He has been awarded the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker award for 4 years: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011. Xavi has been included in the UEFA Team of the Year for 5 years (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), and has been voted into the FIFA World XI on 6 occasions: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. At Euro 2012, with his 2 assists in the Final, Xavi became the first player to register assists in two separate Euro finals, having set up the lone goal in the Final 4 years earlier. He was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports in 2012.

Early life

"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, La Masia.

Born in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia, Xavi is a product of FC Barcelona's La Masia youth system, which he joined at the age of 11. His father, Joaquim, was a former player for Sabadell in the first division. Xavi made his way through the youth and reserve teams and was a key member of Josep Maria Gonzalvo's FC Barcelona B team that won promotion to the Second Division.

As a child, Xavi watched a lot of English football, and held midfielders John Barnes, Paul Gascoigne and Matt Le Tissier in high regard.

Club career

Barcelona

1998–2001

His progression through the teams earned him a first-team appearance in a Copa Catalunya match against Lleida on 5 May 1998 and he scored his first goal on 18 August 1998 in the Super Cup final 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 finished his debut season with 26 matches played and winning the 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 1999–2000 season.

2001–2003

In these 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.

2004–2008

Xavi was named the vice-captain in the 2004–05 season, in which he helped Barcelona win La Liga and the 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 Barcelona's win in the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. He also won La Liga and the Spanish Supercup again.

2008–09 season

"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.

After being named Player of the Tournament at Euro 2008, Xavi spoke to Bayern Munich about a transfer, but newly appointed Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola convinced him that he was too important to the club to be allowed to leave.

He was a main part of Barcelona's treble and scored the fourth goal in the 4–1 win in the 2009 Copa del Rey 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). Xavi helped Barcelona win the 2009 Champions League Final versus Manchester United, which ended 2–0, assisting the second goal by crossing to Lionel Messi for his header. Prior to the match, Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson heaped praise on the much lauded central midfield combination of Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, stating; "I don't think Xavi and Iniesta have ever given the ball away in their lives. They get you on that carousel and they can leave you dizzy." Xavi was voted "UEFA Champions League best midfielder" for his contribution during Barcelona's victorious 2008–09 UEFA Champions League campaign. Xavi was La Liga's highest assisting player with 20 assists. He was also the highest assisting player in the Champions League with 7 assists. Xavi earned 29 assists overall that season.

Xavi was under contract to Barça until 2014 after extending his contract during the 2008–09 season. The new contract made him one of the club's biggest earners, with a salary of €7.5 million a year.

2009–10 season

Xavi in action for Barcelona in 2008.

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

"Quite simply the best midfielder of modern football. It could even be argued that Xavi and Matthäus are the two best in this position in history. 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."

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. 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.

2010–11 season

"Our model was imposed by [Johan] Cruyff; it's an Ajax model. It's all about rondos [piggy in the middle]. Rondo, rondo, rondo"

—Xavi speaking in 2011 about tiki-taka style of play introduced to the club by Dutch legend Johan Cruyff.

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. 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 Lionel Messi and Andrés Iniesta. He finished third on the vote behind Messi and Iniesta. He narrowly defeated 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. On 28 May, Xavi was imperious in the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium in London as Barcelona defeated Manchester United in the showpiece for the second time in three seasons, winning 3-1.

2011–12 season

Xavi playing for Barcelona in 2011

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 Barça's attacking midfield positions.

On 18 December, in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup Final in Yokohama, Japan, Barcelona won 4-0 against Santos as Xavi scored a goal and made an assist to Lionel Messi. After the ball was slightly behind him, Xavi brought the ball down with a cocked leg, effectively using his ankle to control it, before slipping a pass through to Messi, who scored the first goal.

Xavi scored the winning goal in the Group H game against Milan, a vital match for Barcelona's progression in the UEFA Champions League. In total, Xavi gave the best goalscoring return of his career in 2011/12 season with ten Liga goals, two in the Copa del Rey – which Barcelona won – and one in the FIFA Club World Cup final success.

2012–13 season

On 18 December 2012, it was announced that Barcelona renewed the contract of Xavi, extending it until 30 June 2016. Xavi scored a goal vs Real Madrid in the match that Barcelona won 3–2. Xavi was named into the FIFA World XI, along with teammates Dani Alves, Andrés Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

2013–14 season

On 16 January 2014, Xavi made his 700th appearance for the first team against Getafe CF in the Copa del Rey.

2014–15 season

In June 2014, it was announced that Xavi would be leaving the club. However, on 22 July, after talks with newly appointed manager and former teammate Luis Enrique, Xavi decided to stay at Camp Nou for one more season. He was also appointed as club captain. On 25 April 2015, Xavi made his 500th La Liga appearance and became the 8th player in the history to do so. On 4 June, a farewell tribute was held at Barcelona for Xavi with players, managers, friends and family paying tribute to him.

On 6 June 2015, Xavi appeared as a 78th-minute substitute for Andrés Iniesta to make his final appearance for Barcelona during the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final, as the club won its fifth European Cup by beating Juventus at Berlin's Olympiastadion. Xavi, as the club captain lifted the trophy. This made Barcelona the first club in history to win the treble of domestic league, domestic cup and European Cup twice. Xavi, Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Gerard Piqué, Pedro Rodríguez, Sergio Busquets and Dani Alves are the only players to have been a part of both treble winning teams.

Al-Sadd

On 21 May 2015, Xavi announced that he would join Qatari club Al Sadd at the end of the season, on a three-year contract. According to his agent, the deal would involve him becoming an ambassador for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the country, and also start his coaching qualifications. He made his debut for Al-Sadd in a 4–0 win over Mesaimeer on 13 September 2015, assisting in the team's first goal. On the following match he scored his first goal for the club in a 2-2 draw with Umm Salal. Al Sadd ended the league campaign in third position putting them in a place for next season AFC Champions League. Xavi scored three goals during the season. In the champions league, Al Sadd were knocked out from the Qualifying rounds by Emariti side Al Jazira on penalties, Xavi missed his spot kick. In the 2016 Qatar Cup Al Sadd were knocked out by El Jaish SC in the semi final.

International career

Xavi playing for Spain.

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, 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2012, 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

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 where his metronomic passing and reading of the game was pivotal to Spain's success, in addition to making tackles, shaping attacks and driving Spain to their first silverware since the 1964 European Championships. Andy Roxburgh, head of UEFA's technical committee, said: "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."

Xavi scored the first goal of Spain in the semi-final against Russia, which Spain won 0–3. In the final, he made a pass, rolled towards the German area, from which Fernando Torres scored the winning goal.

2010 World Cup

Xavi was named in Spain's squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, with Spain eventually winning their first World Cup. He provided the most number of accurate passes, 599 with a passing success rate of 91%, and he crossed the ball inside the 18-yard box more than any other player performing in the tournament. For example, in the final he made 57 accurate forward half passes. Xavi also covered a lot of distance on the pitch – 80.20 kilometres throughout the competitions, which average at approximately 11.5 kilometres per game. In the final he covered a distance of almost 15 kilometres.

During the round of 16 match against Portugal, Xavi provided a backheel pass in the 63rd minute to David Villa. Although Villa had his shot with his left foot blocked by Eduardo, he then put in the rebound with his right foot for the winning goal. Xavi crossed a corner out to the edge of the six-yard box in the semi-finals against Germany, where Puyol made a header into the top-right corner.

UEFA Euro 2012

Xavi (left) is tackled by Italy's Riccardo Montolivo in the Euro 2012 Final

Xavi played for Spain at Euro 2012, which Spain won by defeating Italy 4–0 in the final. Xavi attempted 136 passes (127 completed, 94% success rate) during Spain's 4–0 victory in the group stage match against the Republic of Ireland, more than any other player in a European Championship match. The previous record had been set by Ronald Koeman at 117 in Euro 1992 match between Holland and Denmark. Xavi and Iniesta made 229 passes in this match, more than the combined Irish 11 managed. "Pum, pum, pum, pum" was how Xavi described the rhythmic sound of the ball constantly moving between himself and his midfield partner.

With Xavi providing two assists in the final, one for Jordi Alba, and another one, like 4 years ago, for Fernando Torres, he became the first player to register assists in two European Championship finals. Spain's UEFA Euro 2012 victory made Xavi the most successful player in Spanish football history, a feat that he previously shared with Carles Puyol, who missed the entire tournament.

Retirement

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.'

Style of play

"I think I haven't changed at all to what I am now. I've been a passer since a young age. I liked passing with the rest of the players and my friends when we played football on the streets, in the main square, and at school. I think I was very similar to what people see in the stadium."

Xavi on his own style of play, November 2014.

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 a playmaker. 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 vision, pinpoint accurate passing and world class ball control allowed him to dictate the flow of play while rarely relinquishing possession, most notably displayed during Spain's 2010 World Cup victory where he had a 91% passing success rate for the tournament. His ability to 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.

Media

Xavi has a sponsorship deal with German sportswear and equipment supplier, Adidas, and has appeared in Adidas commercials alongside Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Robin van Persie. Xavi wears Adidas Predator LZ football boots.

In November 2014, Xavi appeared in FIFA's "11 against Ebola" campaign with a selection of top football players from around the world, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Gareth Bale and African superstar Didier Drogba. Under the slogan "Together, we can beat Ebola", FIFA's campaign was done in conjunction with the Confederation of African Football and health experts, with the players holding up eleven messages to raise awareness of the disease and ways to combat it.

Personal life

Since July 2013, Xavi has been married to Nuria Cunillera. Their daughter, Asia, was born on 3 January 2016.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 14 September 2015.

Club	Season	League		Copa del Rey		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Barcelona B	1997–98	39	2	–		–		–		39	2
	1998–99	18	0	–		–		–		18	0
	1999–2000	4	1	–		–		–		4	1
	Total	61	3	–		–		–		61	3
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	8	0	4	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	12	1	4	1	53	7
	2010–11	31	3	6	0	12	2	1	0	50	5
	2011–12	31	10	7	2	10	1	3	1	51	14
	2012–13	30	5	5	0	11	1	2	1	48	7
	2013–14	30	3	5	0	10	1	2	0	47	4
	2014–15	31	2	3	0	10	0	–		44	2
	Total	505	58	70	9	173	13	19	5	767	85
Al Sadd	2015–16	19	2	–		–		–		19	2
	Total	19	2	–		–		–		19	2
Career totals		570	63	70	9	173	13	19	5	833	90

International

As of 13 June 2014.

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	0
	2006–07	7	3
	2007–08	16	4
	2008–09	14	1
	2009–10	17	0
	2010–11	7	1
	2011–12	14	1
	2012–13	11	1
	2013–14	7	1
Total		133	13

Honours

Source

Barcelona

• La Liga: 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15
• Copa del Rey: 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15
• Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013
• UEFA Champions League: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15
• UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2011
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011

International

Xavi and Spain captain Iker Casillas with the Euro 2012 trophy

• FIFA World Cup: 2010
• UEFA European Football Championship: 2008, 2012
• Summer Olympics Silver Medal: 2000
• FIFA Confederations Cup Silver Medal: 2013
• FIFA World Youth Championship: 1999

Individual

• World Soccer Player of the Year: 2010
• UEFA Euro 2008 Player of the Tournament: 2008
• UEFA Best Player in Europe Award Second place: 2011
• FIFA Ballon d'Or Third place: 2010, 2011
• Ballon d'Or Bronze Award: 2009
• FIFA World Player of the Year Third place: 2009
• UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match: 2009
• UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year: 2008–09
• IFFHS World's Best Playmaker: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
• La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 1999
• La Liga Spanish Player of the Year: 2005
• La Liga Player of the Year: 2nd place 2010, 3rd place 2011
• La Liga Midfielder of the Year: 2009, 2010, 2011.
• FIFA World Cup Dream Team: 2010
• UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 2008, 2012
• FIFA/FIFPro World XI: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
• ESM Team of the Year: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12
• FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball: 2011
• FIFA Club World Cup Bronze Ball: 2009
• Globe Soccer Awards Player Career Award: 2013
• UEFA Ultimate Team of the Year (published 2015)

Decorations

• Spanish Sportsman of the Year: 2009
• Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit: 2010
• Prince of Asturias Award for Sports: 2010 , 2012

Notes

^1 1 Members of the Spain national football team who won the 2010 FIFA World Cup were jointly awarded
^2 2 Jointly awarded with Iker Casillas

External links

• BDFutbol profile
• National team data
• ESPN FC profile
• 2010 FIFA World Cup profile
• Xavi at National-Football-Teams.com
• Xavi – FIFA competition record
• Xavi – UEFA competition record

Awards
Preceded by Haile Gebrselassie	Prince of Asturias Award for Sports (shared with Iker Casillas) 2012	Succeeded by José María Olazábal

Sporting positions
Preceded by Carles Puyol	FC Barcelona captain 2014–2015	Succeeded by Andrés Iniesta