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Xavier Hernandez Creus
Place of birth: Terrassa (Barcelona)
Date: 25-01-1980
Height: 170 cm
Weight: 68 kg
Xavi has spent all his footballing life at the Nou Camp, having joined Barcelona when he was only 11 years old.
The progress he made was always very quick and in season 97-98 he moved up from youth team to Barca B.
In Barça B, he became the brains of Jordi Gonzalvo's team which won promotion to the second division.
Xavi's dream of making his official debut with the first team squad became true when he played in the Spanish Super Cup against Majorca in the summer of 1998.
He was in the starting line up and scored: a better debut he could not have asked for.
Xavi also played an important role in the league-winning season of 1998-99 with Van Gaal as manager, most notably with an important goal in the Nuevo Zorrilla, which turned round the team's fortunes.
Season 1999-2000 was a good one for Xavi as due to the injury to Guardiola he was the first choice number 4 for a large part of the season.
After the legendry captain left for Italian football he became the playmaker of the team and has continued to demonstrate the full range of his talents in this position.
With Van Gaal, Reixach, Antic and Rijkaard in charge of the team, Xavi has always been a key member of the team - a fact made clear by the 300 official games he completed whilst still only 25 years old.
With Rijkaard, Xavi has shown that he can not only play at the heart of midfield, but is also more than able to cover any position in the center of the team, an ability reflected in the fact that he was the most used player in the League winning 2004-05 season, playing 36 games in all.
Xavi was at the 2002 World Cup and the Euro 2004 championships and is a regular member of the Spanish national team.
CHARACTERISTICS
Xavi is the playmaker of the team in every game and shows no nerves whatsoever as he guides the team with an extraordinarily cool head.
Since taking on the mantle of playmaker at Barca he has shown incredible vision on the pitch.
He is another example of the good work being carried out in the youth teams of Barcelona, especially in the position referred to as number 4 and as he has matured he has shown an increasing ability to adapt himself to different positions in the midfield when his manager has called on him.
His passing to the forwards and his ability to take the pressure off and protect the ball better than almost any other player around, have turned him into one of the focal points on the pitch.
He also stands out for his defensive capabilities and his capacity as a ball winner.
In addition he has shown himself more than able at dead ball situations, where his potent shot has brought a number of important goals.
Xavi will always remember December 2, 2005.
During training in front of La Masia,the Terrassa-born midfielder suffered a bad injury to his left knee as he ruptured his ligaments.
Within five months he was back in action.
On April 29, 2006 returned to play against Cádiz and stated "I feel like a football player again".
He was able to celebrate winning the title and the Champions League with the rest of the squad.
The Barça playmaker was a regular in Luis Aragonés' Spain team during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where the team progressed to the second round before being beaten by France.
HONOURS
FC Barcelona
2006-07 Spanish Supercup
2005-06 Champions League
2005-06 League
2005-06 Spanish Supercup
2004-05 League
1998-99 League
Spanish National Team
2000-00 Silver medal. Sidney Olympic Games
1999-99 Under 20 World Champion