Xavi Hernandez - a legend of world football, a Spanish player who became one of the most influential and technically gifted players of his generation. He was born on January 25, 1980, in Terrassa, Spain, and displayed his football talent from a young age. Xavi became renowned for his outstanding passing skills and ball control. He possessed a unique ability to control the game on the field, distribute passes, and create attacks for his team.
He began his professional career in 1998, joining the youth team of Barcelona. Over time, he became an integral part of Barcelona's main squad and a product of the legendary La Masia academy. He spent 17 years at FC Barcelona, eventually becoming its captain and one of the main inspirations behind the "tiki-taka" style of play.
Xavi helped Barcelona win numerous domestic and international trophies, including 8 La Liga titles and 4 UEFA Champions League titles. He became the heart and soul of the team, and his on-field leadership was invaluable to Barcelona's success during that period. Xavi is also a key figure for the Spanish national team. With the national squad, he won the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and the UEFA European Championship in 2008 and 2012.
His intellectual approach to the game and his ability to create opportunities for his teammates made him an irreplaceable player for the national team. After leaving Barcelona in 2015, Xavi moved to Qatari club Al-Sadd, where he continued to showcase his skills and leadership. He helped the team win several national titles and became a symbol of football development in Qatar.
In addition to his playing career, Xavi has shown an interest in coaching. He has completed coaching courses and expressed a desire to one day manage his former team, Barcelona. Xavi Hernandez is not only a player of exceptional class but also a symbol of virtuosity, game reading ability, and leadership on the field. His style and contribution to world football will be remembered by generations of fans.
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez insisted on Saturday his club were in a dip but not falling into crisis and said president Joan Laporta had full confidence in his project. The Spanish champions have played poorly in recent weeks and fell to an embarrassing 1-0 defeat by Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday in Hamburg.
Despite the loss, Barcelona are still joint group leaders and expected to qualify for the knock-out phases, and are third in La Liga.
The Catalans lost at home to Real Madrid in the Clasico on October 28 and scraped a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad last weekend, despite a drab performance.
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«I don't think this is (my worst moment) at all, my worst moment as a coach came last year,» Xavi told a news conference, referring to his team's Champions League group stage elimination. «I have lived through terrible crises here, this doesn't go that far, it's a dip… we haven't played well, we have to recover our game.
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»Getting that back is key — as a coach, I feel good, this is nothing to do with the situation we had last year."
Spanish media singled out Xavi for criticism after the Shakhtar loss, but the coach said Laporta was 'calm'.
«After each game we speak with the president,» explained Xavi. «We are very united, he's a very positive person, more than me even, and he is very calm. „He has maximum confidence in us, as staff and as a group.“
Barcelona host Alaves on Sunday seeking to rebuild confidence after a tricky few weeks.
Xavi said the team needs to adhere to their traditional strategy of positional play to find their way out of their slump.
»We've played badly for two games and we have to