Xavi

• 18 Aug 14:47
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Xavier Hernández i Creus, commonly known as Xavi (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈʃaβi]) (born 25 January 1980 in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia) is a Spanish football player who plays as a midfielder for FC Barcelona.

Widely considered among the finest play-makers in the world, Xavi 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 Champions League title. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at UEFA Euro 2008. In all he has been capped 99 times for the Spanish national team, with whom he won the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

He is regularly cited among the best central midfielders in modern football.

Xavi is a product of Barcelona's youth system and has been a regular at 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 Second Division.

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. His début in La Liga came against Valencia CF on 3 October 1998 in a 3–1 victory for...

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