XAVI HERNANDÉZ

"THE PUPPET MASTER"

[A THREAD]

Dedicated to one of the greatest midfielders of all time

Xavier Hernández Creus was born on January 25, 1980, in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia. His parents are not very well-known but his father, Joaquim, was a former professional footballer who played for Sabadell in the first division.

From an early age, Xavi joined Barcelona's La Masia academy at the age of 11 and rose through the ranks quickly to secure a spot in Josep Maria Gonzalvo's Barcelona B team, which won promotion to the second division.

Xavi made his first-team app in a match against Lleida on May 5, 1998, and scored his first goal 3 months later in the Super Cup final against Mallorca. He made his first app in La Liga on October 3, 1998, in a game against Valencia.

Xavi was the vice-captain of the team during the 2004-05 season, in which Barcelona won La Liga and Supercopa de España, and was named the ‘La Liga Spanish Player of the Year’ in 2005.

Just 5 ft 6 inch(1.68 metres) tall, Xavi made up for his short stature with an unparalleled field vision, superb ball-handling skills, and the ability to make crisp, precise passes. More of a playmaker than a prolific scorer, Xavi led La Liga in assists in both 08–09 and 09–10.

In the 09-10 seasons, Xavi became the highest assisting player once again and helped Barcelona win the La Liga title. He came third in the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or behind Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Andrés Iniesta.

In early 2011, Xavi became the player with the most appearances for Barcelona, surpassing Migueli who previously held the record with 549 appearances. That year, Barcelona won the Champions League final against Man United and the FIFA CWC final against Santos, scored goal&assist

The 2011-12 season was his career best in terms of goal-scoring. He had ten La Liga goals, one in the FIFA Club World Cup, and two in Copa del Rey, which they also won.

The 2014-15 season is the last he played for Barcelona, during which he made his 500th La Liga appearance. He was the captain of the team during the season, and played his final match as a substitute in their Champions League final win against Juventus.

Xavi signed a three-year contract with Qatari club Al Sadd in mid 2015, and made an assist in his debut match for the team in their 4-0 win over Mesaimeer on September 13, 2015. The 2017 Qatar Cup win was his first trophy with the team.

Talking about Xavi’s stats, it should be mentioned that he has excelled for country as well as club. It is not just Barcelona who will be missing Xavi Hernandez, as he has also been integral to Spain’s success in recent times too.

For country, Xavi has been an integral part of national team of Spain at various age stages. He played for Spain in U17, U18, U20, U21, U23 and from 2000 to 2014 in the core team. While playing in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he was the member of silver medalist team.

Xavi has helped his team to 1 FIFA World Cup and 2 UEFA European Football Championships, as well as a silver medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics.

He was named player of the tournament at Euro 2008, he provided the most number of accurate passes in the 2010 World Cup, had a pass completion rate of 94% in Euro 2012 and made 133 appearances in 14 years for the national side.

In 2010, Xavi helped Spain win their first World Cup making 599 passes with a success rate of 91%. He registered the best ball possession in the tournament and also assisted in a number of goals, including one in the semi-finals against Germany for which he was named MOTM

During a group stage match against the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Euro 2012, he made a record 136 passes

He became the 1st player to register assists in 2 separate Euro finals. Xavi is the pass master,and over the years he has registered dozens of assists for both club and country. At Euro 2008, Xavi provided the assist for the only goal (Torres) in the final when Spain faced German

He entered the Spanish side for the 2014 World Cup as the most successful player in the country’s history, but his team was eliminated at the group stage. He soon announced his retirement from international football, ending a 14-year-old career.

Spain
FIFA World Cup: 2010
UEFA European Football Championship (2): 2008, 2012
Summer Olympics Silver Medal: 2000

Barca

UEFA Best Player in Europe Award Second place: 2011
Onze de Bronze: 2011
FIFA Ballon d'Or Third place (2): 2010, 2011
World Soccer Player of the Year: 2010
IFFHS World's Best Playmaker (4): 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 (3): 2009, 2010, 2011
FIFA/FIFPro World XI (6): 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
UEFA Team of the Year (5): 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

ESM Team of the Year (3): 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12
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

End of the thread.

Happy Birthday for Xavi Hernandez forever we always love you

Thanks it's not a good thread but Likes and Rt appreciated