Xavi
Xavi
Xavier "Xavi" Hernández Creusʃaβi ərˈnandəz ˈkɾɛws] Spanish: ; 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 and 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...
NationalitySpanish
ProfessionSoccer Player
Date of Birth25 January 1980
CityTerrassa, Spain
CountrySpain
I don't actually watch many shows. I will either watch movies or football. I enjoy to watch games in the Premier League and will also watch movies a lot as well. That is how I relax.
I liked the Paul Ince and Roy Keane partnership Manchester United had. They would have been my team had I moved to England.
Like so many of the players, I started at La Masia at the age of 11. I can't ever imagine not playing for Barcelona, let alone not playing soccer for a career. I don't ever want to play anywhere else.
To me Paul is a role model. He is the best midfielder I've seen in the last 15 or 20 years.
In England, footballers are respected more, the game is more noble, there's less cheating. Every Spaniard who goes loves it - and comes back a better player. If I had ever left, it would have been to England.
Celtic, like Barcelona, are more than a football club. Our clubs are a symbol of a culture and community that has not always been made welcome in their respective countries.
Maybe one small regret is that I never got to play with Paul Scholes - but I was never going to leave Barcelona and he was never going to leave Manchester United.
In football, the result is an impostor. You can do things really, really well but not win. There's something greater than the result, more lasting - a legacy.
Leo [Messi] is the best player of all time - better than Pele, Maradona or Cruyff. There have been some great teams in history - Pele's Brazil, Cruyff's Ajax, Sacchi's Milan - but in the past 20 years this Barcelona team is the best.
I'm a footballing romantic just like Johan Cruyff. We like football that is attractive, attacking and easy on the eye. When you win playing like this it's twice as satisfying. I've always played attacking football: my footballing ideals are very clear and well defined. I've grown up at Barcelona with that style and that's the one I like. I think it's good to win like that, by taking the initiative right from the off.
The atmosphere generated by the fans in Celtic's stadium for our visit was the most impressive I've ever witnessed. The grounds of Liverpool and Manchester United are good and the hostile feeling of playing against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu is also excellent, but the atmosphere against Celtic was the best.
There are two types of football - there's physical football and football talent.
In futsal, you see whether a player is really talented. You notice the small details in quality, class and tactical understanding.
Some teams can't or don't pass the ball. What are you playing for? What's the point? That's not football. Combine, pass, play. That's football—for me, at least.