Xavi Hernández

[Garrus]

If you want someone to blame then it's xavi himself, No one forced him to go.

 

[DonAndres]

I agree with Garrus on this one. I think Xavi is trying to rush into the France game a bit prematurely. If he doesn't seem fully recovered, I doubt VDB will play him.

 

[Galning]

If he doesn't seem fully recovered, I doubt VDB will play him.

Think again.

 

[Cruijffista]

I was very surprised that Xavi called Del Bosque before the call-ups and said he wanted to play against France. I just hope he is not rushing himself back because he's the brain behind this whole operation, when he plays well the club really doesn't struggle at all to thrash their opposition.

 

[Yannick03]

Barcastuff : "Today exactly 15 years ago, Xavi, then 18 years and 2 months old, made his first team debut, in a Catalan Cup game against Lleida."
"note: puyol also played in that game, mourinho coached the team, vilanova played and scored for lleida, barcelona won 2-1."

Just wow, who could have foreseen the current situation...

 

[Flavia]

Xavi one trophy away from Gento’s record

Xavi Hernández has won more trophies with FC Barcelona (20) than any other player in the history of the Club and is on the verge of equalling Paco Gento’s all-time Spanish record.

The three titles won by the international midfielder with Spain, added to the twenty accumulated with Barça, mean that Xavi is just one short of matching Real Madrid legend Paco Gento’s longstanding national record of 24 trophies.

On 26th August 2011 he overtook Guillermo Amor to top the ranking of title winners with FC Barcelona. Fifteen years after making his debut he’s accumulated an incredible 20 club honours and is on the brink of equalling the Spanish record held by Real Madrid legend Paco Gento, who won 23 club titles plus one with Spain, the 1964 European Nations Cup. Apart from the 20 trophies Xavi has picked up with Barça, with Spain he’s won the World Cup (2010) and the EURO Cup twice (2008 and 2012) and is now just one trophy behind Gento’s record.

Xavi first big success with Barça was the 1998/99 league title, to which he contributed with 17 appearances. Since then he’s been a vital cog in a footballing machine that just keeps on winning titles and universal praise.

One trophy away from making history

It takes a special kind of player to become the most successful collector of silverware in the Spanish game. The current record holder, Paco Gento, won a total of 23 trophies with Real Madrid between 1953 and 1971, including a dozen league titles and six European Cups, plus the 1964 European Nations Cup with Spain.

Xavi Hernández is now just one trophy short of a record that seemed unreachable 42 years after Gento retired in 1971. The Catalan midfielder is the leading light of a magnificent generation of players, many of them brought on through the Barça academy, who are still hungry for more honours. Such is the brilliance of his list of honours that the Olympic silver medal won in Sydney (2000) and the World under-20’s Championship (1999) seem quite ordinary. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Xavi’s honours

With Barça:

- Two World Club Championships
- Three Champions Leagues
- Six Leagues
- Two Spanish Cups
- Two European Super Cups
- Five Spanish Super Cups

With Spain:

- One World Cup
- Two EURO Cups

Individual awards:

- 3rd place FIFA Golden Ball 2009, 2010 and 2011
- Best player EURO 2008
- Best playmaker IFFHS (2008 and 2010)
- Prince of Asturias Award for Sport together with Iker Casillas

Just

 

[Ode to Django]

The greatest in my eyes. So important for Barcelona and the National Team. I'll be interested to see if the level of dominance continues after he retires.

 

[darthvader7888]

The greatest in my eyes. So important for Barcelona and the National Team. I'll be interested to see if the level of dominance continues after he retires.

Thiago will be a pretty capable replacement when the time comes IMO. Though no one can truly replace the legend that is Xavi.
And Messi will be in his prime, not to mention Iniesta will still be playing (and I can see him still being one of the best players in the world then, just look at Xavi, 33 and arguably the 4th best player in the world. Different type of player though, so it'll be interesting to see).

I can see Barca and Spain's dominance lasting for a good while, though there will be blips like 2010 and (especially) 2012, and sometimes they'll last for more than 1 season.

You're still right about Xavi's importance though.

 

[Garrus]

'Important' is an understatement.

 

[Stric]

Xavi is like the clockwork of this team. When he's at his best, the team plays infinitely better. When he's absent or off-form, the team can (sometimes) push through, but with struggle.

 

[Kerrybai]

Those 23 titles are amazing but some of them are lesser titles, notably the Spanish super cups which could be seen as glorified friendlies. it would be great if he added another 2-3 league titles plus another 1-2 CL's. Then he would surely be one of the most decorated footballers ever.

 

[darthvader7888]

Those 23 titles are amazing but some of them are lesser titles, notably the Spanish super cups which could be seen as glorified friendlies. it would be great if he added another 2-3 league titles plus another 1-2 CL's. Then he would surely be one of the most decorated footballers ever.

If he wins 2 more CLs, he'll have won 83% of Barca's CLs

 

[Stric]

Another Liga title, and hopefully a CL are on their way.

 

[KhaledBarca]

Xavi Career Stats (club+country, senior level): 784 official games, 90 goals, 184 assists.

 

[darthvader7888]

I read somewhere that he has more trophies than Chelsea