FCBARCELONA.CAT

25.01.2010 12:32

Happy Birthday Xavi!

Jordi Clos

Xavi Hernández reaches his 30th birthday on Monday at the height of his footballing powers.

FC Barcelona is fortunate enough to have the 30-year-old Xavi Hernández in the best form of his career. We only have to look back two days to Valladolid to see the latest work of art of the Catalan midfielder – he started a counterattack with a flick of the heel and finished it off with a tremendous volley from the edge of the box to score Barça’s first of the evening.

Barça through and through

He’s a regular in Pep Guardiola’s line-ups and, just like the current manager, who himself starred in the first team after coming up through the youth ranks, is a symbol of the attractive attacking football that is nurtured in the Barça academy. His 507 competitive appearances for Barça is a total only exceeded by the legendary Migueli (548). Xavi has played more internationals than any other player in the history of the Club (119).

Worldwide recognition

Xavi’s key role in both Barça’s and Spain’s recent successes has not gone unnoticed. He was chosen best player of EURO 2008 and was a finalist in the FIFA World Player awards for 2008 and 2009, as well as the Golden Ball 2009. He was also chosen as man-of-the-match in the Champions League final in Rome. In a short time he has won recognition as one of the outstanding players of the game today. Happy birthday Xavi!