Xavi

Xavier "Xavi" Hernández i Creus (Catalan: [ˈ(t)ʃaβi ərˈnandəz i ˈkɾɛws], Spanish: [ˈtʃaβj erˈnandeθ i ˈkɾeus]; born 25 January 1980), is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national football team.

Xavi came through La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, at the age of 11. He made his first-team debut against RCD Mallorca on 18 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 FC Barcelona's history to play 150 international matches.^[3] He is considered to be one of the greatest midfielders of all time, and the best playmaker of his generation. Xavi won the U-20 World Cup for Spain in 1999, and the Olympic Silver Medal at the 2000 Olympics. Since making his senior team debut in 2000, he has been capped 130 times for the Spanish national team, and has been seen as an influential figure in the team's tremendous success. He played a key role in Spain's victory at the 2010 World Cup, as well as both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at Euro 2008.