Xavi

Name: Xavier Hernández Creus (commonly known as Xavi)

Introduction: Xavi is a Spanish professional football manager and former player. He is widely considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, celebrated for his exceptional passing range, vision, tactical intelligence, and control of the game’s tempo. As a cornerstone of FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, he orchestrated the “tiki-taka” style that dominated world football for over a decade. He has since embarked on a successful managerial career.

Date of birth: January 25, 1980

Height: 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) or 1.71 m.

Place of birth: Terrassa, Spain

Family:

Parents’ names: Joaquim Hernández (father, former footballer and coach for Terrassa FC) and Maria Mercè Creus (mother).
Siblings: Oscar Hernández (brother, currently his assistant coach), Alex Hernández (brother), Ariadna Hernández (sister), Dianalaura Hernández (sister), and other siblings.
Spouse: Núria Cunillera (m. 2013).
Children:
- Asia Hernández (daughter, born 2016)
- Dan Hernández (son, born 2019)
Relatives: His father and brother Oscar are also involved in football.

Profession: Former professional footballer (central midfielder), professional football manager.

Nationality: Spanish (Catalan)

Religion: Information not consistently available, but he has spoken about respecting the Islamic religion due to his Muslim teammates at Barcelona and Al-Sadd. He was born and raised in Spain, a predominantly Catholic country.

College or university attended: He joined FC Barcelona’s youth academy, La Masia, at the age of 11 and progressed through its ranks, which serves as a specialized football education. He did not attend a traditional university.

Biography and What Famous For:

Xavi joined FC Barcelona’s famed youth academy, La Masia, at just 11 years old. He rapidly advanced through the ranks, embodying the club’s philosophy of possession-based, attacking football. He made his first-team debut for Barcelona in 1998, quickly establishing himself as a key player.

Playing Career:

Xavi spent the vast majority of his playing career, from 1998 to 2015, at FC Barcelona. He became the “brain” of the team, known for his ability to control the midfield, dictate play with precise passing, and consistently provide assists. He formed a legendary partnership in midfield with Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, which was the engine room of Barcelona’s “golden era” under Pep Guardiola.

He is most famous for his unprecedented success as a player:

Eight La Liga titles with Barcelona.
Four UEFA Champions League titles with Barcelona. He was instrumental in all of them, including two continental trebles (winning the league, domestic cup, and Champions League in one season) in 2008–09 and 2014–15.
Two Copa del Rey titles, Two FIFA Club World Cups, and Two UEFA Super Cups with Barcelona.
He made over 700 appearances for Barcelona, a club record at the time of his departure.

Internationally, Xavi was the orchestrator of the Spanish national team’s most dominant period:

2010 FIFA World Cup: He was a central figure in Spain’s historic first-ever World Cup triumph.
UEFA Euro 2008 and UEFA Euro 2012: He guided Spain to consecutive European Championship victories, being named Player of the Tournament at Euro 2008. He is the first player to assist goals in two separate European Championship finals.
He also won the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999 and an Olympic silver medal in 2000 with Spain’s youth teams.

After leaving Barcelona in 2015, Xavi played four more seasons for Qatari club Al-Sadd, winning four trophies before retiring as a player in 2019.

Managerial Career:

Immediately after retiring as a player, Xavi began his managerial career at Al-Sadd in May 2019, where he achieved significant success, winning seven trophies in less than three years, including the Qatar Stars League.

In November 2021, Xavi returned to his beloved FC Barcelona as head coach. Despite inheriting a challenging situation, he led the club to:

The 2022–23 La Liga title.
The 2023 Supercopa de España.
He departed from his role as Barcelona manager at the end of the 2023-24 season. As of July 2025, he has applied for the head coach position of the Indian senior men’s national football team, though the AIFF acknowledges the financial challenge of securing such a high-profile manager.

Xavi is famous for:

His “tiki-taka” playing style: As the embodiment of Barcelona and Spain’s highly successful possession-based football.
His extraordinary passing, vision, and tactical understanding: Making him the ideal deep-lying playmaker.
Winning every major trophy with both Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
Being one of the most decorated players in football history.
His successful transition from player to manager at the highest level.

Have participated:

Clubs as Player:

FC Barcelona (1998–2015)
Al-Sadd (2015–2019)

National Team as Player:

Spain (2000–2014) – 133 caps, 13 goals

Clubs as Manager:

Al-Sadd (2019–2021)
FC Barcelona (2021–2024)

Major Honours as Player (Selected):

FIFA World Cup: 1 (2010)
UEFA European Championship: 2 (2008, 2012)
UEFA Champions League: 4 (2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15)
La Liga: 8 (1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15)
Copa del Rey: 3 (2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15)
FIFA Club World Cup: 2 (2009, 2011)
UEFA Super Cup: 2 (2009, 2011)
FIFA World Youth Championship: 1 (1999)