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name: Abel Xavier
position: D height: 6-1 weight:180 Birthdate: November 30, 1972 Hometown: Nampula, Mozambique last club: Middlesbrough (England) |
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| Regular Season Stats | full bio l year-by-year stats l video highlights |
| year | team | gp | gs | min | g | a | sht | sog | fc | fs | c | ej |
| 2008 | Los Angeles | 10 | 9 | 854 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Career | 20 | 19 | 1,754 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 20 | 13 | 5 | 1 | |
A veteran with World Cup and European Championships experience, Abel Xavier is back for his second season with the Galaxy. The 35-year old center back was signed by the Galaxy last season and appeared in 18 games in all competitions before missing the final two months of the season with a knee injury. A native of Mozambique, Xavier is a Portuguese international who has played with some of the world’s top clubs including Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven and Roma. His experience in the heart of the LA defense will only serve to benefit younger Galaxy defenders like Troy Roberts and Julian Valentin.
MLS Highlights
2007: Signed by the Galaxy in mid-May, Xavier made his MLS debut on 6/17 against Real Salt Lake after completing the Premier League season at Middlesbrough. Xavier collected an assist in his first game, setting up fellow Galaxy debutant, Edson Buddle’s 25th minute goal. He went on to appear in 10 regular season games, playing the full 90 minutes in each. However, a right knee injury ended Xavier’s season prematurely following the 3-0 loss at Chivas USA on 9/13. Xavier also played in all five SuperLiga games, missing the decisive penalty in the Final against Pachuca, and one Open Cup match. Xavier served as the Galaxy captain in the 1-0 loss to Richmond.
Career Highlights
2005-2007: Spent two seasons at Middlesbrough of the English Premier League after signing for the club prior to the start of the 2005-06 season. Xavier missed most of his first season with Boro while serving an 18-month ban (later reduced to one year) after testing positive for a banned substance. The big defender returned early the next season and won over the home fans with his forceful displays on the right side of Boro’s defense.2004-2005 Spent one season with Serie A side Roma FC, helping them finish as runnersup in the Coppa Italia.
2003-2004 Tried his hand at German soccer, spending six months with Hannover 96 of the Bundesliga.
2002-2003 Xavier spent one season at Turkish giants Galatasaray.
2001-2002 Joined Liverpool from Merseyside rivals Everton and played two seasons at Anfield, appearing in 20 games in all competitions and scoring twice.
1999-2001 He played two years with Everton under Walter Smith, playing in more than 45 games for the Toffees before becoming just the ninth player to transfer directly from either Everton or Liverpool to their Merseyside rival.
1998-1999 Played two season with PSV Eindhoven in Holland, helping them win the Dutch Super Cup.
1996-1998 Spent two seasons in Spain with Real Ovideo, scoring once in more than 40 appearances.
1995-1996 Moved on from Benfica and played one season with Bari in Serie A.
1993-1995 Signed with Benfica after impressing at his previous club and spent two years in Lisbon, winning the championship in his first season before joining Bari of Serie A.
1990-1993 Began his professional career with Estrela Amadora in Portugal, playing three years for the Amadora based club, appearing in more than 85 games and helping them win promotion to the First Division in his final season with the club. before signing with Portuguese giant Benfica.
National Team
Xavier represented Portugal, making 20 career appearances for the Portuguese National Team and was named in their squad for both the 2000 European Championships and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Xavier made his national team debut against Switzerland in 1993 when he was playing at Benfica. He went on to score twice for his country in his 20 appearances. He played in four of Portugal’s five games at Euro 2000 as Portugal was eliminated in the semifinals by eventual champion France. After nearly winning that game for Portugal with a late header, Xavier was whistled for a handball late in the second half of extra time, leading to a penalty kick which France converted to win the game. The protestations of Xavier and his Portugal teammates led to him receiving a nine month international ban, which was eventually cut down to six months. That left him plenty of time to get back into the Portugal squad ahead of World Cup 2002 where he made his final appearance for Portugal, coming on as a second half substitute in the 1-0 loss to Korea that knocked Portugal out of the tournament. At youth National Team levels, Xavier had much success, winning the Under-16 European Championships and the Under-18 and Under-20 World Championships in 1991. Xavier also represented Portugal at the Under-17 World Championships in Scotland in 1989.
Personal
A native of Nampula, Mozambique, Xavier moved to Portugal at the age of three. He speaks seven different languages fluently, with those being Dutch, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish. Known for his flamboyant style and flashy clothes, Xavier is instantly recognizable on the field with his bright blond hair and beard. He is also one of the team’s best practical jokers, dazzling teammates with his array of magic tricks. He is still the only player to have played for both Everton and Liverpool against one another in the same season, doing so in the 2001-02 season.
