For my final column of the season, I’d like to sign off by paying tribute to one of the finest footballers of not just my generation, but of any generation.
Xavi Hernandez is a diminutive midfielder who has shaped the recent success stories of both Spain and Barcelona. A player who has passed the ball more than any other player in world football over the last decade.
In fact, over 25,000 passes have been delivered with an astonishing average of 92 per cent accuracy.
Even in his final season at Barcelona, he still trumped many of his teammates who played much more regularly.
After 17 seasons at the top of the European tree, should he play in this season’s Champions League final, Xavi will become the competition’s all-time appearance record holder.
He is already way out in front of his Barcelona colleagues in club appearance terms and it’s doubtful his stats for the Blaugrana in that regard will ever be beaten.
His final La Liga game against Deportivo was his 505th for Barcelona and, when you add Copa del Rey and Champions League appearances to that figure, he has surpassed 750 games at club level.
Throw in his international appearances and he will make his 900th appearance for club and country in Berlin.
To maintain a level that is so consistently high over such a long period of time, when the demands are varied and many, is simply astounding.
The term ‘legend’ is often bandied around like confetti these days, but it can be perfectly applied in Xavi’s case.
If the Blaugrana orchestra ever needed conducting on the pitch, Xavi was your man, and thankfully his excellence has been rewarded with silverware.
With two finals left to play in his Barcelona career, he has amassed 23 trophies, which is already a record for the club. Go one better and he will become the most decorated player in Spanish football history.
Currently tied with Real Madrid’s Gento, it would be a fitting end to see this footballing maestro on the pedestal he deserves.
For a player of such guile, purpose and vision, it is one of the game’s great mysteries as to how he has never ended up as a recipient of the Ballon d’Or or “Golden Ball” as was.
The author and architect of some of the best football we have ever seen played by a club or international side deserves wider, and completely appropriate, recognition.
Not that Xavi will mind of course. Always understated, he once told interviewers his only duty was “receive the ball, pass the ball.”
Perhaps he was right, his natural game was devoid of bells and whistles. But Xavi never needed gimmicks. He played simply and effectively and was just better than everyone else whenever he set foot on a pitch. A footballing genius who will never be replaced. Gracias Xavi!
— The writer is a freelance journalist and Spanish football expert
