Abel Xavier
Encyclopedia
Faisal Xavier is a retired Portuguese
footballer who played as a full back. He last played for Los Angeles Galaxy
and also made 20 appearances for the Portuguese national team.
.
He debuted in the Portuguese top division with Estrela da Amadora. Xavier's play there earned him a transfer to Lisbon
giants Benfica. He helped Benfica win the Portuguese League in 1994, and a season after, he moved to Serie A
side Bari
. This stint with the Italian club started a series of transfers across Europe: in 1996, Xavier was sent to Real Oviedo
, then after two seasons he moved to PSV, and then to Premier League club Everton
, where he stayed for three years. Xavier was then sold to Merseyside
rivals Liverpool
where he scored on his debut against Ipswich Town. He stayed at Liverpool for two years, scoring once more against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, then started another set of one-year stints with Galatasaray
(2002–2003), Hannover 96
(2003–2004), and finally Roma
(2004–2005).
For the national team, Xavier missed UEFA Euro 1996, but came back strong in UEFA Euro 2000, and became one of the key figures in the competition, not only due to playing some of his best football but also due to his eye-catching bleached hair and beard. In the semi-final against France
, he went from close to hero, as Fabien Barthez
blocked what looked a sure goal, to a villain, when he deflected a shot by Sylvain Wiltord
near the post in the dying seconds of golden goal
extra time with his hand. Zinedine Zidane
scored the penalty and put France in the final. Xavier was initially slapped with a nine-month ban from football for his vociferous protests against the referee's
decision to award the penalty, but it was eventually reduced to a six-month one. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup
, he was part of the squad, but played only as a substitute in the final group stage match against the Republic of Korea.
At the start of the 2005–06 season, Xavier was without a club but at the end of August, he signed for Middlesbrough
to replace Michael Reiziger
once the Dutchman was sold to PSV. Following the UEFA Cup
tie against Skoda Xanthi
, Xavier was administered a drugs test and failed. On 23 November 2005, he was found guilty of using the anabolic steroid
methandrostenolone
(also known as dianabol). Although he has always denied any wrongdoing, the tribunal banned him from professional football for a period of 18 months. Xavier appealed the decision but on 21 December, UEFA turned down the appeal. The ban got shortened to 12 months in June 2006, making him eligible to play again from November 2006.
In the summer of 2006, Xavier began training with Middlesbrough and on 8 November 2006, was offered a contract with the club for the remainder of the 2006–07 season. He scored his first Boro goal in January 2007 against Bolton Wanderers.
On 14 May 2007, it was announced that he was to join Los Angeles Galaxy
of Major League Soccer
(MLS). He played in his first game with the Galaxy on 17 June 2007 against Real Salt Lake
, registering an assist.
Xavier was waived by Los Angeles on 18 July 2008. Later, in an interview to an online football site, Xavier criticized then-Galaxy manager Ruud Gullit
and MLS. In December 2009, Xavier quit football. He also converted to Islam
and has changed his first name to Faisal.
Runner-up
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
footballer who played as a full back. He last played for Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
and also made 20 appearances for the Portuguese national team.
Career
Xavier was a part of the Portugal national squad that participated in the U-17 World Cup in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
He debuted in the Portuguese top division with Estrela da Amadora. Xavier's play there earned him a transfer to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
giants Benfica. He helped Benfica win the Portuguese League in 1994, and a season after, he moved to Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
side Bari
A.S. Bari
Associazione Sportiva Bari is an Italian football club founded in 1908, they are based in Bari, Apulia and plays in Serie B. The club have spent many seasons bouncing between the top two divisions in Italian football, Serie A and Serie B....
. This stint with the Italian club started a series of transfers across Europe: in 1996, Xavier was sent to Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, it currently plays in Segunda División B - Group 2....
, then after two seasons he moved to PSV, and then to Premier League club Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
, where he stayed for three years. Xavier was then sold to Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
rivals Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
where he scored on his debut against Ipswich Town. He stayed at Liverpool for two years, scoring once more against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, then started another set of one-year stints with Galatasaray
Galatasaray S.K. (football team)
Galatasaray Anonim Şirketi is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray S.K. multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding 17 Turkish Super League titles and the highest number of Turkish Cups....
(2002–2003), Hannover 96
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96, Hannover or simply 96, is a German association football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony.-Foundation to WWII:...
(2003–2004), and finally Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
(2004–2005).
For the national team, Xavier missed UEFA Euro 1996, but came back strong in UEFA Euro 2000, and became one of the key figures in the competition, not only due to playing some of his best football but also due to his eye-catching bleached hair and beard. In the semi-final against France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
, he went from close to hero, as Fabien Barthez
Fabien Barthez
Fabien Alain Barthez is a former French footballer goalkeeper who won honours with Manchester United and the French national team, with whom he won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000 and reached the final of the 2006 World Cup. He shares the record for the most World Cup finals clean sheets...
blocked what looked a sure goal, to a villain, when he deflected a shot by Sylvain Wiltord
Sylvain Wiltord
Sylvain Claude Wiltord is a French footballer who currently plays for FC Nantes. With the French national team, Wiltord has won Euro 2000 and reached the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup....
near the post in the dying seconds of golden goal
Golden goal
The golden goal is a method used in association football, field hockey, ice hockey and korfball to decide the winner of games in elimination matches which end in a draw after the end of regulation time. It is a type of sudden death. Golden goal rules allow the team that scores the first goal during...
extra time with his hand. Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...
scored the penalty and put France in the final. Xavier was initially slapped with a nine-month ban from football for his vociferous protests against the referee's
Günter Benkö
Günter Benkö is a retired football referee from Austria, best known for supervising two matches during the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. He also led two matches at the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship held in Belgium and Holland...
decision to award the penalty, but it was eventually reduced to a six-month one. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, he was part of the squad, but played only as a substitute in the final group stage match against the Republic of Korea.
At the start of the 2005–06 season, Xavier was without a club but at the end of August, he signed for Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
to replace Michael Reiziger
Michael Reiziger
Michael John Reiziger is a retired Dutch footballer who played mainly as a right defender.After making a name for himself at Ajax, with whom he won one Champions League, he went on to represent three teams in three different countries, namely appearing for FC Barcelona, for which he played in...
once the Dutchman was sold to PSV. Following the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
tie against Skoda Xanthi
Skoda Xanthi
Skoda Xanthi F.C. , or F.C. Skoda Xanthi Athletic Club, is a Greek football club, based in the city of Xanthi. The club currently competes in the Super League Greece.-History:...
, Xavier was administered a drugs test and failed. On 23 November 2005, he was found guilty of using the anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...
methandrostenolone
Methandrostenolone
Methandrostenolone is an orally-effective anabolic steroid originally developed by John Ziegler and released in the US in the early 1960s by Ciba. It was used as an aid to muscle growth by bodybuilders until its ban by Congress under the Controlled Substances Act...
(also known as dianabol). Although he has always denied any wrongdoing, the tribunal banned him from professional football for a period of 18 months. Xavier appealed the decision but on 21 December, UEFA turned down the appeal. The ban got shortened to 12 months in June 2006, making him eligible to play again from November 2006.
In the summer of 2006, Xavier began training with Middlesbrough and on 8 November 2006, was offered a contract with the club for the remainder of the 2006–07 season. He scored his first Boro goal in January 2007 against Bolton Wanderers.
On 14 May 2007, it was announced that he was to join Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
(MLS). He played in his first game with the Galaxy on 17 June 2007 against Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake is an American professional soccer club based in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The team competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. They currently play their home games at Rio Tinto Stadium. Real Salt Lake won...
, registering an assist.
Xavier was waived by Los Angeles on 18 July 2008. Later, in an interview to an online football site, Xavier criticized then-Galaxy manager Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit
OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
and MLS. In December 2009, Xavier quit football. He also converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and has changed his first name to Faisal.
Honours
Winner- 1993–94 Portuguese League ChampionshipPortuguese LigaThe Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...
, with Benfica - 1998–99 Dutch Super CupJohan Cruijff-schaalThe Johan Cruijff Schaal is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after legendary Dutch football player Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national football league and the winner of the national...
, with PSV
Runner-up
- 2001–02 FA Premier LeagueFA Premier LeagueThe Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
, with LiverpoolLiverpool F.C.Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... - 2002–032002 FA Community ShieldThe 2002 FA Community Shield was a football match played on 11 August 2002 between 2001-02 Double winners Arsenal and 2001-02 Premier League runners-up Liverpool. Arsenal won the game 1–0 in normal time. Gilberto Silva scored the only goal of the game in the 69th minute...
Charity ShieldFA Community ShieldThe Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
, with LiverpoolLiverpool F.C.Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... - 2002–03 Turkish First Football League, with GalatasarayGalatasaray S.K. (football team)Galatasaray Anonim Şirketi is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray S.K. multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding 17 Turkish Super League titles and the highest number of Turkish Cups....
- 2007 North American SuperligaNorth American SuperLigaThe SuperLiga was an official North American association football competition between teams from the Primera División of Mexico and Major League Soccer of the United States and Canada, the top divisions in each country. The competition was sanctioned by CONCACAF, U.S...
, with Los Angeles GalaxyLos Angeles GalaxyThe Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...