Abel Xavier

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Personal information
Abel Xavier
Full name	Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier
Date of birth	November 30, 1972 (age 34)
Place of birth	Nampula, Mozambique
Height	189 cm
Nickname	Yetti
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Middlesbrough
Number	17
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1990-1993 1993-1995 1995-1996 1996-1998 1998-1999 1999-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005 2006-	Estrela Amadora Benfica Bari Real Oviedo PSV Everton Liverpool Galatasaray Hannover 96 Roma Middlesbrough Middlesbrough	85 (5) 45 (4) 08 (0) 58 (0) 19 (2) 43 (0) 14 (1) 11 (0) 05 (0) 03 (0) 04 (0) 11 (1)
National team
1993-2002	Portugal	20 (2)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier, pron. IPA: [ɐ'bɛɫ ʃɐvi'ɛɾ], (born November 30, 1972 in Nampula, Mozambique) is a professional footballer and international for Portugal. Xavier is widely regarded as a utility back player but fits the role of a holding midfielder when the necessity arises. Although still regarded as one of the original stalwarts of the Portuguese National team, Xavier's reputation as a footballer has waned and he will, probably, largely be remembered as one of the many players who never fulfilled his potential as well as for his eccentric hairstyles, although he is rebuilding his reputation as a goalscoring defender for Middlesbrough FC.

Biography

Xavier debuted in the Portuguese top division with Estrela da Amadora, which would later earn him a transfer to Lisbon giants SL Benfica. He helped the team lift the championship in 1994, and a season after, was traded to lowly Serie A side AS Bari. This stint with the Italian club started a series of quick transfers across Europe: in 1996 Xavier was sent to Real Oviedo, then after two seasons he moved to PSV Eindhoven and then to Premiership club Everton, where he stayed for three years. Xavier was then sold to Merseyside rivals Liverpool where he stayed for two years, then starting another set of one-year stints with Galatasaray (2002-2003), Hannover 96 (2003-2004) and finally AS Roma (2004-2005).

In the national team, Xavier missed Euro 96, but came back strong in Euro 2000, and became one of the key figures in the competition: not only due to playing some of his 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 overtime with his hand. Zinedine Zidane scored the penalty and put France in the final. Abel was criticised for the foul, though oddly, criticism of Abel was unfair as he had in fact made the correct play. This is because he blocked a ball that was going in, and at least gave his side the opportunity for Zidane to miss the ensuing spot kick. Several players, including Xavier, chased the linesman. While not sent-off for the penalty or the incident, Xavier was banned for nine months, later reduced to six. 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 Republic of Korea.

At the start of the 2005/2006 season Xavier was without a club but at the end of August signed for Middlesbrough F.C. to replace Michael Reiziger in the squad once the Dutchman was sold to PSV Eindhoven. Following the UEFA Cup tie against Skoda Xanthi, Xavier was administered a drugs test and failed. On November 23, 2005 he was found guilty of using the anabolic steroid Methandrostenolone (also known as dianabol), although he has always denied any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the tribunal decided to ban him from professional football for a period of 18 months. Xavier appealed the decision but on December 21 UEFA turned down the appeal. It got shortened to 12 months in June, making him eligible to play again from November 2006. [1] He joined pre-season training of former club Middlesbrough in summer 2006.

In the middle of 2006, Xavier began training for Middlesbrough and on the 8th November 2006, was offered a contract with the club until the end of the 2006/2007 season.

He put in a fantastic performance against Bolton on January 20, 2007 contributing to the first 2 goals in a 5-1 win. His header hit the bar and rebounded in off Gary Speed for the first and Xavier himself rose up and headed home the second and his first goal for Boro.

Honours

Winner

1993-94 Portuguese League Championship, with SL Benfica
1998-99 Dutch Super Cup, with PSV Eindhoven

Runner Up

2001-02 FA Premier League, with Liverpool FC
2002-03 Charity Shield, with Liverpool FC
2002-03 Turkish Premier Super League, with Galatasaray SK

External links

Middlesbrough F.C. - Current Squad

	Portugal squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Baía \| 2 J. Costa \| 3 Abel Xavier \| 4 Caneira \| 5 F. Couto \| 6 Paulo Sousa \| 7 Figo \| 8 João Pinto \| 9 Pauleta \| 10 Rui Costa \| 11 S. Conceição \| 12 H. Viana \| 13 J. Andrade \| 14 P. Barbosa \| 15 Nélson \| 16 Ricardo \| 17 P. Bento \| 18 Frechaut \| 19 Capucho \| 20 Petit \| 21 Nuno Gomes \| 22 Beto \| 23 Rui Jorge \| Coach: Oliveira