Xavi
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His 2011
The undisputed king of possession football, Xavi was his usual ultra-consistent self in 2011, producing a string of typically polished displays as he moved third on the list of Spain’s most capped players and set a new appearances record for his club employers Barcelona.
The vastly experienced midfield maestro was integral to Barça’s five trophy wins during the course of the year, his gift for recycling possession and dictating the pace undimmed. Responsible for providing Lionel Messi with a steady supply of bullets, the selfless Xavi finished runner-up to his Argentinian team-mate for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. The Spanish pass-master capped off the year by lifting the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan for the second time in two years.
His career
Part of Barcelona’s youth system since the tender age of 11, Xavi Hernandez has long been steeped in the footballing philosophy of Barça and their legendary Dutch coach Johan Cruyff. Moulded in the image of his current boss Pep Guardiola, whose playmaking role he has seamlessly filled ever since a serious injury to the latter in the 1999/00 season, Xavi boasts among his many qualities rare vision, inch-perfect passing and the ability to find gaps in the tightest of defences.

A key cog in the Azulgrana machine virtually since his first-team debut in August 1998, Xavi’s most fruitful spell at club level came in 2009, when Barça won all six of the major titles they were chasing that calendar year. Nor has the midfield orchestrator been unable to translate his success to the international stage, with Xavi captaining Spain to victory at the Nigeria 1999 edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup and to a silver medal at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Sydney 2000.
After making his senior debut for La Roja in August of that year, the gifted string-puller has not missed a major tournament for his country ever since. What’s more, his ability to keep possession, direct his team-mates and dictate the tempo of games is an indispensable ingredient of the playing style that has brought such success in recent years.
Inspirational in victory at the UEFA EURO 2008, where he was also voted player of the tournament, Xavi’s tireless promptings were again at the heart of Spain’s triumph at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.