Abel Xavier

Faisal Xavier (born Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier () on 30 November 1972) is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a centre back. He last played for Los Angeles Galaxy 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 Scotland.

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. 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...
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