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From Pep to Al Sadd, the 'machine' is still running
Xavi Hernandez posing with Qatar Cup trophy after leading Al Sadd to a 2-1 victory in the final over El Jaish at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar (Photo credit: Nicholas Chan)
DOHA, April 30, 2017 - In the shadows of the glitzy, five-star skyscrapers, Xavi Hernandez is smiling again, grasping a trophy between his hands and hoisting it up high to the heavens.
Even in semi-retirement, the fire burns intensely. In the lead-up to the 2017 Qatar Cup final held in Doha, the former Barcelona midfielder admitted to feeling 'very angry'.
It had been two years since he departed European football and almost two years since he had lifted a trophy. For Xavi, it had been too long.
His passion could be seen in his guidance to team-mates, gesticulating to Al Sadd's defensive unit to move tighter and berating the team's attacking players for failing to anticipate a pass.
And then came the post-match joy, so evident in his trademark toothy grin as he posed for selfies with the robe-clad Qatari children. The sense of pride could be felt in his warm embrace with the seven-strong cohort of family and friends from Catalonia.
This triumph, in the colours of Al Sadd over El Jaish, represented a 25th club career success and his first away from Barcelona.
Four Champions Leagues, eight La Liga titles, three Spanish Cup trophies, six Spanish Super Cups, two European Super Cups and two Club World Cups. To that remarkable haul, we can now add the Qatar Cup.
The player Pep Guardiola called el maquí, the machine, is a winner once again.
“I am very, very happy and proud to win here,” Xavi told AIPS. “I didn't come here only to win; I came to do other things too and the work I am doing in Qatar off the field is very important to me. But, of course, you never lose that unique, amazing feeling when you win football matches and lift trophies. I just love to win.”
The puritan work ethic has never deserted Xavi, no matter his success, no matter his pay cheque. Even as a garlanded multi-millionaire, with a reported £8.5m per year salary, his appetite for more remains.
New life, new challenges
In 2015, Xavi signed a two year contract with Al Sadd, leaving behind a lifetime of memories and an enduring legacy in Barcelona.
Xavi's very name is shorthand for football progress, the embodiment of a generation of footballers that treat the ball with a supreme level of care and precision.
He is the poster boy for tika-taka, the definitive blueprint for football success in the 21st century, inspiring the glory of the Spanish national team and earning a global cast of neutral admirers.
Here in Doha, Xavi's responsibilities extend beyond the field, a footballer-cum-public-relations-man.
He has appeared as a super-hero in an advert for Qatari bank QNB, jumping off buildings in a manner reminiscent of Spiderman. The advert is shown incessantly on the Qatar Airways in-flight entertainment system and on the Arabic television stations in the Gulf state.
He is playing under a fine coach in the Portuguese Jesualdo Ferreira and completing his coaching badges at the renowned Aspire Academy. At the futuristic training complex, signed memorabilia from Ronaldinho adorns the walls. Sir Alex Ferguson, Fernando Hierro and Iker Casillas have signed the visitors' wall. Quotes from basketball legend Michael Jordan are emblazoned across canvases. Xavi belongs alongside such icons.
He is passing on his experience to the Qatar international teams, operating as an advisor to the Under 19 and Under 23 squads. At Aspire, he has learned from a small Spanish enclave, including director Ivan Bravo, who last week joined the board of English club Leeds United.
Xavi is considering the possibility of working in some capacity for Qatar at the 2022 World Cup, although admitted only last week that he harbours ambitions of a return to Barcelona one day.
For now, though, he is Qatari football's prized possession, their portal towards modernisation and a figure that brings some credibility to the country's sporting aspirations.
For Xavi, there were some teething problems. The comedown in quality had an early impact. In training, he was startled by the rash challenges.
“Sometimes they go flying in: sometimes they see the ball and clean out two people in the way,” Xavi told local media.
Football religion
Cultural changes required some adaptation. A faux-pas in the showers set the tone early on. As Al Sadd's players headed for the showers, Xavi went to remove his underwear - only to be reminded that Muslim men keep their shorts on while showering. Yet Islam was not new to the midfielder. He'd noticed former team-mate Seydou Keita often ask for a prayer room while on trips with Barcelona. Eric Abidal and Ibrahim Afellay were also devout Muslims.
For Xavi, the only creed is football. In Doha, he spends his weekends consuming European football. He is the anorak to end all anoraks, able to talk as adeptly about Second Division Italian teams as the 1990's heroes of English football, such as John Barnes and Matt Le Tissier. He lives with his wife Nuria and their baby daughter, inheriting a Doha property from the former Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez.
On the field, it has not always been a resounding success. In his first campaign, Al Sadd ended the season in 3rd place and 15 points behind Al Rayyan. His team came closer this season, missing out on the title by only two points to Lekhwiya.
So the Qatar Cup final brought an opportunity and Xavi did not disappoint. He operates higher up the pitch these days, roaming free in midfield rather than stationing himself deep. The Catalan's qualities endure. In desert temperatures, Xavi remains cool of mind and his sang-froid transmits to his team-mates. In Spain, they call it ganar sin despeinarse, meaning to win without messing your hair up and it is difficult to recall Xavi breaking into a sweat.
“It's an honour for everybody to play with Xavi,” midfielder Hamza Sanhaji told AIPS. “It's not just for the players but also the supporters, Qatar and all the country. I call him 'maestro'. I have learned so much from him, but particlarly calmness on the field. He's showed me how to look around and be aware on the field.”
Dani Alves used to say that Xavi 'plays in the future', every move mapped out, every run second-guessed.
The Spaniard was this fixture's star attraction, lining up against his former Barcelona colleague Keita. The two partnered Andres Iniesta in midfield on the night los cules lifted the Champions League in Rome against Manchester United in 2009.
For Xavi and Keita, two careers came full circle. The two players had first met at the Under 20 World Cup in Nigeria in 1999. Representing Spain and Mali, the two players faced off in the semi-final. Keita claimed the tournament's Golden Ball but Xavi's Spain emerged as 3-1 victors and won the tournament.
Eighteen years on, the maestro is still winning.
Follow Adam Crafton on Twitter @adamcrafton_
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