A View of Abel Xavier from Poland

By: Laurie | October 6th, 2007

Filip Kapica from Poland is my guest blogger this afternoon. He’s sharing his thoughts on one of his favorite players (and mine, too), Galaxy guy Abel Xavier. It’s always fun for me to get an international perspective on the Galaxy. Thanks for writing this, Filip!

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I don’t remember exactly where and when I saw Abel Xavier for the first time, but I was shocked about his style. It’s not only about his hair, Xavier is simply a crazy footballer in 100%. The best moment to prove it was Euro 2000, when he was a very important part in the Portuguese squad, one of the biggest sensations of the tournament. He was so close to being the hero in the match against France in the dying second, but his terrific shot was saved by Fabien Barthez. Almost every goalkeeper would have pushed it into his own net, but then the best keeper in the world at the time did everything to protect his team.

From Heaven to Hell – these words can fully describe his match against France. Finally, Portugal were eliminated in the semi-finals, but they left a great impression. They lost 0 – 1 against France after Zidane’s goal. The referee dictated the penalty after a doubtful Xavier handball in his penalty box when he was trying to kick out the ball after Trezeguet’s shot. I wished all the best to Xavier and Portugal, because I loved their way of playing in Euro 2000. Everything made a great show for the fans. They were incredible, notably Xavier.

Seven years later, I can see him again in a high level. He is a suitable person for the USA. People here love shows and he’s a player who can excite everyone. It’s the best place to live for Abel.

He became famous for his image, but it’s not the only thing I liked about him. He is a true warrior who can’t stop fighting on the pitch for his team. He was very difficult for every striker in the world in his best time. Some of them remember him well for sure to this day and especially his hard tackles. He played for great teams, some of the top in their leagues. Everyone knows Benfica, Bari, PSV, Everton, Liverpool, Galatasaray, Roma, Middlesbrough and LA Galaxy now. He had many obstacles in the past. On 23 November 2005 he was found guilty of using the anabolic steroids. It cost him 12 months disqualification. In the summer of 2006 he began training with Middlesbrough. Then the club offered him to stay for a season. But he never came back to his best form in this year. The only exception was the game against Bolton. ‘Boro won the match 5 – 1 and he helped them to score two goals in this match.

On Monday, 14 May 2007, he joined the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer and he found a fantastic place to continue and end his long and interesting career, which was started in 1990. He always was noticeable, because he is a person you cannot ignore. Maybe he isn’t an outstanding player like Cristiano Ronaldo or even Ricardo Carvalho in Portugal, but he had fantastic games in his career and it made him a good player. And people will always remember his eye-catching bleached hair and beard.