Xavier Hernandez is held in high respect as one of the finest midfielders in history. For his passing, ball retention, placement and vision he is equally well-known. Xavi is the first player in Barcelona history to appear in 150 European and FIFA Club World Cup games.
In his time with Barcelona, Xavi won eight league championships and four Champions League titles. In 2015, he left the Blaugrana to join AI Sadd, where he won four titles until retiring in 2019. As a result, he is one of just a handful of players to have appeared in more than 1,000 games throughout his professional career.
After a poor start to the 2021-22 season, theBarcelona greatreturned to Camp Nou as a manager in an attempt to turn around the team’s fortunes following a disappointing time under Ronald Koeman.
Xavivs Barcelona:RecordatSantiago Bernabeu
Luis Figo of Real Madrid and Xavi of Barcelona. (Tony Marshall/Getty Images)
It will be Xavi Hernandez’s 44th El Clasico and first La Liga match as a coach against Real Madrid. Xavi’s first La Liga experience in the grand Spanish derby as a coach begins on Sunday,March 20, 2022, at 4:00 PM (ET).
He is, however, somewhat of an authority on the subject, having appeared in 42 games in his professional career versus Real Madrid, 38 of which he started. As a matter of fact, only two players – Sergio Ramos and LionelMessi – have appeared in more El Clasico derbiesthan Xavi.
However, out of those 42 timeshe appeared in El Clasico, half of them (21) were played away, at theEstadio Santiago Bernabeu inMadrid. Interestingly, Xavi has a very colorful record as a Barcelona player against Real Madrid away,claiming a triumph on a total of eightoccasions. In addition, he hassuffered seven defeats in the Spanish capital, and the remainingsix matches ended in a draw.
