Abel Xavier
Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier ( born November 30, 1972 in Nampula, Mozambique ) is a former Portuguese football player and current football coach. After his conversion to Islam is his name Faisal Xavier.
Club career
He began his career with Portuguese club Estrela Amadora CD. In 1989, Xavier made his professional debut for the Portuguese. In 1993 he moved to Portuguese club Benfica Lisbon showpiece. 1995 Xavier trust the exchange to the country. He then worked in Bari, Oviedo, Eindhoven, Everton, Liverpool and Galatasaray.
2004 obliged him Hannover 96 In the Lower Saxony he could not convince them, so he left the club after just a few months. By the end of the season 2006/2007 he stood for the English Premier League club Middlesbrough FC under contract. Previously he played for three games at AS Roma.
As of 15 June 2007 played Xavier in the United States with Los Angeles Galaxy.
A year after his commitment Abel Xavier was released from the Galaxies on 18 July 2008. He later criticized in an interview his former coach Ruud Gullit and the Major League Soccer.
National
He played from 1993 to 2002 20 times for the Portuguese national football team and scored two goals. In the semi-finals of Euro 2000 against France Xavier was a tragic figure. In extra time he inflicted a controversial penalty for hand ball, the Zinédine Zidane scored. Thus, the Portuguese retired after golden goal.
Coaching career
In the summer of 2013 he took over with the SC Olhanense first time as coach of a club, but was released the following October already after two wins in eight league games again.
Personal
The Portuguese soccer star has converted to Islam. Abel Xavier, who changed his first name to Faisal, has ended his career and now wants to concentrate in the future on humanitarian and social work.
Achievements
- Portuguese Cup with Benfica Lisbon ( 1994)
- Dutch Super Cup with PSV Eindhoven ( 1999)
- EM semi-finalist in 2000 with Portugal
- 1 Süper Lig: 1 x 2nd place with Galatasaray Istanbul ( 2003)