Goal.com 50: Xavi (3)

4. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid & Portugal)

3. XAVI (Barcelona & Spain)

2. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona & Spain)

He is not the most talented footballer on Earth, and was never really built up as the next big thing in the game. He is not gifted with audacious skills or sensational flamboyance, and hasn't scored ten goals in a single league campaign. He doesn't even have the most primitive prerequisite of football - an ability to run: at most, he walks very fast.

Yet Xavi Hernandez is the best central midfielder on the planet, and in the 2008-2009 season was one of the three top players in the world. If it weren't for the genius of Lionel Messi and the creative invention of Andres Iniesta, Xavi could well have been the best in the world, a Ballon d'Or contender, as last season was arguably the strongest in Xavi's career.

2007-2008 might have ended with the pasillo, but the Euro 2008 conquest with Spain in the summer revived both Xavi and Barcelona. For Xavi, it was the marked return to form, as he out-passed, out-smarted and out-thought everyone in Austria and Switzerland, establishing himself as the best in his position.

Exploits In Spain

Asked by new coach Josep Guardiola to play slightly higher up the pitch and contribute more to the attack, with the assurance of Yaya Toure behind him, Xavi played the role he was always destined to play: the ‘Pep Guardiola role’.

Since the Santpedor-born great had left Barcelona, there had been a void in the middle of the park. Xavi had filled that space in previous seasons, but in 2008-2009 he actually outdid his predecessor and coach and made it ‘the Xavi role’.

Creator & Scorer | Xavi shows his dual character

Described by one columnist as a "static" player in "a classic combination of static and dynamic”, Xavi sat in central midfield and didn't move, but he did orchestrate Barcelona's moves. His ability to find holes in the opposition’s back line, intelligence to discern small spaces for himself, play crisp through balls and whip in accurate crosses, all with marvellous consistency, made Xavi the midfielder-in-chief of this galactic Barcelona side that played frighteningly entertaining football last season. One Madrid-based Spanish football journalist defined Xavi as "the man who keeps Barcelona ticking and never rotates - or loses the ball".

Perhaps the best moment in the Primera Division for the 29-year-old was his masterclass performance against Real Madrid in the second Clasico of the season at the Bernabeu, in which he taught the Madrid players how to retain possession and control the game as he led his team to a 6-2 triumph. The Catalan eventually ended the league season as the top assist provider (20).

Even in the Copa del Rey, Xavi's presence was discernible as he scored the final goal in Barcelona’s 4-1 comeback victory over Athletic Bilbao in the final.

European Conquest

European Champions | Xavi's Career On A High

Just as in Spain, Xavi proved his mettle in Europe. He was by far the best central midfielder in his position in the Champions League as he attested that players with intelligence and technique but bereft of pace can still have a place in modern day's F1-paced, aggressive and often technically hollow approach.

In the final against Manchester United in Rome, it was again Xavi who was at the heart of every string of passes that Barcelona weaved. He created Lionel Messi's headed goal, threaded in passes for Thierry Henry, Carles Puyol and Iniesta, and had a free kick rattle the post.

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that Barcelona's "strength was their central midfielders", adding, "It wasn't really Messi who was the problem, it was Iniesta and Xavi. They can keep the ball all night long."

Xavi continued with his good form in the Confederations Cup, but the absence of Iniesta rendered the masterclass midfielder somewhat redundant. He has an almost telepathic understanding with the 25-year-old, and although Xavi's overall performance in South Africa was encouraging, perhaps a degree of fatigue has crept in.

Nevertheless, that slight blip cannot dislodge Xavi from his position as the best central midfielder in the world.

2008-2009 HONOURS

Barcelona
Primera Division 2008-2009
Copa del Rey 2008-2009
UEFA Champions League 2008-2009

Spain
Third Place at FIFA Confederations Cup 2009

Individual
Fifth in Ballon d'Or 2008
Fifth in FIFA World Player of the Year 2008
Top assist provider in La Liga (20)
Top assist provider in Champions League (7)

Subhankar Mondal, Goal.com

4. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid & Portugal)

3. XAVI (Barcelona & Spain)

2. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona & Spain)