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Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier (; born 30 November 1972) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
Xavier played for clubs in Portugal, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, England, Turkey and Germany before retiring with the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2008. He represented both Merseyside derby Everton and Liverpool in the Premier League. While at Middlesbrough he was the first Premier League player to test positive for performance-enhancing substances, and was banned for one year.
From his debut in 1993, Xavier played 20 games for the Portugal national team, and was selected in their squads for UEFA Euro 2000 and 2002 FIFA World Cup. He later became a manager for several Portuguese clubs and the Mozambique national team.
Xavier started the first four league games of the 2002–03 FA Premier League season but later argued with Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier and did not feature in any of the remaining games, though he did play in a League Cup tie against Ipswich in December. On 29 January 2003, he was loaned to Turkish side Galatasaray for the remainder of the season, with an option of a permanent move in the summer. Galatasaray did not take up the option to sign Xavier, who subsequently played for Hannover 96 (2003–04) and Roma in 2004–05.
Following the UEFA Cup tie against Skoda Xanthi on 29 September, Xavier was administered a drugs test and failed. On 23 November 2005, he was found guilty of using the anabolic steroid methandrostenolone (also known as dianabol), and banned from professional football for 18 months. He said that the substance came from anti-virus medicine that he had imported from the United States. While other players had failed tests for recreational substances, Xavier became the first Premier League player to be found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs. The suspension caused him to miss Middlesbrough's run to the 2006 UEFA Cup final. Xavier remained employed by the club and unsuccessfully appealed the decision; in January 2006 he said that he would take UEFA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Xavier's ban was shortened to 12 months in June 2006, making him eligible to play again from November 2006. In the summer of 2006, he began training again with Middlesbrough, and on 8 November 2006, was offered a contract with the club for the remainder of the 2006–07 season. He scored his first Boro goal on 20 January 2007 in a 5–1 win against Bolton Wanderers at the Riverside Stadium.
Xavier was waived by Los Angeles on 18 July 2008. Later, in an interview to an online football site, Xavier criticised Galaxy manager Ruud Gullit and the league itself. In December 2009, Xavier quit professional football.
Xavier's full international debut for senior team came on 31 March 1993, away in Switzerland in qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He played three more matches in the unsuccessful qualification campaign that year and did not play for Portugal again until 1998.
Xavier was selected for UEFA Euro 2000 and became one of the key figures in the competition, not only due to playing some of his best football but also due to a distinctly bleached-blonde hairstyle with a matching beard. In the semi-final against France, he went from close to hero, as France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez blocked what looked a sure goal, to a villain, when he deflected a shot by Sylvain Wiltord near the post in the dying seconds of golden goal extra time with his hand. Zinedine Zidane scored the penalty and put France in the final. Xavier was initially given a nine-month ban from football for his vociferous protests against referee Günter Benkö's decision to award the penalty, but it was eventually reduced to six months. In the 2002 World Cup, he was part of the squad but played only as a substitute in the final group stage match against South Korea in his final of 20 international appearances.
In December 2014, Xavier signed for another team from the Algarve, Farense of the LigaPro. He left his position on 28 May, after leading his team to the 11th position.
In July 2015, Xavier signed a one-year deal with another team in the second division, Desportivo das Aves. He was fired in early September after a series of poor results.
On 26 January 2016, he signed a two-year contract as coach of the Mozambique national team, starting work on 1 February. In December 2017, with his contract due to expire, he had it extended until the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. After conceding an added-time goal to Guinea, the Black Mambas missed out on the tournament in Egypt but he was assured of a new deal by the Mozambican Football Federation; this offer was rescinded after a poor performance at the 2019 COSAFA Cup in South Africa.
From 2011 to 2014, Xavier was in a relationship with actress Oceana Basílio. In February 2017, with debts of €1.5 million, bankruptcy proceedings were initiated against him.
Benfica
PSV
Liverpool
Portugal U17
Portugal U18
Portugal U20
LA Galaxy
On 14 May 2007, it was announced that Xavier was to join the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS). He played in his first game with the Galaxy on 17 June 2007 at home against Real Salt Lake, setting up fellow new signing Edson Buddle in a 3–2 win.
International career
Xavier was a part of the Portugal squad which came third at the 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship in Scotland.
Managerial career
In July 2013, Xavier signed to be manager of Portuguese top division club Olhanense for the upcoming 2013–14 Primeira Liga season. He was sacked by the club on 28 October 2013, despite beating Arouca in his last match to reach 11th in the table.
Personal life
Xavier was born in Mozambique, which was then a Portuguese colony, and moved to Portugal as a child. He settled in Jamor in the western suburbs of Lisbon, where he lived in poverty. He grew up in a strict Catholic Church background. On retiring from his playing career, Xavier converted to Islam. He said that he was initiated into the faith by a brother of the monarch of the United Arab Emirates in 2009, who gave him the name Faisal. Xavier said "You can call me Abel, you can call me Faisal or Abel ‘Faisal’ Xavier. Deep down, I wanted to keep the same name, but be recognised by a historical name in Islam".
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition Estrela Amadora 1989–90 Primeira Divisão 0 1990–91 Primeira Liga 0 1991–92 Segunda Divisão de Honra 0 1992–93 Segunda Divisão de Honra 5 Benfica 1993–94 Primeira Liga 2 1994–95 Primeira Liga 3 Bari 1995–96 Serie A 0 Real Oviedo 1996–97 La Liga 0 1997–98 La Liga 0 PSV Eindhoven 1998–99 Eredivisie 2 Everton 1999–2000 Premier League 0 2000–01 Premier League 0 2001–02 Premier League 0 Liverpool 2001–02 Premier League 2 2002–03 Premier League 0 Galatasaray (loan) 2002–03 Süper Lig 0 Hannover 2003–04 Bundesliga 0 AS Roma 2004–05 Serie A 0 Middlesbrough 2005–06 Premier League 0 2006–07 Premier League 1 LA Galaxy 2007 Major League Soccer 0 2008 Major League Soccer 0
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and year Portugal 0 0 1 1 0 0
+ List of international goals scored by Abel Xavier
!scope="col" No.
!scope="col" Date
!scope="col" Venue
!scope="col" Opponent
!scope="col" Score
!scope="col" Result
!scope="col" Competition
Managerial
Olhanense 7 July 2013 28 October 2013
Farense 1 December 2014 28 May 2015
Desportivo Aves 9 July 2015 4 September 2015
Mozambique 26 January 2016 22 July 2019
Honours
Estrela da Amadora
See also
External links
Categories: 1972 Births, Living People, People From Nampula, Portuguese Men's Footballers, Mozambican Men's Footballers, Portugal Men's International Footballers, Portugal Men's Youth International Footballers, Portugal Men's Under-21 International Footballers, Portuguese People Of Mozambican Descent, Men's Association Football Full-backs, C.f. Estrela Da Amadora Players, S.l. Benfica Footballers, Ssc Bari Players, La Liga Players, Real Oviedo Players, Psv Eindhoven Players, Everton F.c. Players, Liverpool F.c. Players, Galatasaray S.k. Footballers, Hannover 96 Players, Serie A Players, As Roma Players, Middlesbrough F.c. Players, La Galaxy Players, Premier League Players, Uefa Euro 2000 Players, 2002 Fifa World Cup Players, Mozambican Emigrants To Portugal, Portuguese Sportspeople In Doping Cases, Doping Cases In Association Football, Bundesliga Players, Primeira Liga Players, Eredivisie Players, Süper Lig Players, Major League Soccer Players, Portuguese Muslims, Converts To Sunni Islam From Roman Catholicism, Portuguese Expatriate Men's Footballers, Mozambican Expatriate Men's Footballers, Expatriate Men's Footballers In Italy, Expatriate Men's Footballers In Germany, Expatriate Men's Footballers In England, Expatriate Men's Footballers In Turkey, Expatriate Men's Footballers In The Netherlands, Expatriate Men's Footballers In Spain, Expatriate Men's Soccer Players In The United States, Portuguese Expatriate Sportspeople In Italy, Portuguese Expatriate Sportspeople In Germany, Portuguese Expatriate Sportspeople In England, Portuguese Expatriate Sportspeople In Turkey, Portuguese Expatriate Sportspeople In The Netherlands, Portuguese Expatriate Sportspeople In Spain, Portuguese Expatriate Sportspeople In The United States, Mozambican Expatriate Sportspeople In Italy, Mozambican Expatriate Sportspeople In Germany, Mozambican Expatriate Sportspeople In England, Mozambican Expatriate Sportspeople In Turkey, Mozambican Expatriate Sportspeople In The Netherlands, Mozambican Expatriate Sportspeople In Spain, Mozambican Expatriate Sportspeople In The United States, Portuguese Football Managers, S.c. Olhanense Managers, S.c. Farense Managers, C.d. Aves Managers, Primeira Liga Managers, Liga Portugal 2 Managers, Mozambique National Football Team Managers, Black Portuguese Sportspeople, Portuguese Football Commentators, Mozambican Muslims
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