Date of birth | 30 November 1972 |
Place of birth | Nampula, Mozambique |
Nationality | Portuguese |
Weight | 85 kg |
Height | 1.88 m |
Position | Defender |
Full name is: Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier
Xavier began his career at Estrela Amadora in 1990.
He moved to Benfica in 1993 and after two seasons went to play in Italy for Serie A club Bari.
He could not settle and moved to Spain in the summer of 1996 to play for Real Oviedo.
He moved the game after one season to play in Holland for PSV Eindhoven and then back to Spain to play for Celta Vigo.
He could not break into the first team and, in an effort to make the 2000 European Championship Finals, he signed for Premiership team Everton in September 1999 for £1.5 million.
He had represented Portugal at all levels with his constant movement between different clubs not proving to be a problem.
He made the squad for the 2000 European championship finals and was a member of the very successful Portuguese team.
He was sent off in the semi final and received a seventeen-month ban from international football.
He was surprisingly sold to Liverpool in mid-season in 2001-02, scored on his Liverpool debut versus Ipswich Town and performed well earning an international recall just prior to the finals.
Xavier's contract at Liverpool was cancelled by mutual consent in February 2004, and he immediately joined Hannover 96 with a contract to June 2005.
Xavier joined Middlesbrough in August 2005 with a one-year contract that was cancelled in January 2006 due to disciplinary reasons.
Having served a ban, he re-joined Middlesbrough in November 2006 with a contract to the end of the season.
Team | Joined | Left | Loan / Trialist |
---|---|---|---|
Estrela Amadora | 01 Jul 1990 | 01 Jul 1993 | |
Benfica | 01 Jul 1993 | 01 Jul 1995 | |
Bari | 01 Jul 1995 | 01 Jul 1996 | |
Real Oviedo | 01 Jul 1996 | 01 Jul 1998 | |
PSV Eindhoven | 01 Jul 1998 | 08 Sep 1999 | |
Everton | 08 Sep 1999 | 31 Jan 2002 | |
Liverpool | 31 Jan 2002 | 02 Feb 2004 | |
Galatasaray | 29 Jan 2003 | 31 Jan 2004 | L |
Hannover 96 | 02 Feb 2004 | 31 Jan 2005 | |
AS Roma | 31 Jan 2005 | 30 Jun 2005 | |
Middlesbrough | 31 Aug 2005 | 23 Jan 2006 | |
Middlesbrough | 08 Nov 2006 | 30 Jun 2007 | |
LA Galaxy | 01 Jul 2007 |
Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999-00 | Everton | FA Cup | 2 |
2
|
|||
1999-00 | Everton | League Cup | 1 |
1
|
|||
1999-00 | Everton | Premier League | 18 | 2 |
1
|
||
2000-01 | Everton | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
2000-01 | Everton | Premier League | 10 | 1 |
2
|
1
|
|
2001-02 | Everton | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
2001-02 | Everton | League Cup | 1 | ||||
2001-02 | Everton | Premier League | 11 | 1 |
1
|
||
2001-02 | Liverpool | Premier League | 9 | 1 |
1 |
1
|
|
2001-02 | Liverpool | UEFA Champions League | 5 | 1 |
2
|
||
2002-03 | Liverpool | FA Community Shield | 1 | ||||
2002-03 | Liverpool | League Cup | 1 | ||||
2002-03 | Liverpool | Premier League | 4 | ||||
2003-04 | Hannover 96 | Bundesliga | 5 | ||||
2004-05 | AS Roma | Serie A | 2 | 1 |
|||
2005-06 | Middlesbrough | Premier League | 4 | ||||
2005-06 | Middlesbrough | UEFA Cup | 2 | ||||
2006-07 | Middlesbrough | FA Cup | 6 |
2
|
|||
2006-07 | Middlesbrough | Premier League | 14 | 1 |
1
|
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 Feb 2004 | Hannover 96 v Bayer Leverkusen | D | 2-2 | Bundesliga | 20 |
21 Feb 2004 | Hansa Rostock v Hannover 96 | L | 3-1 | Bundesliga | 21 |
29 Feb 2004 | Hannover 96 v Hertha Berlin | L | 1-3 | Bundesliga | 22 |
06 Mar 2004 | Borussia Mönchengladbach v Hannover 96 | L | 1-0 | Bundesliga | 23 |
22 May 2004 | VfL Bochum v Hannover 96 | L | 3-1 | Bundesliga | 34 |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1988-89 | Portugal | World Youth Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
1990-91 | Portugal | World Youth Cup | 4 | ||||
1991-92 | Portugal | Toulon Under-21 | 1 | ||||
1991-92 | Portugal | UEFA Under-21 | 1 | ||||
1992-93 | Portugal | FIFA World Cup | 3 | ||||
1992-93 | Portugal | UEFA Under-21 | 3 | ||||
1993-94 | Portugal | FIFA World Cup | 1 | ||||
1993-94 | Portugal | UEFA Under-21 | 4 | ||||
1997-98 | Portugal | International Friendly | 1 | ||||
1998-99 | Portugal | International Friendly | 2 | ||||
1998-99 | Portugal | UEFA European Championship | 3 | ||||
1999-00 | Portugal | International Friendly | 2 | ||||
1999-00 | Portugal | UEFA European Championship | 2 | 1 |
1 |
||
2000-01 | Portugal | FIFA World Cup | 1 | ||||
2000-01 | Portugal | International Friendly | 1 | ||||
2001-02 | Portugal | FIFA World Cup | 1 |
||||
2001-02 | Portugal | International Friendly | 2 |
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
20 Feb 1989 | Nigeria v Portugal | W | 0-1 | World Youth Cup | Group A |
22 Feb 1989 | Saudi Arabia v Portugal | L | 3-0 | World Youth Cup | Group A |
28 Feb 1989 | Portugal v Brazil | W | 1-0 | World Youth Cup | Semi-final |
14 Jun 1991 | Portugal v Republic of Ireland | W | 2-0 | World Youth Cup | Group A |
17 Jun 1991 | Portugal v Argentina | W | 3-0 | World Youth Cup | Group A |
22 Jun 1991 | Portugal v Mexico | W | 2-1 | World Youth Cup | Quarter-final |
26 Jun 1991 | Portugal v Australia | W | 1-0 | World Youth Cup | Semi-final |
15 Oct 1991 | Netherlands v Portugal | D | 1-1 | UEFA U21 | Group |
29 May 1992 | Portugal v USA | W | 2-0 | Toulon Under-21 | Group B |
13 Oct 1992 | Scotland v Portugal | D | 0-0 | UEFA U21 | Group 1 |
23 Jan 1993 | Malta v Portugal | W | 0-2 | UEFA U21 | Group 1 |
23 Feb 1993 | Portugal v Italy | W | 2-0 | UEFA U21 | Group 1 |
31 Mar 1993 | Switzerland v Portugal | D | 1-1 | FIFA World Cup | Group 1 |
28 Apr 1993 | Portugal v Scotland | W | 5-0 | FIFA World Cup | Group 1 |
19 Jun 1993 | Portugal v Malta | W | 4-0 | FIFA World Cup | Group 1 |
05 Sep 1993 | Estonia v Portugal | W | 0-2 | FIFA World Cup | Group 1 |
18 Nov 1993 | Italy v Portugal | L | 2-1 | UEFA U21 | Group 1 |
09 Mar 1994 | Poland v Portugal | W | 1-3 | UEFA U21 | Quarter-final |
15 Apr 1994 | Portugal v Spain | W | 2-0 | UEFA U21 | Semi-final |
20 Apr 1994 | Italy v Portugal | L | 1-0 | UEFA U21 | Final |
22 Apr 1998 | England v Portugal | L | 3-0 | International Friendly | |
19 Aug 1998 | Portugal v Mozambique | W | 2-1 | International Friendly | |
10 Oct 1998 | Portugal v Romania | L | 0-1 | UEFA European Championship | Group 7 |
14 Oct 1998 | Slovakia v Portugal | W | 0-3 | UEFA European Championship | Group 7 |
18 Nov 1998 | Portugal v Israel | W | 2-0 | International Friendly | |
05 Jun 1999 | Portugal v Slovakia | W | 1-0 | UEFA European Championship | Group 7 |
10 Oct 1999 | Portugal v Hungary | W | 3-0 | UEFA European Championship | Group 7 |
29 Mar 2000 | Portugal v Denmark | W | 2-1 | International Friendly | |
26 Apr 2000 | Italy v Portugal | L | 2-0 | International Friendly | |
12 Jun 2000 | Portugal v England | W | 3-2 | UEFA European Championship | Finals Group A |
28 Jun 2000 | France v Portugal | L | 2-1 | UEFA European Championship | Finals semi-final |
28 Feb 2001 | Portugal v Andorra | W | 3-0 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 2 |
25 Apr 2001 | France v Portugal | L | 4-0 | International Friendly | |
17 Apr 2002 | Portugal v Brazil | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
25 May 2002 | China PR v Portugal | W | 0-2 | International Friendly | |
14 Jun 2002 | Portugal v Korea Republic | L | 0-1 | FIFA World Cup | Finals Group D |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.