Abel Xavier

Abel Xavier

Personal information
Full name	Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier
Date of birth	(1972-11-30) 30 November 1972 (age 51)[1]
Place of birth	Nampula, Mozambique
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s)	Right-back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1993	Estrela da Amadora	85	(5)
1993–1995	Benfica	45	(4)
1995–1996	→ Bari (loan)	8	(0)
1996–1998	Real Oviedo	58	(0)
1998–1999	PSV	19	(2)
1999–2002	Everton	43	(0)
2002–2003	Liverpool	14	(1)
2003	→ Galatasaray (loan)	11	(0)
2003–2004	Hannover 96	5	(0)
2005	Roma	3	(0)
2005–2006	Middlesbrough	4	(0)
2006–2007	Middlesbrough	14	(1)
2007–2008	LA Galaxy	21	(0)
Total		330	(13)
International career
1988–1989	Portugal U16	14	(1)
1989	Portugal U17	6	(0)
1988–1990	Portugal U18	9	(0)
1990–1991	Portugal U20	9	(0)
1991–1994	Portugal U21	21	(1)
1993–2002	Portugal	20	(2)
Managerial career
2013	Olhanense
2014–2015	Farense
2015	Aves
2016–2019	Mozambique
Medal record Men's football Representing  Portugal UEFA European Championship 2000 Belgium-Netherlands FIFA U-20 World Cup Winner 1991 Portugal UEFA European Under-21 Championship Runner-up 1994 France FIFA U-17 World Cup 1989 Scotland UEFA European Under-17 Championship Winner 1989 Denmark
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈβɛl ʃɐviˈɛɾ]; 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 rivals 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.