Portugese Defender Abel Xavier Join David Beckham At LA Galaxy
Portugese defender Abel Xavier reported to join US Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. Xavier will make his team debut once the secondary MLS transfer period starts on June 15. “Soccer is my life and I’m excited to continue my career in LA,” Xavier said. “Soccer in the United States continues to grow and I’m proud to be a part of it. I’m coming to win.”
“This is a terrific signing for us and he will bring so much experience, leadership and ability to the team,” Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. “People of his quality are not often available for us to sign, so we are really happy that he is going to join us.”
In LA Galaxy Xavier will be a team-mate of English star David Beckham when the Real Madrid playmaker joins the Major League Soccer club in July after his contract with the Spanish side expires.
Abel Xavier previously plays for English Premiership club Middlesbrough. Xavier was banned by UEFA for 18 months — subsequently reduced to one year on appeal to the Court of Arbritration for Sport — after tested positive for dianabol, a steroid favored by body-builders, in a UEFA Cup match against Skoda Xanthi FC in Greece in September 2005.
Xavier is widely regarded as a utility back player but fits the role of a holding midfielder when the necessity arises. Although still regarded as one of the original stalwarts of the Portuguese National team, Xavier’s reputation as a footballer has waned and he will, probably, largely be remembered as one of the many players who never fulfilled his potential as well as for his eccentric hairstyles.
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