Xavier Hernandez Creus Photos Gallery

In Barça B, he became the brains of Jordi Gonzalvo's team which won promotion to the second division.

Xavi's dream of making his official debut with the first team squad became true when he played in the Spanish Super Cup against Majorca in the summer of 1998. He was in the starting line up and scored: a better debut he could not have asked for. Xavi also played an important role in the league-winning season of 1998-99 with Van Gaal as manager, most notably with an important goal in the Nuevo Zorrilla, which turned round the team's fortunes.

Season 1999-2000 was a good one for Xavi as due to the injury to Guardiola he was the first choice number 4 for a large part of the season. After the legendry captain left for Italian football he became the playmaker of the team and has continued to demonstrate the full range of his talents in this position.

With Van Gaal, Reixach, Antic and Rijkaard in charge of the team, Xavi has always been a key member of the team - a fact made clear by the 300 official games he completed whilst still only 25 years old.

With Rijkaard, Xavi has shown that he can not only play at the heart of midfield, but is also more than able to cover any position in the center of the team, an ability reflected in the fact that he was the most used player in the League winning 2004-05 season, playing 36 games in all.

Xavi will never forget 2 December 2005. While training at La Masía, the midfielder tore the ligaments in his left knee. His recovery was swifter than expected and within five months he was playing again. On 29 April 2006 against Cadiz, Xavi once again “felt like a footballer ". He was back in time to celebrate the League and Champions League titles with his team-mates.

In the last two seasons with Frank Rijkaard in the dugout, Xavi was one of the players most used by the Dutch manager. Plus in the 2007-08 season he set a personal best of 7 League goals, almost doubling his previous highest of four in the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons.

In addition Xavi Hernández has also been a fixture in Spain’s national side. He played in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and in the 2004 and 2008 European Championships, and in the latter was chosen as best player as Spain picked up the title.

Carles Puyol Saforcada Photos Gallery

He rapidly became a fixture in Barca B and then progressed to make his debut with the first team on 2nd October 1999 against Valladolid at the orders of Louis Van Gaal. His appearances became more and more frequent until he made the right back position his own. Thanks to his determination to improve and a tremendous work rate, Carles Puyol adapted to the position of central defender.

In the 2003-2004 season, having been chosen as third captain, he played a vital role in the team's sensational run of form that led to the runners-up place in the league. Puyol made 27 appearances in the league and seven in the UEFA Cup.

However, Carles Puyol had to wait until the 2004-05 season to win his first medal with Barca. He was, by then, captain of the first team and an essential part of Frank Rijkaard's league championship winning side. At the end of the season, he finally saw his dream come true of lifting the league trophy in the Nou Camp.

During the 2005-06 season, he played as well as he had the previous year. The Barça captain had the honour of being presented with the league title trophy before the game against Espanyol, before lifting the UEFA Champions League in Paris after the monumental victory against Arsenal in the Saint-Denis Stadium. Puyol only missed five matches all season and none through injury. On three occasions he was rested by coach Frank Rijkaard and was then suspended for the other two games which he did not play in. He also scored one goal as he headed home during the 5-0 victory against Real Sociedad on October 30, 2005.

At the end of the following season in 2006/07 (in which he played in 35 of 38 League games), Carles Puyol suffered the worst injury of his career when the League was already over. He damaged ligaments in his knee in a friendly played in Pretoria on 20 June 2007 and this kept him out until 29 September. Despite missing the first months of the competition, the club captain finally played in 30 League games in the 2007/08 campaign.

Carles Puyol is also a fixture in the Spanish national side, with which he played in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and in the European Championships in 2004 and 2008. In the latter he was key figure as Spain won the title in Vienna.

Rafael Márquez Álvarez Photos Gallery

His youth and the progress he's enjoyed in the last few years have combined to make him one of the most promising defenders in Europe.

Beginning his career at Atlas Guadalajara (1996-99) he made his debut in the Mexican first division when he was just 17 years old. Three years later he signed for AS Monaco where he soon fit into the demands of the European game. In 2000 he won the French League title and was named as the league's top defender.

In 2003 his team won the French League Cup. Captain of the Mexican national team he played in the 1999 and 2001 Copas de America and the 2002 World Cup.

Márquez has gained the complete respect and trust of Frank Rijkaard and has become a regular in the Barcelona team. In his first season at the club he was one of the key figures as the side earned direct qualification for the Champions League.

In 2004-05, he demonstrated his versatility. The knee ligament injuries to Edmilson and Thiago Motta meant that Márquez was asked to step away from his usual role in the centre of the defence and play as a defensive midfielder, as he had done for both Monaco and Mexico in the past. He proved to be outstanding in front of the defence as he helped the side win the league title.

Márquez played in 34 League games and 6 Champions League fixtures, scoring 3 goals. In the 2005-06 season Márquez partnered Carles Puyol in the centre of the defence and together they become one of the best central defensive pairings in Europe. He was out for a month with a muscle strain in his right leg. In the year of the double, Márquez played in 25 League games and 8 Champions League encounters.

Injuries limited the Mexican’s contribution in the 2006/07 and 07/08 seasons. In total he played in 21 and 22 League games respectively. With the arrival of Touré Yaya, Márquez once again moved into the centre of the defence where he formed a fine pairing with Gaby Milito.

Capitan of Mexico, and in addition to winning the Copa Confederaciones in 1999 and the Copa de Oro in 2003, he has also played under all the national team’s coaches in recent years. He played in the Copa América in 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2007, and in the World Cup in 2002. He was also a key player for Mexico in the World Cup in Germany in 2006.

Gerard Piqué Bernabeu Photos Gallery

Gerard Piqué was born on 2 February 1987 and since that day he has been a club member of FC Barcelona. Since he was very young he has been involved with the club and when he was 10 years old he joined the youngest boys’ team at the club (Alevín B).

From then on he passed through the various under-age levels, picking up titles along the way and winning plaudits in all age categories (Alevín A, Infantil B and A, Cadete B and A and Juvenil B and A). When playing at Cadete B level Tito Vilanova was his manager, and he will meet up with Vilanova once again on his return to the first team. In all this time of development and learning, Gerard Piqué showed a great ability to adapt to different positions on the field and gained a reputation for goal scoring, despite his defensive position.

At the end of the 2003/04 season, Gerard Piqué took a break from his life as an azulgrana and left for Manchester United. He made his debut for the English side on 26 October, only three weeks after arriving, in a Carling Cup match against Crewe Alexandra. He was also with Alex Ferguson’s team for the 2005/06 season before being loaned out to Real Zaragoza for the 2006/07 season.

In his only season with the Aragon side, Piqué played quite a lot as a defensive midfielder in front of the back four. The catalan played 22 league games, eighteen of which he started, and scored to goals. During this time he played alongside Gabriel Milito, who he will also meet up with again on his return to Barça.

Season 2007/08 saw Piqué return to Manchester United and he was able to celebrate the double of Premiership and Champions League. He had a memorable season in the Champions League, especially in the initial league phase, scoring two goals.

With regard to his international experience, Piqué is a regular for the U-21 side, as he was with the younger under-age teams. He played in the 2007 U-20s World Cup in Canada, the 2006 U-19s European Championships in Poland (which Spain won) and the 2004 U-17s European Championships in France (which Spain finished as runners-up).

José Martín Cáceres Photos Gallery

Martín Cáceres (7 April, 1987) started his career in the junior ranks of Defensor Montevideo and made his debut in the Uruguayan first division for the club in 2006. He played seventeen games, scored four goals and was shown five yellow cards. In the following season he would only play nine games with Defensor because his professional career would take a big step forward in the summer of 2007.
First, he took part in the South America U-20s championships where he helped Uruguay to third place as well as being named the tournament’s best defender. Cáceres repeated his fine performances in the U-20s World Cup in Canada and so generated interest from some European clubs.

Villarreal signed him in August 2007 but loaned him out to Recreativo. Martín Cáceres played a huge role in keeping the Andalusian side in the first division. Wearing the number 4 shirt, he played 34 games, scoring two goals and receiving ten yellow cards.

His fine season in Huelva brought him some recognition. He was included in UEFA’s team of upcoming stars for the 2007/08 season, along with Bojan Krkic. He also became a permanent fixture in the Uruguayan national side. His progress attracted FC Barcelona, who signed him in the summer of 2008.

Victor Valdes Arribas Photos Gallery

n September of the same year he moved with his family to Tenerife and didn't rejoin the club until three years later.

After quickly proving his worth with the youth teams and Barca B, the club coaches decided that the 2002-2003 season was to be Valdés time to form part of the first team squad. At first, he alternated appearances with Roberto Bonano but finished the season as regular first choice under Radomir Antic.

He consolidated his place as in the starting line-up in the 2003-04 season. He played most of Barca's matches that season and put in some excellent performances, helping the team to finish as runners-up.

In the 2005-06 season Valdés was one of the key players in Barça’s double of the League and the Champions League. Especially memorable are the crucial saves he made in the final in Paris as Barça won its second ever Champions League.

In the 2006-07 season Valdés remained a fixture in the Barça goal and played in all 38 League games. In the 2007-08 campaign he only stood down in the last three games to give José Manuel Pinto a chance to make his first team debut. All this time Valdés has been improving and is now one of the players who has played most games between the sticks for the club.