Xavi out to toast opposition for good

The champagne that flowed at Camp Nou this summer has long since washed away and Xavi Hernández has a sobering thought for his FC Barcelona team-mates: their last UEFA Champions League triumph was followed by a two-year lull. Yet Barça have already added UEFA and Spanish Super Cups to last season's treble and few would bet against Xavi realising his "ultimate ambition" come May, and beating Real Madrid CF in European club football's showpiece at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Tostadora
When Xavi picked up his first pay cheque at Barcelona he immediately made his way to a department store in his native Terrassa and splashed all but 50 cents on a gift for his mother: a toaster. He was eleven and had earned the princely sum of €24. Now you could add six zeros to that figure and still not get close to convincing Barça to part with one of their most prized assets. For Xavi, the Blaugrana's current high is reward for their investment. "Over the last few years a lot of our success has been achieved thanks to the youth set-up," he told uefa.com. "There are four or five players in and around the side that grew up at FC Barcelona and the history of the club, its philosophy, is engrained on us."

Cruyff debt
It is a very particular philosophy. When Xavi started training at Camp Nou Johan Cruyff's Dream Team were sweeping all before them in a manner gloriously redolent to older fans viewing the current side. With the likes of Gheorghe Hagi, Michael Laudrup and Hristo Stoitchkov blending with local talents led by one Josep Guardiola, Barcelona won four successive Liga titles between 1991 and 1994, collected the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1989 and added the 1992 European Champion Clubs' Cup.

'Technical challenge'
"Barcelona's philosophy is fundamental to our success," he said. "When Cruyff introduced this style of play people were really surprised. It's 15 or 20 years since then, and now people couldn't imagine us playing another way. Barcelona have this active, attractive attacking method, to keep possession and control the game. It's a technical challenge so when you win, it's doubly satisfying.

Pep talk
"A large part [of our current success] belongs to Pep Guardiola – the order, discipline and philosophy he brought in," added Xavi, whose side kicked off the defence of their title with a goalless draw at FC Internazionale Milano. "Obviously, if you don't have the talent then you can't achieve what we have, but you also need humility and commitment. The coach plays a major role in this." According to Luís Figo, Xavi's debt to Guardiola is even greater. "When I was at Barcelona Xavi was just emerging – at the time we called him the Master," said the Portuguese, who spent five years at Camp Nou. "He's a typical player for that position in Barcelona's system: after Guardiola came Xavi. Even when [Xavi] was just starting out he already had fantastic quality."

Maintaining momentum
A lull followed the Dream Team's success, capped by their 1994 demolition by AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League final, and Cruyff departed. Yet Xavi believes the fruits of his labour are still being harvested and in May Barça claimed a clean sweep of titles beyond even their illustrious forefathers. Now they are aiming to give their supporters, Los Culés, the sustained success they failed to do after their 2005/06 UEFA Champions League triumph.

No time to dwell
"We've come into this season after a year when we won everything, but that doesn't mean we can sit back and relax, dwell on what we have achieved," Xavi warned. "Two years ago we were in a similar position and endured a bad period – you should never lose momentum. No team has managed to defend the Champions League, so it will be a great challenge, especially knowing that the final is at the Bernabéu." Xavi's mother may be sated if her son comes home with an upgraded toaster next summer, but she will be in the minority.

Xavi Hernández spoke to uefa.com in Monaco where he collected the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year award