Xavi Hernandez: Barcelona legend quits Spain duty

The 34-year-old won the World Cup and two European Championships with his country.He was capped 133 times, more than any other Spanish outfield player, and scored 13 goals.Xavi told a news conference in Barcelona on Tuesday: "I'm grateful for all those years. It has been a fantastic time."He made his full Spain debut on 15 November 2000, aged 20, against the Netherlands."I'm not 20 anymore, but I still have the motivation of a kid," he said.Xavi was voted player of the tournament at the 2008 European Championship as Spain ended a 44-year wait for a major international trophy and began a period of domination on the world stage.Theystarted the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as one of the favourites, but were dumped out of the tournament in the group stages after a 5-1 defeat by Netherlands and a 2-0 loss to Chile.Xavi said: "I was going to retire after Euro 2012 but head coach Vicente Del Bosque persuaded me to stay on and go to Brazil, which was of course a huge disappointment for everyone and myself individually."After Euro 2012, it was generally understood I was going to be leaving after Brazil 2014. I hope Del Bosque stays as manager of Spain because I don't think there is a better man for the job."I want to thank everyone involved in that team for the way they treated me and the respect, and I could not wish for a better time as an international."(BBC)Bakudaily.az