Xavi Oliva

Xavi Oliva
Personal information
Full name	Javier Oliva González
Date of birth	29 May 1976 (age 48)
Place of birth	L'Hospitalet, Spain
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Espanyol
Senior career*
Years	Team
1994	Espanyol B
1994–1997	Hospitalet
1995–1996	→ Roda Barà (loan)
1997–1998	Valencia B
1998–1999	Terrassa
1999–2000	Recreativo
2000–2002	Gimnàstic
2002–2009	Castellón
2009–2011	Villarreal
Total
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Javier "Xavi" Oliva González (Catalan: [ˈʃaβi uˈliβə, -βi wˈ-], Spanish: [ˈʃaβj oˈliβa]; born 29 May 1976) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Football career

Oliva was born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia. After modest beginnings (he had stints with RCD Espanyol^[1] and Valencia CF, but only with their reserves) his first professional spell was in the 1999–2000 season, as he played five matches with Recreativo de Huelva in the second division.

Oliva then represented Gimnàstic de Tarragona in his native region, in both the second and third levels, then moved to CD Castellón in 2002. With the latter, he was instrumental in a 2005 promotion to division two.

In the last two seasons, Oliva lost the starting job to former Real Madrid youth graduate Carlos Sánchez. After more than 200 overall appearances, he backed down on his decision to renew his contract and, in late June 2009, signed a two-year deal with La Liga club Villarreal CF also in the community.^[2] He made his official debut for his new team on 29 October, in a 1–1 away draw against CD Puertollano for the Copa del Rey;^[3] on 5 November, he replaced the injured Diego López during the 4–1 home win over S.S. Lazio for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.^[4]

Oliva left Villarreal as a free agent in the summer of 2011, with no league appearances to his credit. He retired shortly after, at the age of 35.