All About My Great Friend Abel Xavier..,

Hi everyone,

my name is Sergio Peretti, but everyone calls me Slim.

I am a personal football coach and I coached Bolo Zenden, Franck Queudreu and Massimo Maccarone whilst they were at Middlesbrough.

I met Abel through Massimo and I have known him now for over 6 months.

Abel is without doubt the most knowledgble footballer I have ever met and for me to say this for those who know me is something I do not ever say.

His knowledge on coaching methodology, nutrition and all the things that go into running a football club are all simply incredible. Whilst other footballers had all the summer weeks off to relax and chill out, Abel had the rest that he felt his body needed and then travelled the world to see how they were doing things.

Abel lives his life like the consumate professional athlete. He eats plain pasta with a tocuh of olive oil - no parmesan, followed by grilled chicken with salad or vegetables and four poached eggs without any of the yolks, for lunch and dinner. In the time I have known him he has only ever had two glasses of red wine which he never fully finished. He never, ever gets drunk and he hydrates his body with water all day long.

When you see him out, 99 times out of 100 he will have a diet coke in his hand without ice in it!

On a morning he takes a protein shake with his breakfast and does the same just before bed.

Forget what you think you know about his ban because he is absolutely innocent and proved himself to be so and this is why his ban was reduced.

The ban was not lifted because the rules in Europe state that even if you take an illegal substance without knowing that it is contaminated then you are still ultimately responsible.

Abel will give this team a level of help and advice, should they require it, that in my opinion few footballers the world over would be able to give. His life is football and he lives it 24/7. He didn't choose LA Galaxy for the VIP lifestyle, for the money or for an easy option. He choose LA Galaxy because his sole aim in life is to play football. He has talked very highly of your chairman and of your manager and he's raring to go. I know all of these things because we talked about them often.

He isn't your usual " Big Time " footballer. He's down to earth, a family man and a great thinker of football and of life. He's a man that absolutely demands the human touch, i.e. good morning everyone, are you ok ?, can I help you, you know where I am if you need me e.t.c.

He was incredibly impressed with this aspect of the chairman and of the manager in his calls to them and this was a big, big plus point to him.

I will not comment on his footballing ability as each of you will have to make up their own minds. All I can tell you is that he is super fit, super strong and gives 110% for each and every minute he is on the pitch.

When you hear him talk you will undertsand just what a prize asset he is.

Abel speaks his mind, but he always does so in a way that's positive and that will be a positive help and a positive influence for all. He's not in anway devisive, he's absolutely a team player, but if at half time you're losing then you can bet your life on it that he won't be happy !

On the pitch he always has a stern, stern look on his face but this is just because he's totally focused as a result of the mental preparation and visualisation that he does before he comes on.

He will certainly add some colour to the game and he will add a great deal of passion.

Bad points ? He sometimes thinks too much for his own good about football and doesn't switch off as much as he should. But I think he's a lot better now than he used to be ! If he's in a restaurant on the phone you'll sure know about it because just like they do in Italy he talks VERY loudly and directly into the phone without the other part being close to his ear - sorry Abel !

It has been a truly great honour to have met and been associated with Abel Xavier and it is a tremendous pleasure to be able to call him a true, true friend.

To have lost such a great friend and someone with whom I could talk about football, coaching and training matters in a way that I have never done before is a huge, huge loss to me personally and to my girlfriend Sofie. Nights out just won't be the same as we always made each other laugh so much.

If you ever get the chance ask him what a parmo is and watch his big smile ! Better still, go into the stands with a banner and ask him if he wants to come to your house for one !!!!

I hope you don't mind my coming here to talk to you about Abel. I just thought you might all like to know a bit about him.

Thank you for you time.

Slim.

 

No problem at all ! I too am excited and really looking forward to gaining an understanding of football in the USA, and how you do things as compared to us.

Slim.

 

Well thanks for the plug kstuart, but I really didn't come here to promote my site and won't be doing so !

Slim.

 

No, I don't think so but with Abel you never know !

Slim.

 

Hi Jason,

Abel hasn't thought that far ahead ! He really has come to play as much football as he can and he's very, very determined to do so and to do well and win as much as is possible.

I have no doubt that Abel will one day go into coaching or management because of the amount that he knows, but that won't be for some time yet. But he's first and foremost a professional footballer and that is all he thinks about at the moment, of that you can rest assured.

He may be 34 but he really is a true athlete who has looked after himself amazingly well. He isn't one of these players who carries long term injuries or age related niggles. He's fully fit and raring to go.

Slim.

 

Hi Stillkickin,

that's great to hear too as I know that this will really be the icing on the cake for Abel as he's a people person and a team player who needs this kind of human interaction. If a player's injured who's fighting for his position Abel will go over to him, genuinely ask him how he is and do all he can to help. You won't find too many players like that.

This is what I wanted to get across to you all, the kind of man he is. You will all decide for yourselves if he's a good or bad player and that's how it should be as you are the fans and pay your hard earned cash every week to go and watch, so you don't need me to do that. But fans often don't get to see players for the people they are and I think that it's great for fans to really get to know about the people who play for them.

Thanks for all your kind words. It's midnight here so I'm off to bed now ! I really look forward to talking to you all about football and picking your brains. Nice to meet you all.

Slim.