FC Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez wishes Indian football icon IM Vijayan on his 52nd birthday

Former Spanish international footballer and FC Barcelona legend Xavi Herandez sent birthday wishes for icon former Indian footballer IM Vijayan on his birthday.

The legendary Indian striker turned 52 on Sunday.

IM Vijayan, considered one of the greatest Indian footballers of all time, was born in Thrissur, Kerala on April 25 in 1969. He has played for some of the top clubs in Indian football namely, Mohun Bagan, JCT FC, East Bengal and Kerala Police. He had won his only National Football League (NFL) now I-League title with JCT FC in the league's inaugural year in 1996/97.

Vijayan also had a distinguished India career as well, scoring around 40 goals for the Blue Tigers. He made his national team debut in 1989. In the 1999 SAFF Cup, he scored one of the fastest international goals in history during the tournament, hitting the net against Bhutan after only 12 seconds.

He retired from India duty in 2003 after the Afro Asian Games where he was the top scorer with four goals.

The Malayali forward was the first player to win the AIFF Player of the Year multiple times. He has won the accolade thrice.

Barcelona great Xavi Hernadez recently guided Qatari club Al Sadd SC to the Qatar Stars League title in the 2020-21 season. Al Sadd, under the tutelage of the Spanish star, won the trophy without losing a single match this season.

The Qatari champions are currently playing in the AFC Champions League 2021. They are currently placed at the second position in the group table with seven points from four matches.