Xavi

Xavier "Xavi" Hernández Creus (Catalan: [ˈ(t)ʃaβi ərˈnandəz ˈkɾɛws] Spanish: [ˈtʃaβj erˈnandeθ ˈkɾeus]; born 25 January 1980) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Qatari club Al Sadd SC. Xavi came through La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, at the age of 11. He made his first-team debut against Mallorca in August 1998. Since then he has played 700 matches, scored 82 goals and made more than 180 assists for over 50 players. Xavi is the first player in Barcelona's history to play 150 international matches. Highly regarded for his humble persona and team ethos, Xavi is viewed as being the embodiment of the tiki-taka passing style of play, and is considered to be one of the greatest central midfielders of all time. He is also considered by some to be the greatest Spanish player ever.

Xavi won the U-20 World Cup for Spain in 1999, and the Olympic Silver Medal at the 2000 Olympics. Since making his senior team debut in 2000, he has been capped 133 times for the Spanish national team, and has been seen as an influential figure in the team's tremendous success. He played an integral role in Spain's victory at the 2010 World Cup, as well as their successes at both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. He had a 91% passing success rate at the 2010 World Cup and was named in the World Cup All-star Team. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at Euro 2008. He was also named in the UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament in 2008 as well as 2012. After the 2014 World Cup, Xavi announced his retirement from international football.

Daddy Yankee

Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1976), known by his stage name Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton singer, songwriter, producer and actor. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was raised in the neighborhood of Villa Kennedy Housing Projects.

Ayala aspired to be a professional baseball player, and tried out for the Seattle Mariners Major League baseball team. Before he could be officially signed, he was hit by a stray round from an AK-47 rifle while taking a break from a studio recording session with reggaeton mix tape icon DJ Playero. Ayala spent roughly one and a half years recovering from the wound; the bullet was never removed from his hip, and he credits the shooting incident with allowing him to focus entirely on a music career. Since then, he has sold over 18 million albums.

Musical career

1992–2003: Early music career

Daddy Yankee first appeared on the 1992 DJ Playero's Mixtape, Playero 34, with the song "So' Persigueme, No Te Detengas". Ayala was originally going to become a professional baseball player but he was shot in his leg while taking a break from a studio recording session. The bullet was never removed and he credits this incident with allowing him to pursue a musical career. He made a few songs talking about the shooting incident, but his most "complete" song about it was "6 De Enero", released in 2012. His first official studio project as a solo artist was No Mercy, which was released on April 2, 1995 through White Lion Records and BM Records in Puerto Rico. Early in his career he attempted to imitate the style of Vico C. He went on to emulate other artists in the genre, including DJ Playero, DJ Nelson, and DJ Drako, taking elements from their styles in order to develop an original style. In doing so, he eventually abandoned the traditional model of rap and became one of the first artists to perform reggaeton.