New Oranje coach Xavi calls Netherlands “university of football”

New national head coach Xavi Hernandez said he regarded the Netherlands as the “university of football” as he gave his first press conference in Zeist.

The 46-year-old said it was an “honour” to be appointed by the KNVB as the first foreign coach since Austria’s Ernst Happel led the men’s team to the 1978 World Cup final.

Xavi was the KNVB’s third choice for the job after Pep Guardiola, the former Manchester City coach, opted to take a sabbatical from football and Arne Slot, the former Feyenoord and Liverpool coach, preferred to stay in club football.

He has been given a four-year contract until the end of the next World Cup in 2030, with no conditions tied to the Netherlands’ performance at the European Championships in two years’ time.

Most of Xavi’s playing career was spent at Barcelona, where he won eight La Liga titles, many of them under the tutelage of Guardiola, whose playing style was influenced by Dutch legend Johan Cruyff.

He made his international debut for Spain in a friendly game against the Netherlands in 2000 and 10 years later was one of the pivotal members of the team that won the World Cup in 2010, defeating Oranje in the final.

“My feeling today is that I’m going to the university of football,” Xavi said. “I learned a lot during my career as a player and a coach that I want to give back.

Big family

“I believe a lot in this generation,” he added. “We have a lot of talents, but the important thing for me is to create a team, a group and a big family in order to play well.”

Asked how he felt about being the KNVB’s third choice, ahead of youth team coach Michael Reiziger, Xavi said: “It’s not a bad position after Guardiola and Slot. At least we’re on the podium.”

He added that the Dutch “total football” school was the basis for his own style of football as both a player and a coach.

“To dominate, the game, to take the initiative with the ball, and at the same time our goal is to show to everybody a team with passion, with desire and ambition. That is my philosophy,” he said.

“We are here to compete, we are here to enjoy and we are here to win.”

Senior players

The KNVB’s technical director, Nigel de Jong, said Xavi was identified as a candidate because his footballing philosophy aligned closely with the Dutch team’s ambitions to play “attractive, dominant” football.

The coach said he had not made any decisions about which players he will select, but he had already spoken to current team captain Virgil van Dijk and Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

Dutch media have speculated that Van Dijk, 35, and leading scorer Memphis Depay, 32, could be dropped from the squad as part of a clear-out of senior players.

De Jong, who worked with Xavi during the Spaniard’s spell as Barcelona coach from 2021 to 2024, has been struggling with injuries for more than a year and was not fully fit during this year’s World Cup.

The coach also said he had been monitoring AZ Alkmaar’s promising 20-year-old midfielder Kees Smit, who narrowly missed out on the World Cup squad this summer.

Oranje will play their first match under his leadership on September 24, when they take on Germany in the Nations League in Amsterdam. “We haven’t yet decided the [squad] list,” Xavi said. “You will see it in three weeks.”