The KNVB Campus appears among the trees of Zeist like a small city of Dutch football. At the entrance, the past welcomes the present: a circle of bronze statues brings together the great myths of Oranje, from Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens to Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, or Edwin van der Sar. In the center, Rinus Michels, the coach that Cruyff himself chose to lead the Oranje of the century.
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The past watches over the present in a place where the national team trains, gathers, and lives Dutch football. A football now led by Xavi Hernández Creus (Terrassa, 1980), a legend of FC Barcelona who had been watching football from the sidelines for two years since he stopped being the coach of the Blaugrana club.
And the Netherlands arrived. The negotiation process began on July 21, just after the World Cup, and was carried out with the utmost discretion. Xavi had traveled invited by UEFA to witness the final between Spain and Argentina along with some former teammates with whom he won the first World Cup in 2010. Upon his return to Barcelona, the first contacts took place between Nigel de Jong, sporting director of the Dutch Federation, and Fernando Solanas, Xavi’s agent.
From there, meetings and interviews followed. De Jong traveled to Barcelona and met the coach at his home to get to know him personally and delve into his football proposal. Several weeks later, both appeared before the media at the presentation of the new Dutch national team coach, who signed until 2030.
Nigel de Jong explains the signing
In front of 70 accredited media, De Jong explained the reasons that led the KNVB to hire Xavi, who precisely replaces Ronald Koeman, who after the World Cup announced he would not renew. The federation then had to open a selection process in which it handled four names: Pep Guardiola, Arne Slot, Xavi, and Michael Reiziger. Guardiola had left Manchester City this summer, but his intention was to take a sabbatical year. There was also no agreement with Slot. The race was then reduced to Xavi and Reiziger. In-depth conversations were held with both at the beginning of August, and the final choice fell on the coach from Terrassa. “For the passion and mastery he conveys, the experience he has as a coach, and the personality to reach the players,” explained De Jong. “And because he embraces our football culture with La Masia and Cruyff. He has a very marked identity that we want to see in the Dutch national team.”
Xavi then took the floor. And the first thing he did was to face the challenge and thank the trust by emulating Johan Cruyff’s “Go out and enjoy” and adding competitiveness. “Thank you for trusting me to be the national team coach. I have connections with this country. My feeling today is that I come to the university of football. I will be one of the professors. I believe in this generation. We have talent, but the most important thing is to have a team. We want to dominate the game, be brave, take the initiative, and show a team with passion, desire, and ambition,” he said defending the Cruyffian ideology to which he will also apply what he learned at Barcelona. “It was a great learning experience and a master’s during our time at Can Barça. We have learned a lot as a staff from all the good and not so good things that happened to us,” he explained.
His coaching staff nodded and smiled in the third row. The coach will be accompanied by three men of his utmost trust, who already worked with him at Al Sadd and Barcelona: his brother Óscar Hernández, who will act as assistant coach, Sergio Alegre, assistant, and Iván Torres, responsible for physical preparation. Completing his team are Ruud van Nistelrooy and Adil Ramzi, and the specific goalkeeping area will be in the hands of Patrick Lodewijks. Behind, in the background, his wife Núria Cunillera and Xavi’s agents Fernando Solanas and Arturo Canales also enjoyed the presentation.
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For us, the great challenge is to instill this philosophy in the players and the federation”
Now he wants to use the experience acquired in Barcelona in the Netherlands. “Our great challenge here is to show our philosophy, our idea. We don’t have much time to work during FIFA periods, but for us, the great challenge is to instill this philosophy in the players and the federation. They play. I know I am a foreigner, but I want to give back to the federation the trust it has placed in me. I am here to create a big family to win. That is my goal as a coach and ours as a staff. I love this pressure. “With Cruyff, I had meetings and they were always positive. And when he got sick too. That’s what I learned: that good energy. That’s what I want to convey. To be close. I am a fighter, a winner. I am ready for this,” he claimed.
However, he did not want to enter into comparisons with his predecessors. Neither Koeman nor Van Gaal. “I am not here to talk about the past. I am here to talk about the future. I respect Koeman and Van Gaal for what they did in the past. This is the present and this is the future. I prefer to talk about myself and my philosophy: dominate and have possession. I hate not having the ball.”
I prefer to talk about myself and my philosophy: dominate and have possession. I hate not having the ball”
His first job will be to observe. The captains are already in contact with him and Xavi has started monitoring the players. The first list is not decided and will arrive in about three weeks. “The captains are an important part of the team. I am in contact with them. I have started talking and monitoring players. It is part of my job. We have not decided the list. We will decide it in three weeks. We want to be brave. I don’t care about the age of the players or the league they play in. Age doesn’t matter. Van Gaal trusted me at Barça at 17 years old.”
I don’t care about the age of the players or the league they play in. Age doesn’t matter. Van Gaal trusted me at Barça at 17 years old”
His Oranje will have a recognizable identity. Xavi spoke of systems like 4-3-3, 3-4-2-1, or 4-2-3-1, but insisted that the formation will be a tool to achieve what he considers essential: domination. “Both things are important. Good football, taking the initiative, dominating, and being offensive. We want to be prepared. We can dominate more with some systems than with others.”
He is injured, but he is motivated by our arrival to the Dutch national team and I think he has to be an important player for us, just as he has to be for Barça”
Xavi Hernández
And he also cited as an example the work done by the Spanish Federation with which Spain won its second World Cup this summer. “In Spain, we created a structure a long time ago. Good work has been done and that is what we want now. We are eager, we want to change some things. New energies. With ambition, desire, and for 80 million people to be proud of their team.”
Now it is his turn to build his own Oranje on that heritage. That of Cruyff, that of the Barça Masia. Watch many matches, get to know the players, and detect the talent of the new generations. Regardless of where they play or how old they are. Among them is the Blaugrana Frenkie de Jong, injured in his right knee: “The most important thing is that Frenkie recovers well. He is injured, but he is motivated by our arrival to the Dutch national team and I think he has to be an important player for us, just as he has to be for Barça. He seems to me a fundamental footballer for our idea, for our philosophy,” he explained. “We have a great team. We have to watch many matches. There is talent in the new generations. It is Holland. I am proud,” he concluded in his new home. Xavi is in Cruyff’s house.
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