XAVI VOWS TO RESTORE DUTCH ATTACKING STYLE AS NEW NETHERLANDS COACH

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Agency Report

New Netherlands coach Xavi Hernandez has pledged to revive the attacking football associated with the Oranje, saying an offensive approach will help the team improve its results and restore national pride.

The 46-year-old former Spain international made the pledge on Tuesday during his first press conference since succeeding Ronald Koeman as Netherlands coach on a four-year contract.

“If we play good football… taking the initiative, dominating the game, playing in an offensive way… we will be closer to winning and to getting results,” Xavi told reporters.

The former Barcelona midfielder said his objective was to restore the footballing identity he remembered watching as a child.

“I remember when I was a kid watching the Netherlands, you could watch good football. And this is my target to play good football in order to be proud,” he said.

Asked whether attractive football or results would be his priority, Xavi responded: “Both.”

“We are here to compete, we are here to enjoy and we are here to win. I insist, we are here to win,” he added.

Xavi becomes the first foreign coach to take charge of the Netherlands in 48 years.

The Barcelona great was part of Spain’s team that defeated the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final and subsequently enjoyed a successful coaching spell at Barcelona, where he won the 2023 La Liga title.

He left the Camp Nou in 2024 and has not held a head coaching position since then.

Xavi began his coaching career with Qatari club Al-Sadd before returning to Barcelona.

Dutch Director of Football Nigel de Jong revealed that the Netherlands had initially approached former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Liverpool boss Arne Slot before appointing Xavi.

Responding humorously to the revelation, Xavi said: “Well, it’s not a bad position after Guardiola and after Slot, no?”

“I don’t care if I’m the third or I’m the 10th one,” he added.

Xavi’s first match in charge will be a Nations League home clash against Germany on September 24, where he will face another high-profile coach in former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

“I feel excited, I feel motivated because we are playing against Germany, one of the best teams in Europe, and one of the best coaches in recent years, Jurgen Klopp,” Xavi said.

The Netherlands will be looking to end a long wait for major international success.

The Oranje have lost three World Cup finals, the most by a nation yet to win the competition, while their only major international title remains the 1988 European Championship.

They have also suffered four defeats in European Championship semi-finals since their 1988 triumph, including a loss to England two years ago.

Xavi arrives with an illustrious playing pedigree, having won four Champions League titles with Barcelona and becoming the club’s second-highest appearance maker behind Lionel Messi.

He also finished third in the Ballon d’Or voting three consecutive times during his playing career.

Known for his influential role in Barcelona’s possession-based style of football, Xavi now hopes to bring his philosophy to the Netherlands and reconnect the national team with its traditional attacking identity.

“We will work with passion, with ambition and with desire, in order that people in Holland, the 18 million people, are proud of our team,” he said.