The “Oranje” were left without a strategist after an unsuccessful World Cup, where the Dutch were eliminated in the round of 16, losing to Morocco. Immediately after the tournament, Ronald Koeman resigned from the national team.
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After a month and a half of searching, the Netherlands national team is taken over by Xavi – a 46-year-old football legend who spent his best years at Barcelona and coached this Catalan team from 2021 to 2024.
A contract with the Catalan has been signed until 2030, so it is expected that Xavi will coach the Dutch at the 2028 European and 2030 World Championships.
“It is a great honor for me to become the head coach of the Netherlands national team. As a person who grew up training at the Barca academy and was strongly influenced by Johan Cruyff, Rinus Michels, and other Dutchmen, I feel a very close connection to Dutch football. You could say that I am partly a son of Dutch football, as I debuted while Louis van Gaal was coaching Barcelona, and I developed further under Frank Rijkaard,” the midfielder named the legendary Dutchmen.
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Interestingly, Xavi took over the Barcelona helm from R. Koeman five years ago. With this team, he once became the Spanish champion and won the Spanish Super Cup.
Xavi will be the first foreigner to coach the Dutch since 1978, when the team was led by Austrian Ernst Happel.
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