New Netherlands manager Xavi has promised to make possession and attacking football central to his team after beginning his four-year tenure as national coach.
The former Barcelona boss said he wanted the Dutch side to play with initiative and ambition. He also made clear he would not be tied to the defensive systems used by Louis van Gaal and Ronald Koeman in recent years.
“We want to play in another system [like] 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-4-3,” Xavi said at his presentation. “In those systems we can dominate the game more.”
The 46-year-old sees the Netherlands as a natural fit for his football philosophy. His education at Barcelona, he said, was heavily influenced by the Dutch approach developed by Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff.
Xavi made his Barcelona debut under Van Gaal and later became a central figure in Pep Guardiola’s side. Guardiola himself was strongly influenced by Cruyff.
“My feeling today is that I’m going to the university of football,” Xavi said. “I learned a lot from this university of football during my career as a player and as a coach. I have many connections with this country.”
Xavi also spoke about his relationship with Cruyff, who died in 2016. The pair opened a Cruyff court in Xavi’s home town of Terrassa in 2014, and Xavi recalled meetings with the former Netherlands and Barcelona manager during the final period of his life.
“With Johan in the last period of his life I had some meetings,” Xavi said. “And he was always positive. Even when he was sick, he was positive. This is what I learned: always smiling. This is what I want to show here to the players. My first goal is to help them, and then enjoy the process. And we will be in a process to win.”
Xavi has already spoken with Frenkie de Jong, whom he coached at Barcelona, and Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk. He said he planned to speak to Van Dijk again soon about his ambitions with the national team.
He also intends to select players based on their form rather than the league in which they play. That could open the door to Netherlands internationals in the Saudi Pro League, after Tijjani Reijnders moved from Manchester City to Al-Qadsiah.
“It’s a good league as well,” Xavi said. “Maybe we choose some players from Saudi, from Eredivisie, Premier League, La Liga. I don’t care about the leagues, I care about the performances and the players.”
The Dutch national association, KNVB, led by director of elite football Nigel de Jong, first approached Pep Guardiola for the job. But Guardiola said he did not want a new job in the near future.
De Jong then held two meetings with Arne Slot, who also declined in favour of remaining a club coach.
They then turned to Xavi as third choice. He was subsequently invited to Amsterdam for talks. He was considered alongside Michael Reiziger, the Netherlands Under-21 manager, but ultimately the KNBV chose Xavi.
Xavi said it did not matter to him that he was third on the list. “Well, it’s not a bad position, after Guardiola and after Slot, no? At least you are at the podium,” he said. “I don’t care if I’m the third [choice] or I’m the 10th. It’s a big honour to be here.”
His first competitive challenge will come against Germany in the Nations League in Amsterdam on 24 September, when Xavi will face Jurgen Klopp, who also recently returned to coaching as a national team boss.
“I feel excited, I feel motivated,” Xavi said. “Because we are playing against Germany, one of the best teams in Europe, one of the best coaches in recent years.”
