Barcelona's former coach shocks Xavi

The decision to appoint Spain's Xavi Hernandez as the new manager of the Netherlands national team still comes as a surprise to many.

Nobody saw this coming. After leaving Barcelona, few expected the Spaniard's next move to be a national team, let alone the Netherlands. Xavi returns to succeed Ronald Koeman, exactly as he did at Barcelona in 2021.

Louis van Gaal, who managed the Netherlands across three different spells, had preferred another coach over Xavi, according to his friend, the singer Dries Roelvink.

Sport newspaper published Roelvink's remarks, in which he said: "Louis van Gaal told me again yesterday, and in detail, that he does not consider Xavi a bad choice on the part of the Dutch federation, but personally he would have preferred Peter Bosz."

Van Gaal's own name had surfaced as one of the leading candidates to return to the Netherlands hot seat, alongside Arne Slot, Erik ten Hag and Peter Bosz.

The 75-year-old, who managed Xavi at Barcelona two decades ago, wasted no time congratulating him. "Congratulations, Xavi. Good luck, my friend," he said.

A big task and a huge challenge now await Xavi. In a brief statement after his appointment, he said: "I consider taking up the position of manager of the Netherlands national team a great honour. As someone who was shaped in Barcelona's academy, heavily influenced by, among others, Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels, I feel a special bond with Dutch football."

Xavi also namechecked Van Gaal in his first words as national team manager. "You could say that I am, to some extent, a son of Dutch football," he said.

He added: "Other great coaches also played an important role in my development as a player and as a coach, foremost among them Louis van Gaal, with whom I made my first appearance at Barcelona, and Frank Rijkaard."