'By keeping him away from the Netherlands, Xavi could have made a statement'

Xavi's press conferences are not yet a cause for celebration, was the verdict on Monday in Voetbalpraat. Willem Vissers even longs for the days when Louis van Gaal was head coach of the Netherlands national team.

"If you're a bit older, you start longing again for press conferences with Van Gaal, who had a brilliant answer to every question," Vissers says in his analysis of the Spanish coach's press conference on Monday.

Colleague Sjoerd Mossou agrees. "It will be hard work for the press corps," he says. "This man simply answers very politely. In management-speak. It basically comes down to Xavi liking Dutch directness, as long as he does not have to join in with it himself."

Mossou also has doubts about the squad put together by Xavi. "If you look purely at the squad... This could also have been the squad of Aad de Mos, Dick Advocaat or Kenneth Perez. It is a kind of middle way. You can still infer very little from his squad policy and presentation."

For Kenneth Perez, Xavi could have made a statement straight away. "Leaving Van Dijk out would have been the biggest one. All the other choices were more or less six of one and half a dozen of the other, and not really super important players for the Netherlands national team."

Xavi recently spoke at length with Van Dijk about his future with the Netherlands. The centre-back will continue as an international and will also keep wearing the captain's armband.