Louis van Gaal springs a surprise with his preference: ‘I would rather have seen him than Xavi’

Louis van Gaal would personally have preferred Peter Bosz as the new Netherlands head coach rather than Xavi. According to Dries Roelvink, the 75-year-old told him that during a meeting in Amstelveen.

On Saturday, Roelvink shared a photo of himself with Van Gaal. The two friends met on Friday at restaurant Aan de Poel in Amstelveen, where Xavi's appointment as head coach came up.

Roelvink says he would have liked Van Gaal to take charge of the Netherlands once again. "At Aan de Poel, Louis van Gaal explained to me in detail again yesterday that he does not think Xavi is a bad choice by the KNVB, but that he would personally have preferred Peter Bosz," Roelvink writes.

Earlier on Friday, Van Gaal had already reacted to Xavi's appointment. On Instagram, he congratulated his former pupil on his new role: "Congratulations Xavi. Good luck, friend."

That bond between Van Gaal and Xavi stretches back to their time together at FC Barcelona. The Spanish midfielder made his official debut for the Catalan giants in 1998 under the Dutch coach.

Since his appointment, Xavi has also spoken warmly about Van Gaal and the Dutch influence on his development. "I consider it a tremendous honour to become head coach of the Netherlands national team. As someone who was educated at the academy of FC Barcelona, with strong influences from, among others, Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels, I feel a special connection with Dutch football," he said.

"You could say that I am a bit of a son of Dutch football," Xavi continued. "Other great coaches too, especially Louis van Gaal, under whom I made my debut at Barcelona, and Frank Rijkaard, have played an important role in my development as a player and coach."