{"id":37445,"date":"2026-08-12T20:11:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T20:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/37445\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T20:11:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T20:11:15","slug":"xavi-appointed-netherlands-head-coach-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/37445\/","title":{"rendered":"Xavi appointed Netherlands head coach \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Former Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez has been appointed the new head coach of the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The 46-year-old Spaniard has agreed a contract to lead the team through to the 2030 World Cup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">He replaces Ronald Koeman, who stepped down following the Netherlands\u2019 last-32 defeat by Morocco at this summer\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We proudly present our new head coach. \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf1\u2070\u2070Welcome, Xavi Hern\u00e1ndez! \ud83e\udde1<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/NothingLikeOranje?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">#NothingLikeOranje<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Xavi2030?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">#Xavi2030<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9aOpc9J53S\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/9aOpc9J53S<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/OnsOranje\/status\/2087616022010364259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">August 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi won the World Cup as a player with Spain in 2010 and also lifted the European Championship in 2008 and 2012.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/sport\/soccer\/irish-speaking-ireland-side-ready-to-make-history-in-international-soccer-clash-N5DWYQUXWRATBE2QX56ITYTBEI\/\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Irish-speaking Ireland side ready to make history in international soccer clash\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/BOBFR7VIXZCDRMVU2PDVRBL2MA.jpeg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\/><\/a><a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/sport\/rugby\/ulster-v-ospreys-live-updates-from-european-challenge-cup-last-16-tie-4CAI7QVR2BDPDFTX3HJ76QSAKI\/\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Ulster 28 Ospreys 24: Richie Murphy&#x2019;s men hang on to book European Challenge Cup quarter-final place\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NQBMIU5E4ZFJ3KAXADQ6MQYV3U.jpeg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">He guided Barca to the LaLiga title in 2023 after beginning his managerial career with Qatari club Al Sadd.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cI consider it a tremendous honour to become head coach of the Dutch national team,\u201d he said in a statement released by the Dutch Football Association (KNVB).<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cAs someone who received his training at the FC Barcelona academy, with strong influences from Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels, among others, I feel a special connection to Dutch football.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Ronald Koeman left the role after the Netherlands exited this summer&#x2019;s World Cup\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/HGOGBC5CXVOE3CSDZFN4MDWSOY.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Ronald Koeman left the role after the Netherlands exited this summer\u2019s World Cup (Bradley Collyer\/PA) <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cYou could say that I am a bit of a son of Dutch football.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Xavi\u2019s appointment marks his first return to management since leaving Barcelona in 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">He took over the Catalan giants in November 2021, also succeeding Koeman, after making 767 appearances for the club.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cThe Netherlands has a rich football culture and a clear vision that also appeals to me enormously: attacking football, based on possession, with creativity, passion, and conviction,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Xavi Hernandez managed Barcelona between 2021 and 2024\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WY6QHUZKLJO75HQBNRANTUWNWQ.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"518\"\/>Xavi Hernandez managed Barcelona between 2021 and 2024 (Martin Rickett\/PA) <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cOf course, the most important goal is and always will be to win, but I prefer to do so in a way that reflects those characteristics and that people can enjoy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cThe potential for this is there, as well as a solid foundation to build upon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Explaining Xavi\u2019s appointment, KNVB director of football Nigel de Jong said: \u201cAs a coach, he has been shaped by years of working with top coaches who espouse a football vision that aligns very well with the way we want to play with the Dutch national team: taking initiative, dominant and attractive football, combined with the flexibility that modern elite football demands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cXavi believes in those basic principles, has embraced that vision, and made it his own. All of that, combined with his personality and the way he knows how to connect with players and get the best out of a group, makes him the right choice for the coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez has been appointed the new head coach of the Netherlands. The 46-year-old Spaniard&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7140,16020,247,20090,6,367,364,994,24286],"class_list":["post-37445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-netherlands","tag-barcelona","tag-dutch-football-association","tag-football","tag-knvb","tag-netherlands","tag-ronald-koeman","tag-soccer","tag-uk","tag-xavi-hernandez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}