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Netherlands·Football

Xavi Hernández presented as new Netherlands head coach, vows attacking football

Wednesday, 26 August 2026, 06:24 · 1 min read

Former Barcelona manager Xavi Hernández has been officially unveiled as the new head coach of the Netherlands national football team (known as Oranje), declaring at his introductory press conference in Zeist: "I am a winner and I am here to compete." The 46-year-old Spaniard, who becomes the first foreign coach to lead the Dutch side since 1978, outlined a philosophy built on attacking play, ball possession, and high pressing, explicitly ruling out the five-defender systems used by his predecessor Ronald Koeman. KNVB (the Royal Dutch Football Association) technical director Nigel de Jong acknowledged that Xavi was the third choice for the role after Pep Guardiola and Arne Slot, to which Xavi quipped that finishing behind those two was "a podium place" — adding that his goal is to make all 18 million people in the Netherlands proud of the way their team plays.

Sources
El PaísXavi Hernández, en su presentación como seleccionador de Países Bajos: “Soy un ganador y estoy aquí para competir” ↗︎NOS SportDe Jong geeft Xavi opdracht mee bij Oranje: meer vermaak bieden dan Koeman ↗︎NOS SportXavi gepresenteerd als bondscoach: 'Vijfmansdefensie past niet bij mijn filosofie' ↗︎
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