Netherlands: Xavi Hernandez appointed head coach

Back in the dugout, a long way from Catalonia

Out of work since he left Barcelona in 2024, Xavi Hernandez (46) has a job again. The Netherlands handed him the head coach role on Wednesday, tying him to a deal that runs until 2030. That window covers Euro 2028 and the next World Cup.

He takes over from Ronald Koeman, pushed out after the Oranje crashed out of the 2026 World Cup in the last 16, beaten by Morocco (1-1, 3-2 on penalties). The two have swapped seats before. Xavi followed Koeman onto the Barcelona bench back in 2021, and now he does it again on the international stage.

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No foreign boss in Oranje since 1978

What caught everyone off guard was the speed of it. Xavi’s name barely registered in the Dutch press until a few days ago. Roberto Martinez, Peter Bosz, Arne Slot, Erik ten Hag, Michael Reiziger, they all sat higher on the shortlist.

Then the KNVB went a different way entirely. Xavi becomes the first foreign coach to lead the Netherlands since Austria’s Ernst Happel walked away in 1978. For a federation that almost always trusts its own, that is a bold call.

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