Xavi Hernández returns to training through the main door

BarcelonaThe Netherlands national team officially announced this Wednesday the signing of Xavi Hernández as the new manager of the Dutch senior team. The former Barça coach, 46 years old, puts an end to his sabbatical period and takes over from Ronald Koeman until the 2030 World Cup, which will be held in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.

Xavi has been for a little over two years he does not manage any team, even though he has received interest from various clubs. The man from Terrassa was clear that, if he were to take the reins of a team again, what motivated him most was to coach a national team. "A club coach has a lot of stress, it's difficult to manage family matters. I would like to test myself with a national team. I would like to have more time to prepare things, more time for family, to participate in a World Cup, a European Championship or, why not, an Africa Cup...", he said in an interview in March to La Vanguardia. Xavi was motivated by managing a selection, "prioritizing the sporting project over the economic aspect", they resolve in the ARA from his environment.

As this newspaper has already published, one of the projects that most seduced the coach was that of the Moroccan national team. After the dismissal in March of Walid Regragui, the coach who led the African team to the semifinals of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Xavi's name returned to the scene. The Moroccan national team contacted Xavi to make a statement after Regragui's dismissal following the defeat in the Africa Cup final.

But Xavi did not want to take the reins of the Moroccan team with so little preparation time before the 2026 World Cup. The coach's intention is to start the project from scratch and with long-term planning. That is, leading the new World Cup cycle from 2026 to 2030, when, moreover, the African country, along with Spain and Portugal, will host the next World Cup event. Mohamed Ouahbi is the coach of Morocco after having led the U-20 team. This Belgian of Moroccan parents coached the senior team at the World Cup, with a contract with the North African country's federation until 2030, and the Moroccan federation ratified their confidence in him. Then the Dutch federation entered the scene, which after several conversations has reached an understanding with the former Barcelona coach.

It has rained since that January 27, 2024, when, after being thrashed (3-5) against Villarreal at Montjuïc, Xavi hit rock bottom and announced in the post-match press conference that he would leave the bench "at the end of the season". There were still twists to come, such as the sushi night at Joan Laporta's house, a tearful press conference from the president to ratify him in his position, and yet another final dramatic turn to sack him at the end of the season. The former blaugrana footballer and coach ended up parting ways with Laporta and his main advisor, Alejandro Echevarría, who, although he was the main proponent of his return in 2021, the coach also considers him one of the architects of his dismissal. Basically, he felt betrayed.

Since then, the man from Terrassa has not managed any team. Before knowing he would be sacked, he was clear that "either he continued at Barça" or he would take "a sabbatical year". In the end, Xavi, after two seasons without coaching, takes the reins of the Netherlands. Besides the aforementioned interest from Morocco, he has also received interest from various clubs along the way. Among the first, when it became known that he would not continue at Barça, as announced by ARA, were Ajax, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, and Milan.

Xavi, however, had decided that, after the demands of the experience at Barça – which he lived intensely because it is the club of his loves – he needed to stop and rest – between his playing career and his time as a coach, he hadn't stopped for over two decades. Furthermore, he did not want to leave Barcelona permanently. This second factor is decisive to understand where his future lies: the coach does not want to leave the Catalan capital, where he is focused on his family, on raising his two children. It is also where his closest circle is. This decision, focused on the most personal sphere, helps to understand why he has preferred international football.