New Netherlands head coach Xavi said in an official interview with the national team that the content of the game is far more important than the result, and that he would call Van Gaal and Koeman for continuity.
Welcome to the Netherlands. Welcome to our team. What are your first impressions of the past few days?
Thank you very much. First of all, it's great to be here. It's truly an honor to be the head coach of the Dutch national team. This is a great opportunity. For me and my career, it's a huge challenge. My feeling is that I am entering the university of football. I have learned a lot.
In my career, as a player and coach. As you know, I have many connections with this country. I feel very proud, and I hope people will also be proud of this team. This is my main goal. This is an amazing project. I believe in this group of players, I believe in this project, and I want to thank so many people, starting with Nigel de Jong, who was the first to contact me. We met in Barcelona. Then Marianna, and after that, Clarence Seedorf also played an important role in making this happen. I am really very grateful. I am ready to start, and I am super excited.
I know this is a huge challenge. It's a kind of pressure, but I like this pressure, and I feel like I'm back in the embrace of football. I love it very much, and I'm really happy.
We are also very happy that you have joined us. Yesterday, you visited the base and the offices. What are your first impressions?
Well, it's impressive to see it all. Everyone is very happy and as excited as I am. I think everyone has high expectations for me, and for the staff too, which is good. I feel a very warm welcome. Everyone is very enthusiastic, and I am very grateful. My view is that the facilities here are excellent. I think this is the best place to create a big family atmosphere and an ideal place to build a great team. It's great, and I'm very happy. That's how I feel right now.
I have many connections with the Netherlands, starting from my philosophy in Barcelona, I have connections with this country. We learned a lot from Michels' philosophy, and then Cruyff. I think he was the one who changed the world of football. He changed everything. He was a genius. So we learned a lot from his philosophy. After that, it was Louis van Gaal who gave me the opportunity to enter professional football. I am very grateful to Louis, thank you Louis for giving me this opportunity. He trusted me, even more than I trusted myself,
so I have a good relationship with Louis. Then Rijkaard, and then Koeman, I have good relationships with my former teammates. That's why I told you I have many connections with this country.
Yes, those names you mentioned, they also changed the Barcelona club. But perhaps as a person, can you remember some of the lessons you learned from Cruyff?
Many lessons. I met him many times. Unfortunately, towards the end of his life. But that experience was truly amazing, I not only learned a lot about football, but also a lot of life wisdom. He always wanted to enjoy life and be happy. The way he spoke was always very positive, and that's my way, that's how I work now, I learned a lot from Cruyff, Van Gaal and then Koeman.
We also talked with Van Gaal, and he wanted to say something to you. (Van Gaal video: Xavi, I warmly welcome you on behalf of the Dutch national team, welcome as the new head coach. I remember I gave you your debut, you must remember that, and you even scored a goal. You improved significantly as a player, your ability to read the game, passing, and positioning were strong. What else can I say? You won so many titles, and Barca was brilliant because of your excellent performance. I don't know much about your coaching career, but you also won many titles. Dutch football always gets too much media attention, I have a lot of trust in you, and I hope you succeed. I will pray for you from the first match against Germany!)
Thank you, Louis, you are a very important part of my career, and even an important person in my life. You are very important to me, because you know, when I was 17 or 18, I was still a teenager and didn't have a very distinct personality, Van Gaal trusted me a lot, and I learned a lot from him as a coach. He is an amazing person, he has a kind heart, and I am really grateful to him. I wish him all the best, I sent him a text message when he was ill. Thank God he recovered, I'm really happy for him.
Which qualities of Van Gaal have had a significant impact on you, and are even applied in your current management of the team?
I have to talk about Van Gaal's personality, he has a strong personality, he is very persistent in his views, and has clear ideas. Sometimes when I talk about Van Gaal with former teammates, everyone says the same thing, that everyone learned a lot from him, maybe at that time everyone didn't value Van Gaal as a coach, but now we remember, those who became coaches, everyone remembers Louis van Gaal's teachings. So for me it's very important, sometimes I remember what to do to manage the team well, this is completely true.
There's another Dutch coach who had a big impact on your career. (Rijkaard video: Hello Xavi, this is a real surprise, good news. You were one of the best players in the world, and I always believed you could be a great coach, I never doubted your talent, I wish you all the best in your new career, congratulations!)
Thank you very much. Rijkaard was an amazing coach, and he also gave me a lot of confidence. I was injured during his time coaching Barcelona. We have many good memories together. Under his leadership, we won many titles. He brought the Barcelona football philosophy. Before he came, we gradually lost the football identity belonging to Barcelona. It was he who helped the team regain confidence. As a person, he has a very kind heart, so thank you very much.
Could you briefly tell us what your coaching team should be like?
Yes, I think content is more important than results, and content is about results. They didn't get the desired results in the last stage, but this is part of the process, part of football. I really appreciate their work, for example, in the last two stages, with Van Gaal at the World Cup in Qatar, and then with Koeman, for example, reaching the Nations League semifinals, leading the team to the semifinals, and then in this World Cup... I appreciate the content the team played, and I also learned a lot. Playing football this way is a matter of continuity, and I want to talk to them.
I want to call Van Gaal, I want to call Koeman, this is to create a good atmosphere, in order to learn more about Dutch football. In my opinion, to play good football, you have to take the initiative, dominate the game, maintain high pressure in possession, we want the ball, we need the ball to dominate the game, that's how I play. I think football is about being brave, enjoying the process, and enjoying the game, that's why I feel everyone will be proud of the team, even if we lose, because sometimes we do lose, that's part of football, but at least we hope Dutch fans will be proud of the team, that's my main goal.
This is your first time as a national team coach. Does this bring you many challenges?
In the world of our sport, this is an amazing challenge for me. This is an exciting chapter in my career, but I want to compete, I want to win. The Nations League is about to start, and then the World Cup, I hope to participate in the World Cup. This is a great opportunity for me and all the players.
Looking at our existing players and team, what interests you most about our current team?
I am very optimistic about this generation of players. As I said before, we have many talented players, but I think it is very important to create a team, a big family, this is the most important thing. The players must think about the team here.
The team must come first, that's why I won in my career, because everyone was working for the team, everyone was thinking about the team.
One of the players you know very well is De Jong, you worked with him at Barcelona Football Club. Have you been in touch with him?
Yes, we have a good relationship. I have a good relationship with De Jong and his family. He is a good person and a top professional player. I like him very much. We have been in touch these days because I need to communicate with the players. I want to communicate with many people, but I haven't had time yet. I have a good relationship with De Jong, and he is definitely important in the team, he should be one of the captains.
De Jong is important, he is a top player. I haven't seen him much now, but he is definitely more important than before. So yes, I trust him very much.
What did De Jong tell you about the Netherlands?
Many things, we talked very frankly, because I just arrived in this country and don't know much about the culture here. I want to adapt well from the beginning, about many things in football, about the organization, facilities, and our schedule.
Now we are a big family, and we must organize well together. I believe everyone will try their best to help you. We don't have much time to adapt, because there are four games coming up. Against Germany, Greece, and so on. What are you most looking forward to?
I think first we need to convince the players to play according to our tactical philosophy, to do it our way, and we will give them confidence so that they really feel great on the field.
I want to communicate with them, I'm very much looking forward to communicating with them, explaining to them what our tactical philosophy is, I want to help them, that's why I became a coach. My main goal is to help the players, the second point is to enjoy football, and the third point is to win, that's why I'm here. I'm here to help the players, to help everyone, to form a big family, to enjoy the process, and then we'll be closer to winning trophies.
For everyone in the national team, we have many fans watching at home. Is there anything you want to say to the Dutch fans?
First of all, I am really grateful to be the new coach of the Dutch team. I will do my best to make the fans proud of this team. We will do our best, as I mentioned before, our main goal is to win, but first we must enjoy the game, enjoy the process, thank you very much.
Regarding the team, of course, we have many talented individual players, and then we can compete, but first we must be a team. This is the most important part, in my opinion.
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