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Barcelona legend wants to emulate Johan Cruyff’s total football philosophy after taking over as the Netherlands head coach
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Global — Arthur Renard in Zeist
Barcelona legend wants to emulate Johan Cruyff’s total football philosophy after taking over as the Netherlands head coach
“My feeling today is that I’m going to the university of football.” Those were Xavi Hernández’s opening words at his presentation as the Netherlands coach on Tuesday. “I learned a lot from this university of football during my career as a player and as a coach. I have many connections with this country.”
Those connections date back to when Xavi was drafted as a youngster into La Masia, the famed Barcelona academy whose fundamentals are rooted in Dutch total football, inspired by Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff. Xavi’s first-team debut came under Louis van Gaal, and he spent many years under Frank Rijkaard before becoming one of the main pillars of the dream team under Pep Guardiola, who was hugely inspired by Cruyff.
“My feeling today is that I’m going to the university of football.” Those were Xavi Hernández’s opening words at his presentation as the Netherlands coach on Tuesday. “I learned a lot from this university of football during my career as a player and as a coach. I have many connections with this country.”
This report is published with credit to The Guardian. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on The Guardian →
Source: The Guardian · Arthur Renard in Zeist. Published 25 Aug 2026, 07:58 pm.
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