Frenkie de Jong said he is pleased that Xavi Hernández has become coach of the Netherlands national team and said Xavi called him beforehand when the appointment was under consideration. Now recovered from a knee injury, De Jong said he hopes to rejoin the Netherlands squad in a week and a half.
De Jong on Xavi's appointment
De Jong told NOS: "He called me beforehand, so it was nice to find out early that it was under consideration. Because we hadn't had a foreign national team coach for so long, I was a little surprised. But I was pleased."
Time together at Barcelona
From 2021 to 2024, De Jong worked with Xavi while Xavi coached Barcelona. De Jong has played for Barcelona since 2019.
De Jong told NOS: "We worked well together at Barcelona. I know how he thinks about football, and that suits the Netherlands national team. He wants to press and attack, and he is unlikely to change those principles. But he has a lot of variety in how he puts them into practice tactically."
Return after injury
After sustaining a knee injury, De Jong missed the Netherlands' most recent international fixtures.
De Jong said: "It was a long period, and a difficult one. But there was much less real uncertainty about whether and when I would recover from this injury than there was, for example, with my earlier ankle injury."
Aim for the coming year
The aim for the coming year is to qualify for the 2028 European Championship.
De Jong said: "Now we have to start building again, and that will take time. But we have a very good team with potential."
De Jong said: "We don't have a squad like England or France, but we are one of the teams just below the leading favourites. We have to make sure we are very good as a team, that we really build something and develop a clear identity. Then we can win a trophy."
