After being out of the game for two years since being sacked by Barca, the 46-year-old clearly felt the time was right to dip his toe back into football waters.
Xavi replaces Koeman... again
Where better to do so than with a national team who have long been renowned for possession-based, attacking football, something which seeps through Xavi's veins.
Replacing Ronald Koeman, just as he did at Barcelona in 2021, his task isn't going to be an easy one, because for all of their talent, the Dutch have rarely lived up to the hype, and certainly not in recent years.
One could contend that if an actual Dutchman in Koeman, who also hails from the same school of football as his successor, can't get the best out of the team, then what chance does Xavi have?
The latter is certainly relishing the challenge, however.
Dutch influences
"I consider it a tremendous honour to become head coach of the Dutch national team," he said after his appointment was made public. "As someone who received his training at Barca's academy, with strong influences from Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels, among others, I feel a special connection to Dutch football.
"You could say that I am partly a son of Dutch football. Other great coaches, especially Louis van Gaal, under whom I made my debut at Barca, and Frank Rijkaard, also played an important role in shaping me as a player and coach."
His history as a player, and the way in which his Barcelona team played, will undoubtedly ensure that there's an expectation on Xavi to play in a certain way, before a ball has even been kicked under his watch.
A disciple of the 4-3-3 as his primary formation, the similarities with Koeman's style end there.
Elements of Guardiola
Like Hansi Flick after him at Barcelona, Xavi tends to favour an aggressive high line where possible, forcing the play into the mid-third of the pitch as often as he can.
He's also been known to employ a 3-2-2-3 or 2-3-5 formation, the former seeing a full-back slot in and make a back three, with the midfield four arranging themselves into a 'box' type structure to hem in their opponents in the midfield third.
The latter puts the entire emphasis on the attack, allowing for width on either side and a numerical overload.
There are elements of his understanding and appreciation of movement and space that can clearly be seen to have come directly from Pep Guardiola, too, with the winger hugging the touchline on one side and an extra midfielder slotting into the half-space on the opposite side to allow the wing-back to overlap.
Whilst Koeman is not more defensive than Xavi per se, he's a little less 'gung ho' than his contemporary.
Some might say the 63-year-old is even cautious to the point where, though he comes from the land of total football, a Koeman side isn't often seen playing in such a way.
Five-man defence didn't help Koeman
In EURO 2024 and in some qualification games for World Cup 2026, for example, he was seen to employ a 5-3-2 formation or even a 5-2-3, something he was heavily criticised for at the time.
It shouldn't be lost on anyone, however, that Koeman also tinkered with five up front when his team were on top in games, suggesting that he wasn't averse to the occasional tactical variation.
The most noticeable change that Xavi will bring is likely to be the freedom with which he allows his players to operate.
It didn't always work out well for him at Barcelona, as the Catalans did end up losing some games that they really should've won at a canter.
Were a similar scenario to be seen to occur with the Netherlands, questions will invariably be asked, though the confidence with which Xavi spoke once he was announced suggests that this could be a footballing marriage made in heaven.
Followers of the Oranje will certainly hope so.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
