Official! Football legend to become Xavi's assistant with the Netherlands
Xavi is adding one of Dutch football's biggest names to his coaching staff.
Details: Ruud van Nistelrooy will serve as an assistant coach to Xavi Hernández with the Netherlands national team. The legendary former striker will therefore remain involved with Oranje after the appointment of the Spanish specialist as the new head coach.
Xavi was officially appointed Netherlands head coach on August 12. The former Barcelona boss succeeded Ronald Koeman and signed a contract that runs through the 2030 World Cup.
Van Nistelrooy already knows the national-team setup extremely well. He returned to the Netherlands coaching staff on February 1, 2026, initially joining Koeman's team ahead of the World Cup. His work with Oranje will now continue under a new head coach.
This is also far from the Dutchman's first spell as an assistant with the national team. Van Nistelrooy previously worked on the Netherlands staff between 2014 and 2016 and was also part of the coaching team during Euro 2020, which was played in 2021.
It is worth noting that Van Nistelrooy is one of the most recognizable forwards in Netherlands history. During his international career, the former PSV, Manchester United and Real Madrid striker earned 70 caps for Oranje and scored 35 goals.
Reminder: OFFICIAL: Xavi appointed as head coach of top European national team
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
