Xavi changes course after dramatic defeat in Thessaloniki
In the cool evening light of the Olympic Stadium in Thessaloniki, Xavi Hernández, head coach of Orange, learned a hard lesson on Thursday evening when Greece scored twice in the first half and the Dutch eleven was driven from one corner to the other.
First half: a lesson in humility
The Greeks, who had already beaten Serbia and Germany, took a 2‑0 lead towards the break. The men of Xavi Hernández made mistake after mistake; the lineup proved too weak and the midfielders Joey Veerman, Quinten Timber and Guus Til were deemed too thin. Also Ruben van Bommel did not play at his level and the defence looked shaky.
After three substitutions in the second half, Orange began to recover. Virgil van Dijk quickly found the first goal, after which Tijjani Reijnders scored the equaliser shortly before the end. Despite a few disallowed goals, the Netherlands grabbed a point from Greece.
Second half: turnaround and new direction
Xavi took full responsibility for the poor first half. He said: “The first half was very bad and that was my fault. Perhaps the lineup was not good enough and we made too many changes.”
For the second half he again chose Mexx Meerdink as the first striker, a role he should have filled after Brian Brobbey's injury against Germany. Meerdink had impressed against Germany, despite the lack of goals, and the double win against Serbia had got the whole of the Netherlands talking. Kenneth Pérez supported Xavi’s course change. He said: “After the previous match I was lyrical about Meerdink and Van Bommel. Now you are dealing with a completely different level of play… They really didn’t get into the match. That can be and is not a problem.”
Later Meerdink moved to the bench for Joshua Zirkzee and Van Bommel was replaced by Noa Lang. Pérez praised the new “finesse” and said: “I am a bit fed up with that scrummaging and duels. I would like to see players with finesse.”
The match and the subsequent comments underline that Xavi Hernández is now taking a different tactical direction, with more emphasis on technical players and less on rough duels, a development that could shape the future of Orange.