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Xavi Hernandez’s Plan: A Good Opportunity for "the Saudi National Team’s Difficult Circumstances".. Revolution Guaranteed but Success in Doubt!

Xavi: A Coach Who Arrived Early and Disappeared Quickly

It has now been two years since Xavi Hernandez left the technical helm of Barcelona, the Catalan giants, and the Spaniard has still not signed for another club. His long absence has raised questions across the global game.

Xavi managed Barcelona’s first team from November 2021 to June 2024, when the club dismissed him and appointed German coach Hansi Flick as his replacement.

He did not meet expectations, either in performances or in results. Even so, his spell was not an outright "failure". There were also some positives.

Those positives are something Xavi can carry into the next phase of his coaching career, if he learns from the mistakes that the whole world saw during his time with the Catalan giants.

Before that, though, let us examine Xavi Hernandez’s plan for the next stage of his football career, and how it connects with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Xavi Hernandez’s future plan in the world of coaching

Xavi Hernandez has surprised the football world over the last two days with his plans for the next chapter of his coaching journey.

Speaking to "RNE Deportes", the young Spaniard said he wants to coach national teams rather than clubs in the coming years, for two reasons:

* First: club football keeps him away from his family.

* Second: international management would give him time to plan properly, both on the pitch and in his personal life.

Xavi left the door open for every national team, whether in Europe, Africa or Asia.

He would love to be in the dugout at a World Cup, the Spaniard added, or even at a continental tournament: "the Euros, the Asian Cup, the Africa Cup of Nations".

That naturally leads to one major question: " Could Xavi Hernandez one day take charge of the Saudi Arabia senior national football team?! ".

Why Saudi Arabia in particular? Because Xavi has been linked with the Kingdom’s clubs and its national team before, most recently in April 2026, according to sports journalist Sultan Al-Otaibi at the time.

Xavi: Many qualities despite his lack of success with Barcelona

Picking up from there, let us assess how far Spanish head coach Xavi Hernandez could go with the Saudi Arabia national football team, if he were to take the job in the future.

Xavi offers a set of qualities that could work well for the Saudi national team, as follows:

* 1/ His knowledge of the Gulf region

Xavi knows the Gulf well, along with the working conditions there, thanks to a full six years at Qatari club Al-Sadd.

Yes. Xavi wore the Al-Sadd shirt as a player between 2015 and 2019, before taking over as head coach of the first team until November 2021.

* 2/ His refusal to run away from responsibility

Whatever view one takes of Xavi Hernandez, the former player turned head coach has shown that he never runs away from responsibility.

He agreed to take charge of Barcelona during one of the darkest periods in the club’s history, with the side collapsing on the pitch and off it, in November 2021.

His arrival came when every big-name coach was avoiding the burden of leading an institution of that size in such a condition.

Despite limited overall success, Xavi did win the league and Spanish Super Cup double with Barcelona in the 2022-2023 season.

* 3/ Courage in trusting youth

During his time at Barcelona, the coach had the courage to rely on many young talents.

Believe it or not. Xavi had no hesitation in fielding a 15-year-old in the Barcelona first team, the Spanish gem Lamine Yamal, now rated among the best players in the world.

He also gave a debut to Spanish defender Pau Cubarsi at the age of sixteen, who was later named best young player at the 2026 World Cup, in addition to backing names that were little known at the time, such as Fermin Lopez and others.

Saudi Arabia national team.. Xavi the "ideal coach" to spark the revolution

That takes us to the connection between all of this and the possibility of Spanish head coach Xavi Hernandez taking over the Saudi Arabia senior national football team.

Saudi football is going through a difficult phase, and everyone knows it. The national team needs a head coach who has the following qualities:

* 1/ He knows how to deal with the Saudi and Gulf mentality.

* 2/ He has plenty of courage for "replacement and renewal".

* 3/ He can handle pressure and does not run away from it.

Xavi Hernandez checks every box. As noted, he spent six years living in Qatar, and he led the "replacement and renewal" at Barcelona through one of the club’s toughest periods.

On paper, then, Xavi could be the ideal coach to take the Saudi Arabia senior national football team forward, launch a revolution of replacement and renewal, and pull them through the difficulties.

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One Final Word.. Xavi Hernandez’s Success Is Not Guaranteed!

So, after everything above, one question still remains: " Is the success of Spanish head coach Xavi Hernandez guaranteed with the Saudi Arabia national team, if he takes on the job in the future?! ".

The answer, of course, is "no". Xavi never delivered as expected at Barcelona, and his time with Qatari club Al-Sadd moved between success and failure across domestic and continental competitions.

Why has he fallen short as a coach despite the huge expectations around him? It comes down to a couple of personal decisions, as follows:

* Firstly: He wants a backroom staff made up of people he trusts, even if that means sacrificing quality.

* Secondly: He insists on a specific style of play, one that demands a particular type of player.

Take his assistant, for example: his own brother, a man with limited experience. Barcelona proposed other names to join his staff and Xavi firmly refused.

During his Barcelona spell, he also demanded specific star names and nobody else, tying his success with the first team to getting those players alone.

All of this raises serious doubt over whether Xavi can succeed with Saudi Arabia, or any other national team, because he has never confronted his past mistakes or learnt from them.