Willie Overtoom comes with striking advice to Ajax, which is looking for a new head coach and is surprisingly linked to current FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández by Spanish media. As far as the former player of Heracles Almelo and AZ is concerned, the Catalan will not be the successor to John van ‘t Schip in the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
The Spanish newspaper Sport wrote on Tuesday that Xavi, who announced at the end of January that he would be leaving Barca at the end of the season, would be one of the candidates to take over as head coach of Ajax next summer. According to the above-mentioned medium, the Amsterdammers have contacted the entourage of the 2010 world champion to explore the possibilities of employment. A day later, the same newspaper added that Jordi Cruijff would also be in the picture in Xavi’s wake. The son of Ajax legend Johan is said to be in the picture as sporting director.
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However, Overtoom gives negative advice: “I don’t see a top trainer in him,” he writes on X. “Xavi has been able to invest a lot and has picked up transfer-free players,” the former midfielder argues. “Jules Koundé, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessié, Iñigo Martínez, Marcos Alonso, Ilkay Gündogan. Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, João Cancelo, João Félix, Vitor Roque, etc.,” Overtoom lists an impressive list of players who have played since Xavi’s appointment. were brought to the reigning champions of Spain in November 2021.
Overtoom calculates that the club spent around 200 million euros in transfer fees for the above players in the past two years, some of which (such as Gündogan and Alonso) were also attracted on a transfer-free basis. However, Barcelona is far from prolonging the title: with eight rounds to go, the Catalans are second, eight points behind leader (and arch-rival) Real Madrid. Moreover, Overtoom does not like the way the team plays: “There is no line in the game, he makes many unusual choices,” says the three-time Cameroon international. “With the current expenditure and selection, he can show more than what he does,” says Overtoom. “Regardless of those few injuries,” he adds finally.
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