Ronald Koeman's failed choice under Xavi Hernández

Ronald Koeman’s tactical blunder with Joey Veerman is now being scrutinized, while his successor Xavi Hernández immediately takes a different direction. The former national team coach had used Veerman as a ‘fall guy’ after the total debacle against Austria at Euro 2024, but Xavi, the Spanish, sent the Borussia Dortmund‑midfielder straight back.

Koeman’s choice and the aftermath

National team coach Ronald Koeman did not call up Veerman, the PSV‑player, after the 2‑3 defeat against the tactically strong Austrians. He gave Veerman’s ‘annoying character’ as a substitute as the reason, while Frenkie de Jong was consistently deployed as a starter.

The decision led to criticism within the Dutch national team. According to Johan Derksen, who spoke in the podcast “Groeten uit Grolloo”, the Volendam native was “extremely at odds with Koeman”. Derksen said that Veerman “is a fantastic player, but he does not contribute when the team loses the ball”.

Joey Veerman looks to Xavi for guidance after Dutch recall

Xavi Hernández’s intervention

After the substitution, Xavi Hernández, the new national team coach, called up the now Borussia Dortmund‑midfielder Joey Veerman straight away. Derksen praised this move: “Now Veerman is finally proving Koeman wrong”. He described Xavi as a “serious football man with a great history, not an irritating man in his presentation”.

The Spanishman’s intervention received, according to Derksen, “strong approval”. He concluded that “the Dutch national team shines again and it gets better”.