A novel idea was played out at the Netherlands training camp at the weekend in front of 2,000 invited fans, as the Dutch squad prepared for the Euros wearing the shirts of the clubs where they first launched their football careers.
In the case of 21-year-old Xavi Simons, the attacking midfielder proudly strode out in a shirt from CD Thader.
The occasion, which was caught on video, subsequently went viral attracting over half a million hits.
Xavi started his career at Thader in 2008 prior to moving from the Rojales based outfit to the Barça youth academy two years later, where he stayed until 2019. Moving then to PSG, which was managed at the time by, Mauricio Pochettino, Xavi Simons made his professional debut for PSG in February 2021, coming on as a substitute for Julian Draxler in a 1–0 Coupe de France win over Caen.
With 13 national caps under his belt, Xavi will be hoping to impress during the Euros, having spent the season just ended on loan at RB Leipzig where, with 32 appearances, he helped the German outfit to finish 4th in the Bundesliga.
Although he left the municipality when he was very young, he still maintains a very strong connection with the town, returning whenever his schedule allows it. Last week, prior to reporting to the Netherlands camp, Xavi spent a week in the region training with his former teammates.
