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18 hours ago
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Dick Advocaat will lead Curaçao to their first World Cup and become the oldest manager in the tournament’s history after returning to the job. The 78-year-old was in charge when the Caribbean island reached the finals but resigned three months later because of his daughter’s health.
“Advocaat is returning,” the president of the Curaçao Football Federation (FFK), Gilbert Martina, said in a phone message.
His fellow Dutchman Fred Rutten took over, but Curaçao suffered two comprehensive friendly defeats in March, losing 5-1 to fellow World Cup qualifiers Australia and 2-0 to China. On Monday, the FFK said Rutten, 63, had resigned after “constructive discussions” among federation officials. Rutten quit amid alleged pressure from players and the federation’s leading sponsor for Advocaat to return to the job, with his daughter’s health having improved.
At first, the Curaçao federation president, Gilbert Martina, refused to entertain any change in a hard-hitting statement of support for Rutten but the Dutch-born coach saw the writing on the wall. On Tuesday, Martina denied there had been a player plot. “After it became known that Advocaat’s daughter was better, a very negative campaign was launched in the press in which Rutten was cast in a bad light,” he told the press conference. “But the players have denied those negative statements.”
Martina said Rutten had called on Sunday to say he felt it was best to step down. “A climate must not arise that undermines healthy professional relations, within both the squad and the staff. That is why it is wise to step down,” Rutten said later in a written statement. Martina then called Advocaat on Monday, after which an agreement was reached on Tuesday regarding his return.
Under Advocaat, Curaçao qualified for the World Cup for the first time, although the experienced coach missed the decisive match against Jamaica last November due to his daughter’s health.
Curaçao, with a population of just over 180,000 and a land area of 171 sq miles, will be the smallest country to compete at the World Cup. They have been drawn in Group E and will play against Ecuador, Germany, and Côte d’Ivoire at the tournament co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
It will be Advocaat’s third World Cup finals. He previously led the Netherlands at the 1994 World Cup, also in the US, and South Korea in 2006.
At 78, he easily beats the record of the previous oldest coach, German Otto Rehhagel, who was 71 years and 317 days old when he led Greece against Argentina in their last group game at the 2010 finals in South Africa.
