Dick Advocaat resigns as Curaçao head coach before country’s first World Cup campaign

The Dutchman steps down from his position as head coach of the national team for personal reasons

Dick Advocaat. Pic: Nigel French/PA

Dick Advocaat led Curaçao to their first World Cup but will not be charge of the team at the tournament itself after resigning from the head coach’s post for personal reasons.

It is believed Advocaat had stood down because of his daughter’s health. “I’ve always said family is above football. So this is a self-evident decision,” the 78-year-old is reported as saying. 

“But of course that doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to miss Curaçao, the people there and my colleagues very much.” 

Advocaat, who spent two years in charge of Curaçao, will be replaced by his fellow Dutchman Fred Rutten, a former Netherlands defender who has managed PSV, Anderlecht and Feyenoord.

Advocaat described leading the Caribbean island, which has a population of around 150,000, to this summer’s World Cup as the “craziest thing” he had achieved in a managerial career that spans nearly four decades. He would have become the oldest coach in World Cup history.

Curaçao begin their World Cup campaign with a Group E match against Germany in Houston on 14 June.

- The Guardian