Dick Advocaat quits as Curaçao team boss: “Family comes first”

Dick Advocaat will not coach Curaçao at its debut World Cup in the summer after the 78-year-old announced he was stepping down for family health reasons.

Advocaat, who led the Caribbean island nation to its first ever qualification, said he was quitting to support his eldest daughter, who is seriously ill.

“I have always said that family comes before football,” Advocaat said. “This was a straightforward decision.”

The former Netherlands national team coach had hoped to finish his coaching career at the World Cup in June, where Curaçao have been drawn in a group with Germany, Ecuador and the Ivory Coast.

Advocaat guided them to qualification from a group that contained former World Cup participants Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, as well as Bermuda. They are the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup, with a population of 185,000.

His career has taken him to two World Cups with the Netherlands and South Korea, as well as stints coaching the national teams of Russia, Belgium, Serbia and Iraq. His extensive club CV includes spells in charge of PSV, Glasgow Rangers, Zenit St Petersburg and Feyenoord.

Former PSV and Twente coach Fred Rutten will take over from Advocaat with immediate effect, starting with friendly matches against Australia next month and Scotland in May.

Advocaat’s senior backroom staff, assistant coach Cor Pot and team doctor Casper van Eijck, have also submitted their resignation to the Curaçao Football Association.

CFA chairman Gilbert Martina said: “Dick made history with the national football team. Curaçao will always be grateful to Dick.”