Dick Advocaat hired to coach Curaçao national team ahead of World Cup qualifying

FILE - Feyenoord's head coach Dick Advocaat gestures during their Europa League group G soccer match against FC Porto at Dragao stadium in Porto, Portugal, Dec. 12, 2019. Dick Advocaat was hired Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, as coach of Curaçao's national soccer team ahead of the nation's opening World Cup qualifier in June. (AP Photo/Miguel Angelo Pereira, file) — FILE - Feyenoord’s head coach Dick Advocaat gestures during their Europa League group G soccer match against FC Porto at Dragao stadium in Porto, Portugal, Dec. 12, 2019. Dick Advocaat was hired Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, as coach of Curaçao’s national soccer team ahead of the nation’s opening World Cup qualifier in June. (AP Photo/Miguel Angelo Pereira, file)

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dick Advocaat was hired Monday as coach of Curaçao ahead of its opening World Cup qualifier in June, the eighth national team he will lead.

Advocaat agreed to a one-year contract that includes a one-year option, according to Curaçao’s soccer federation. It did not say whether the option belongs to Advocaat or the federation.

The 76-year-old Advocaat coached the Netherlands for three different stints, leading the Oranje to the quarterfinals of the 1994 World Cup and the semifinals of the 2004 European Championship. He also led the Dutch team as it failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

He also has coached the United Arab Emirates (2005), South Korea (2005-06), Belgium (2009-10), Russia (2010-12), Serbia (2014) and Iraq (2021). His South Korean team was eliminated in the group stage of the 2006 World Cup and his Russia team failed to advance from the group stage of the 2012 Euros.

At the club level, he has coached Haarlem (1987-89), SVV Schiedam (1989-91), Dordrecht (1991-92), PSV Eindhoven (1994-98 and 2012-13), Glasgow Rangers (1998-2001), Borussia Mönchengladbach (2004-05), Zenit Saint Petersburg (2006-09), AZ Alkmaar (2009-10 and 2013-14), Sunderland (2015), Fenerbahçe (2016-17), Sparta Rotterdam (2017-18), Utrecht (2018-19), Feyenoord (2019-21) and Den Haag (2022-23).

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He won top the 2008 UEFA Cup with Zenit and top tier league titles with PSV (1997), Rangers (1999 and 2000) and Zenit (2007).

Coached by Guus Hiddink, Curaçao won its first-round group in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, then lost to Panama on 2-1 aggregate in the second round.

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