WILLEMSTAD, Curaçao (AP) — dick advocaat Due to his daughter’s health issues, he resigned as Curacao’s head coach and will not lead the team at the World Cup.
The 78-year-old Dutchman was scheduled to lead the Caribbean nation to their opening game against four-time champions Germany in June.
“I have always said that family is more important than football,” Advocaat said in a statement released by the country’s football federation on Monday. “So this is a natural decision. However, the fact remains that I will very much miss Curacao, its people and my colleagues.”
“I consider it one of the highlights of my career for the smallest country in the world to qualify for the World Cup,” he added. “I’m proud of our players, staff and board members for believing in us.”
The federation said Fred Rutten has been appointed as his successor. He previously managed FC Twente, PSV, Feyenoord and Schalke 04.
Curaçao will compete in the World Cup as the smallest country in history to qualify for men’s soccer’s marquee event.
Curacao is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of the Netherlands with a population of approximately 156,000. Iceland has a population of over 350,000 people. When they qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, they were the smallest country to have participated in the previous World Cup.
The team relies heavily on players born and raised in the Netherlands. Curaçao has been actively recruiting from abroad, including five players since August, after receiving permission from FIFA to change the national team eligibility of players who previously represented the Netherlands at youth and U-21 level within the rules of foreign football.
Advocaat led his native Netherlands to the quarterfinals of the 1994 World Cup and coached South Korea at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
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