Dick Advocaat facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
Dick Advocaat
Personal information
Advocaat in 2021
Full name	Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat
Date of birth	(1947-09-27) 27 September 1947 (age 77)
Place of birth	The Hague, Netherlands
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder, centre-back
Team information
Current team	Curaçao (manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1966–1973	ADO Den Haag	147	(7)
1967	→ San Francisco Gales (loan)	7	(1)
1973–1977	Roda JC	113	(2)
1977–1979	VVV-Venlo	74	(6)
1979	Chicago Sting	32	(3)
1979–1980	ADO Den Haag	11	(1)
1980	Chicago Sting	31	(1)
1980–1982	Sparta Rotterdam	61	(6)
1982–1983	K. Berchem Sport	10	(0)
1983–1984	Utrecht	39	(0)
Total		525	(27)
Managerial career
1980–1984	DSVP
1987	Netherlands (women)
1987–1989	HFC Haarlem
1989–1991	SVV
1991–1992	Dordrecht
1992–1994	Netherlands
1994–1998	PSV
1998–2001	Rangers
2002–2004	Netherlands
2004–2005	Borussia Mönchengladbach
2005	United Arab Emirates
2005–2006	South Korea
2006–2009	Zenit Saint Petersburg
2009–2010	Belgium
2009–2010	AZ
2010–2012	Russia
2012–2013	PSV
2013–2014	AZ
2014	Serbia
2015	Sunderland
2016–2017	Fenerbahçe
2017	Netherlands
2017–2018	Sparta Rotterdam
2018–2019	Utrecht
2019–2021	Feyenoord
2021	Iraq
2022–2023	ADO Den Haag
2024–	Curaçao
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dirk Nicolaas "Dick" Advocaat (born 27 September 1947) is a Dutch former football player and coach. He is currently the manager of the Curaçao national football team.

Advocaat has had a very successful career both as a player and as a coach. He has managed the Netherlands national team three times. He has also coached many football clubs in the Netherlands and other countries. For example, he led the Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg to win the 2008 UEFA Cup Final. He has also managed national teams like South Korea, Belgium, and Russia. His nickname is "The Little General," which he got because his mentor, Rinus Michels, was called "The General."

Dick Advocaat's Playing Career
Dick Advocaat's Coaching Career
Honours and Achievements
- As a Manager
- Individual Awards
See also

Dick Advocaat's Playing Career

Advocaat won the KNVB Cup as a player with FC Den Haag.

Dick Advocaat was born in The Hague, Netherlands. He played as a defensive midfielder during his football career. He started playing professionally at 18 with his hometown club, ADO Den Haag. His first professional game was on 21 May 1967.

Early Years with ADO Den Haag (1966–1973)
- In 1967, his team, including Advocaat, played for six weeks in the United States as the San Francisco Golden Gate Gales.
- He won his only trophy as a player, the KNVB Cup, in 1968 with ADO Den Haag.
- He became a regular player for the club in the 1969–70 season.
- In total, he played 147 games and scored 7 goals for the club.

Moving to Roda JC and VVV-Venlo (1973–1979)
- From 1973, Advocaat played for Roda JC, where he made 121 appearances and scored 2 goals.
- He then moved to VVV-Venlo in 1976. He played 74 games and scored 6 goals for them.

Playing in the United States (1978–1980)
- In 1978, Advocaat went to the United States to play for the Chicago Sting in the NASL.
- He played 24 games and scored 2 goals in his first season there.
- During breaks from the NASL, he returned to the Netherlands to play for his old club, FC Den Haag.

Later Career in the Netherlands and Belgium (1980–1984)
- After his time in the US, Advocaat joined Sparta Rotterdam, playing 61 games and scoring 6 goals.
- He then moved to Belgium to play for K. Berchem Sport in the second division.
- Finally, he returned to the Eredivisie in the Netherlands to play for Utrecht, where he finished his playing career after 39 games.

Dick Advocaat's Coaching Career

Advocaat started coaching in 1981 while still playing football. He was a physical education teacher and began by coaching an amateur team.

Early Coaching in the Netherlands (1981–1992)

Starting as an Assistant (1984)
- In 1984, Advocaat became an assistant coach for the Netherlands national team under Rinus Michels.
- Michels was known as "The General," and Advocaat became known as "The Little General."

First Professional Clubs
- In 1987, he became the manager of his first professional club, HFC Haarlem, for two years.
- He then moved to Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging (SVV), where he helped the team win the Eerste Divisie title in the 1989–90 season. This meant they were promoted to the top league, the Eredivisie.
- SVV later merged with Dordrecht '90.

Leading the Dutch National Team and PSV (1992–1998)

First Time as National Coach (1992–1994)
- Advocaat became the head coach of the Dutch national team after UEFA Euro 1992.
- He led the team to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
- At the World Cup, the Netherlands reached the quarter-finals but lost to Brazil, who went on to win the tournament.

Success with PSV Eindhoven (1994–1998)
- After the World Cup, Advocaat returned to club coaching with PSV in December 1994.
- In the 1995–96 season, PSV finished second in the Eredivisie and won the KNVB Cup.
- In the 1996–97 season, PSV won the Eredivisie title.
- PSV also won the Johan Cruyff Shield, the Dutch Super Cup, in 1996 and 1997.

Managing Rangers in Scotland (1998–2001)

First Foreign Manager for Rangers
- In 1998, Advocaat became the first foreign manager of Rangers in Scotland.
- He invested a lot in new players to improve the team.

Winning Trophies
- In his first season (1998–99), Rangers won the domestic treble: the Scottish Premier League, the Scottish Cup, and the Scottish League Cup.
- In the next season (1999–2000), they won the Scottish Premier League again by a large margin and also the Scottish Cup.
- Rangers fans showed their appreciation by wearing orange, the color of the Dutch national team.

Leaving Rangers
- His third season was less successful, with Rangers not winning any trophies.
- Advocaat resigned from his manager position in December 2001. He then took on a role as general manager before leaving for the Netherlands national team again.

International Management and Borussia Mönchengladbach (2002–2006)

Second Time with the Netherlands (2002–2004)
- Advocaat returned to coach the Netherlands national team in 2002.
- He led them to qualify for UEFA Euro 2004 through the playoffs.
- At Euro 2004, the Netherlands reached the semi-finals but lost to Portugal.
- Advocaat faced criticism for some of his tactical decisions and resigned in July 2004.

Brief Spell in Germany (2004–2005)
- He then briefly managed the German club Borussia Mönchengladbach from November 2004 to April 2005.

Coaching United Arab Emirates and South Korea (2005–2006)
- In July 2005, Advocaat became the coach of the United Arab Emirates.
- He quickly left this role in September 2005 to become the manager of South Korea until the end of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
- At the 2006 World Cup, South Korea won one game, drew one, and lost one, but did not make it past the group stage. Advocaat resigned after the tournament.

Zenit Saint Petersburg (2006–2009)

Winning in Russia
- In June 2006, Advocaat was appointed manager of Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia.

Advocaat in 2007.

- In 2007, he led Zenit to win their first Russian league title since the Soviet Union broke up. This was a big achievement.
- Zenit qualified for the UEFA Champions League the next season.

European Success
- In 2008, Zenit won the 2008 UEFA Cup Final by defeating Advocaat's former club, Rangers, 2–0. This made Zenit only the second Russian team to win a European trophy.

Advocaat with then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in 2008.

- On 24 August 2008, Zenit also won the 2008 UEFA Super Cup by beating Manchester United 2–1.

Advocaat with Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2008.

- In December 2008, Advocaat was named Trainer of the Year in Russia.

Leaving Zenit
- In May 2009, Advocaat agreed to become the manager of the Belgium national team starting in 2010.
- However, after a series of poor results, he was sacked by Zenit in August 2009.

Belgium and AZ (2009–2010)

Managing Belgium
- Advocaat's contract with Belgium started earlier, in October 2009, after the previous manager resigned.
- He managed Belgium for a short period, winning some friendly matches.

Managing AZ Alkmaar
- In December 2009, it was announced that Advocaat would also manage the Dutch club AZ until the end of the 2009–10 season.
- He left the Belgian national team in April 2010 to become the coach of the Russia national team.

Russia National Team (2010–2012)

Leading Russia
- Advocaat became the new manager of the Russia national team in July 2010.
- He led Russia to qualify automatically for UEFA Euro 2012.
- At Euro 2012, Russia started well but failed to get past the group stage after losing their last match.
- It was already decided that Advocaat would leave Russia to return to PSV after the tournament.

Return to PSV and AZ; Serbia (2012–2014)

Back to PSV (2012–2013)
- Advocaat returned to PSV in July 2012.
- He started well, winning the 2012 Johan Cruyff Shield by beating Ajax.
- PSV finished second in the Eredivisie and lost the cup final to AZ.
- Advocaat announced his retirement from club coaching at the end of this season.

Another Stint at AZ (2013–2014)
- However, he returned to AZ in October 2013 to help them for the rest of the season.

Advocaat with AZ in 2014.

- AZ finished eighth in the league and reached the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup and the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Coaching Serbia (2014)
- In July 2014, Advocaat became the new manager of the Serbia national team.
- Serbia had a tough start in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches, with only one draw and two losses.
- Advocaat left the role in November 2014.

Sunderland (2015)

Saving Sunderland from Relegation
- In March 2015, Advocaat was appointed manager of the English Premier League club Sunderland until the end of the season.

Advocaat on the touchline as manager of Sunderland in May 2015.

- He helped Sunderland avoid relegation from the Premier League on 20 May 2015, which was a very emotional moment for him.
- Sunderland finished 16th, safely above the relegation zone.

Second Spell and Resignation
- He initially announced his retirement but then changed his mind and signed a one-year contract with Sunderland.
- Despite new player signings, Sunderland had a poor start to the 2015–16 season.
- Advocaat resigned on 4 October 2015, with Sunderland in the relegation zone.

Fenerbahçe (2016–2017)

Managing in Turkey
- In August 2016, Advocaat signed a one-year contract with the Turkish club Fenerbahçe.
- He led Fenerbahçe to a notable 2–1 win against Manchester United in the Europa League group stage.
- Fenerbahçe finished first in their Europa League group.

Third Time with the Netherlands (2017)

Record-Breaking Wins
- On 9 May 2017, Advocaat was announced as the new manager of the Netherlands for his third time.
- He was joined by Ruud Gullit as his assistant.
- Although the team failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Advocaat became the most successful Netherlands manager in terms of wins, with a total of 37 victories. This record had been held for 77 years.

Later Club Roles (2018–Present)

Sparta Rotterdam (2018)
- In December 2017, Advocaat became the manager of Sparta Rotterdam for the rest of the 2017–18 season.
- Sparta was unfortunately relegated to the second division after losing in the playoffs.

FC Utrecht (2018–2019)
- In September 2018, he took over as manager of Utrecht for the 2018–19 season.

Feyenoord (2019–2021)
- In October 2019, Advocaat was appointed coach of Feyenoord.
- On 12 September 2020, he became the oldest coach in the history of the Dutch Eredivisie at 72 years and 351 days old.

Iraq National Team (2021)
- In August 2021, he became the head coach of the Iraq national football team for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
- He resigned in November 2021 after not winning any of his six games.

ADO Den Haag (2022–2023)
- In November 2022, Advocaat was appointed manager of ADO Den Haag again.
- He retired as a coach at the end of the 2022–23 season.

Curaçao National Team (2024–Present)
- On 15 January 2024, Advocaat was appointed as the new head coach of the Curaçao national football team.

Honours and Achievements

As a Manager

SVV
- Eerste Divisie: 1989–90 (Won the second division league)

PSV Eindhoven
- Eredivisie: 1996–97 (Won the top Dutch league)
- KNVB Cup: 1995–96 (Won the Dutch Cup)
- Johan Cruyff Shield: 1996, 1997, 2012 (Won the Dutch Super Cup)

Rangers
- Scottish Premier League: 1998–99, 1999–2000 (Won the top Scottish league)
- Scottish Cup: 1998–99, 1999–2000 (Won the Scottish Cup)
- Scottish League Cup: 1998–99 (Won the Scottish League Cup)

Netherlands National Team
- UEFA European Championship third place: 2004

Zenit Saint Petersburg
- Russian Premier League: 2007 (Won the top Russian league)
- UEFA Cup: 2007–08 (Won a major European club competition)
- UEFA Super Cup: 2008 (Won a European super cup)

Individual Awards

Advocaat was made an Honorary Citizen of Saint Petersburg in 2008 after winning the UEFA Cup with Zenit. He was the first foreign person to receive this honor since 1866.