FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group K - Wolfsberger AC v Feyenoord - Worthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt, Austria - December 10, 2020 Feyenoord coach Dick Advocaat is interviewed before the match REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
(Reuters) - Much travelled coach Dick Advocaat will be the toast of the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao after taking the reins of national side in a bid to qualify them for the 2026 World Cup, local media reported on Monday.
The 76-year-old is a replacement for interim coach Dean Gorre, who had spent the last six months in charge, and will bring with him long-time assistant Cor Pot. Curacao start their qualification campaign for the World Cup in June.
"I am delighted to be able to contribute to the development of football in Curacao," Advocaat was quoted by NOS.nl.
"It took a while to get to this point, because the current board of FFK (Federashon Futbòl Kòrsou) first wanted to clean up its act: pay players, pay off the organisation's debts, look for new sponsorships and restore trust. It looks like this has been achieved."
Curacao, with a population of a little under 150,000, have only been playing international football in their current form since 2011 following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
They are ranked number 90 in the world, but are able to tap into their large diaspora in the Netherlands, where the majority of their players were born and currently play.
Advocaat had three spells in charge of the Netherlands and also coached United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Belgium, Russia, Serbia and Iraq, as well as a host of clubs across Europe.
He was most recently in charge of Dutch club ADO Den Haag, who he left in June last year.
(Reporting by Nick Said)
