Dick Advocaat has resigned as head coach of the Curaçao national football team, just months before leading them to their first World Cup. The 78-year-old Dutchman stepped down for personal reasons, citing the need to focus on his daughter's health issues.
The Curaçao Football Federation announced his departure on social media, stating that Advocaat will devote his full attention to his daughter. Advocaat, who previously managed the Netherlands three times, took charge of Curaçao in 2024 and led the Caribbean island of around 150,000 people to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.
Advocaat described the achievement as the 'craziest thing' in his nearly four-decade managerial career. He would have become the oldest coach in World Cup history. His compatriot Fred Rutten, a former Netherlands international and manager of PSV, Anderlecht, and Feyenoord, will replace him.
Curaçao begin their World Cup campaign in Group E against Germany in Houston on 14 June. Advocaat said, 'I have always said that family comes before football.'
