Dick Advocaat Steps Down After Historic Curacao Qualifier

A football legend is stepping away from one of the sport's greatest underdog stories to be where he's needed most—at home with family.

Dick Advocaat, 79, resigned as Curacao's national team coach on February 24th, just months before the island nation makes its World Cup debut. The Dutch manager cited his daughter's declining health as the reason for his departure, telling the Curacao Football Association that "family comes before football."

The timing makes his decision even more poignant. Advocaat had just orchestrated one of football's most remarkable achievements, leading Curacao to become the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the World Cup.

Appointed in January 2024, Advocaat turned Curacao into an unstoppable force during qualifying. His team went undefeated across 10 matches in CONCACAF qualifying, posting 7 wins and 3 draws to secure their historic berth.

The campaign was nearly flawless. Curacao swept through the second round with a perfect 4-0-0 record against Haiti, Saint Lucia, Aruba, and Barbados. In the final qualifying stage, they topped their group with 3 wins and 3 draws against tougher opponents like Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

For Advocaat, the Curacao job represented a career bookend. He previously coached South Korea to its first away World Cup victory at the 2006 Germany tournament, cementing his reputation for elevating underdog teams on football's biggest stage.

Why This Inspires

Advocaat's resignation shows that even at the pinnacle of professional success, some things matter more than glory. At 79, having already achieved legendary status in world football, he could have stayed for the World Cup finals—the crowning moment of his Curacao project. Instead, he chose the harder path: walking away to care for someone he loves.

His statement was simple but powerful: leading the smallest nation ever to a World Cup "was one of the most special moments of my football career." Yet when family needed him, the choice was clear.

Curacao has appointed Fred Rutten, another experienced Dutch coach with credentials at Feyenoord and FC Twente, to continue Advocaat's work. The foundation is solid—most of the squad developed through the Netherlands' elite football system, representing Curacao through ancestral heritage while holding Dutch nationality.

The World Cup dream lives on, built on Advocaat's vision and now carried forward in his absence—a fitting legacy for a coach who always knew what mattered most.