Dick Advocaat led Curaçao to their first World Cup but will not be in charge of the team at the tournament itself after resigning from the head coach’s post for personal reasons.
“Dick Advocaat has stepped down with immediate effect as head coach of the national football team of Curaçao,” the country’s football federation confirmed on social media, the statement going onto say that the 78-year-old will “devote his full attention to his daughter, who is facing health issues”.
“I have always said that family comes before football,” Advocaat added in the statement. The Dutchman, who has managed the Netherlands three times and took charge of Curaçao in 2024, will be replaced by his compatriot Fred Rutten, a former national-team defender who has managed PSV, Anderlecht and Feyenoord.
Advocaat described leading the Caribbean island, which has a population of around 150,000, to the World Cup as the “craziest thing” he had achieved in a managerial career that spans nearly four decades. He would have become the oldest coach in World Cup history.
Curaçao begin their World Cup campaign with a Group E match against Germany in Houston on 14 June.
