Dick Advocaat, 79, the Dutch coach who once led South Korea's national football team, will return to manage Curacao and become the oldest manager in World Cup history.
The Curacao Football Federation (FFK) announced on social media Thursday, Korea time, that "following Coach Fred Rutten's decision to resign, the federation's board of directors decided to appoint Advocaat as the new head coach of the national team."
"Broader discussions between the FFK and Coach Advocaat are still ongoing," the federation added. "The FFK aims to ensure stability, clarity and continuity for the national team."
With the appointment, Advocaat returns to the Curacao helm three months after stepping down, with just a month to go before the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America kicks off.
Advocaat took charge of Curacao in January 2024 and led the team to qualify for the World Cup finals. It is the first time in history that Curacao, a nation with a population of about 150,000, has reached the World Cup finals.
However, Advocaat voluntarily stepped down in February this year, saying he wanted to focus on caring for his daughter, who was in poor health.
Rutten was named his successor, but Curacao raised concerns during its World Cup preparations, losing 0-2 to China and 1-5 to Australia in friendlies in March.
More recently, reports emerged that Advocaat's daughter's health had improved, and local media said Curacao's players and sponsors were hoping for his return. Gilbert Martina, president of the Curacao Football Federation, dismissed the possibility of Advocaat's return on the 9th of this month, but the situation reversed dramatically three days later when Rutten resigned on the 12th.
In the end, Curacao decided, as expected, to entrust the national team once again to Advocaat, who commands strong trust within the squad.
Advocaat, who led the Netherlands to the quarterfinals at the 1994 U.S. World Cup and managed South Korea at the 2006 Germany World Cup, will head to his third World Cup as a manager.
Born in 1947, the 78-year-old Advocaat is also poised to write new history as the oldest manager ever at a World Cup finals. The current record is held by German coach Otto Rehhagel, born in 1938. Rehhagel was 71 years and 317 days old when he led Greece — which also faced South Korea — against Argentina in the final group-stage match at the 2010 South Africa World Cup.
Curacao is in Group E at the 2026 World Cup alongside Germany, Ecuador and Ivory Coast, and will make its World Cup finals debut against Germany in Houston on June 15.
