Dick Advocaat
Encyclopedia
Dirk Nicolaas "Dick" Advocaat (ˈdɪk ɑtfoˑˈkaˑt; born 27 September 1947 in The Hague
) is a Dutch
football manager
and former player currently the manager of the Russia national football team
.
He has been moderately successful as a football player and as a coach, which included two stints with the Dutch national football team
. He has coached a number of clubs in the Netherlands and abroad (including the Russian club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
, with whom he won the 2008 UEFA Cup Final
), as well as the national teams of a number of other countries, including South Korea
, the United Arab Emirates
, and Belgium. His nickname is "The Little General", a reference to his mentor Rinus Michels
' sobriquet "The General."
during his playing days. His career began as an 18-year-old with Hague club ADO Den Haag
, and he made his debut with the club as 21-year old in 1967. His professional debut was 21 May 1967 in a 3–0 win against GVAV.
He only featured for Den Haag once more that season, and that summer the San Francisco Golden Gate Gales
franchise imported the Den Haag team, which included Advocaat, to play for six weeks in the United Soccer Association
as part of an effort to make the sport more popular in the country. It was the following season that Advocaat won his only honour as a player, the Dutch Cup
in 1968. In the 1969–70 he became a regular in the team, making 29 appearances that season and scoring his first goal for the club; he made 33 appearances the season after that. From the 1971–72, the club merged with Holland Sport and became FC Den Haag. In that season and his final season, Advocaat made a further 66 appearances and scored 6 goals. In total he made 147 appearances and scored 7 goals for the club.
From 1973, his playing career continued for Roda JC until he moved to VVV-Venlo during the 1976–77 season. In his time at Roda JC, Advocaat made 121 appearances and scored 2 goals, and when the club was to be discontinued in 2009, Goal.com
described him as their most famous player. In his first season with VVV-Venlo, Advocaat scored 2 goals in 20 appearances. He made 33 appearances in the 1977–78 season, scoring 4 goals, and made a further 21 appearances in his final season at the club. In total, he made 74 appearances and scored 6 goals.
In 1978, Advocaat made the move to America to play with Chicago Sting
in the North American Soccer League
(NASL). That season he made 24 appearances, scoring 2 goals. In 1979 he scored 3 more goals in 28 appearances and for the 1980 season he scored 1 further goal from 29 appearances. During the break between the 1979 and 1980 NASL seasons, Advocaat returned to the Netherlands and made 11 appearances, scoring 1 goal, for his former club FC Den Haag.
Following the 1980 NASL season, Advocaat moved to Sparta Rotterdam
to play the remainder of the 1980–81 season. He spent eighteen months at the club scoring 6 goals and making 61 appearances. Following that Advocaat moved to Belgium and played in the second division
for K. Berchem Sport
, however he only made 10 appearances before, moving back to the Dutch Eredivisie
with FC Utrecht where he made 39 more appearances before the end of his playing career.
In 1984, Advocaat was unexpectedly appointed as assistant to Dutch national team
coach Rinus Michels
. Advocaat became a protégé of Michels, who's sobriquet was "The General". In reference to this, Advocaat acquired the nickname "The Little General". In 1987, Advocaat became manager of his first professional club, HFC Haarlem
. He stayed at Haarlem for two years before moving to Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging
(SVV) as manager. At SVV, alongside technical director Wim Jansen
, Advocaat led the team to become Eerste Divisie
champions in the 1989–90 season winning promotion to the Eredivisie
. In 1991, SVV merged with neighbouring club Dordrecht '90, who failed to win promotion to the 1990–91 play-offs. SVV had finished 16th the previous season, but remained in the Eredivisie after winning their relegation play-off. The two teams competed as SVV/Dordrecht '90 during the 1991–92 season and became FC Dordrecht
the following season, after Advocaat had left. Despite success at both clubs, Advocaat was criticised in his initial coaching years for playing defensive football.
and looking to qualify
for Euro 1992. During UEFA Euro 1992, it became apparent it would be Michels' last job and following the tournament Advocaat took over as national coach. Advocaat lost his first two matches in charge, a friendly against Italy and a World Cup qualifier against Norway. During the qualifying campaign Advocaat and Ruud Gullit
fell out; Gullit was unhappy with Advocaat's tactics in the World Cup qualifier against England and was eventually substituted. Following this Gullit retired from international football, but was widely expected to return with a change of administration in the summer. Advocaat qualified for the World Cup, following a crucial win against qualification rivals England. Despite the result, Advocaat was scheduled to lose his job to Johan Cruyff
for the 1994 FIFA World Cup
. However, talks between Cruyff and the KNVB
broke down at the last minute and Advocaat retained his position, causing Gullit to remain in retirement. At the World Cup, Advocaat led the Dutch to the quarter-finals where they lost 3–2 to eventual winners Brazil
. Following the World Cup, Advocaat returned to manage at club level.
; PSV finished third that season. Coming to the club, Advocaat coached existing players Ronaldo
and Luc Nilis, and in 1995–96, Advocaat's first full season with the club, he led PSV to second place in the Eredivisie
. They also won that years
KNVB Cup
which qualified them for the following years UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
. Over the summer Advocaat signed Jaap Stam
, and in the 1996–97 season PSV won the Eredivisie
and qualified for the UEFA Champions League
the following year. In June 1998, Advocaat left the club.
chairman David Murray
to become the Scottish Premier League
team's new manager. Walter Smith
was still in the job but had announced his departure in advance. Shortly after joining Rangers Advocaat fronted a notable advertising campaign for Hair transplantation
.
When Advocaat took charge of Rangers he became the first foreign manager to do so and only the tenth manager in the history of the club. The previous season was the last of seven under Walter Smith, and the first time the club had finished without a trophy in twelve years. Long term members of the squad that had won nine league championships in a row left, including Ally McCoist
, Ian Durrant
, Andy Goram
and Stuart McCall
. With the financial backing from Chairman David Murray
, Advocaat invested heavily in the team. Big money signings such as Giovanni van Bronckhorst
, Arthur Numan
and Andrei Kanchelskis
were among Advocaat's first as Rangers tried to regain the league championship in Scotland.
In Advocaat's first season in charge the club won the domestic treble (League, League Cup and Scottish Cup). The club also had a short run in the Uefa Cup. Rangers fans paid tribute to Advocaat and the Dutch Rangers players at the 2000 Scottish Cup Final by wearing replica orange Holland international tops and other orange merchandise. The following season the club won the league by an SPL record 21 point margin, and also won the Scottish Cup
. Advocaat also guided Rangers into the Champions League having beaten the UEFA Cup winners Parma
in the 3rd round qualifier. Rangers went out of the group stage after being drawn alongside Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven and Valencia
. The club then lost to Borussia Dortmund
in a penalty shoot out in the UEFA cup.
Advocaats third season at Rangers was less successful. Despite investment in the team with players such as Tore Andre Flo
for a record £12 million, Rangers failed to win any trophies, as Celtic under new manager Martin O’Neill, won the domestic treble. Advocaat branded some of his players "fat-necks" in the press. In Europe Rangers qualified for the Champions league for the second consecutive season after two qualifying rounds. They were drawn alongside Sturm Graz, Galatasaray
and Monaco
. After good results against Sturm Graz and Monaco, the club failed to qualify for the next phase of the competition, finishing third behind Galatasaray on goal difference. Rangers then lost 3-0 to Kaiserslautern of Germany in the Uefa cup.
In his last season at Rangers with Celtic leading the league championship by 12 points, Advocaat resigned from the manager's position on 12 December 2001. Alex McLeish
was appointed as his successor with Advocaat moving to the position of General Manager. Advocaat eventually left Rangers for the Netherlands national team.
's failure to take the national team to the 2002 World Cup
in January 2002 and presided over the Netherlands qualification for Euro 2004 via the playoffs.
Oranje
had finished second in their group behind the Czech Republic
and therefore went into a playoff in order to qualify for Euro 2004. They managed to achieve this after a 6–1 aggregate win over Scotland
but not before surviving a harrowing encounter: losing 1–0 in the first leg in Scotland. Advocaat was criticised by the Dutch media, so much so that several of the team's players refused to speak to the media even after the comfortable and inspired 6–0 victory in the return leg at the Amsterdam ArenA
.
Despite taking Netherlands to the semi-final stage of UEFA Euro 2004, the Dutch media were critical of Advocaat. Netherlands were beaten 2–1 by Portugal
in the semi-finals of Euro 2004 after a dismal performance. The team also made several criticisms of his tactics, especially those in the team's shock loss to the Czech Republic in the second game of the first round of the tournament. In that game, after the Netherlands lost their two goal lead against the Czechs, Advocaat made a tactical change that shocked even his own players as he brought on the aging Paul Bosvelt
in the midfield position replacing crowd favorite Arjen Robben
who had been contributing immensely throughout the match, with two assists. The Czechs seized the opportunity to capitalize on it and scored the decisive goal. Shortly after the tournament, with mounting pressure and even death threats, Advocaat quit his job as head coach on 6 July 2004. He then went briefly back into club management with German club Borussia Mönchengladbach
, however he resigned on 18 April 2005 after less than six months at the helm.
from 1 October 2005 until the end of the 2006 World Cup
. During his tenure with the UAE, Advocaat was manager for two games at the 1st International Arab Friendly Tournament in Switzerland
. UAE won the first game against Kuwait
7–6 on penalties after the match had finished 1–1. They lost the final to Egypt 4–5 on penalties, following a 0–0 draw in normal time.
and a victory against Serbia
. In early 2006, during the break between domestic seasons, Advocaat took a 23-man squad of players from the K-League
and J-League and embarked on a 5-week, 10-game tour. It started with a Advocaat's first defeat as manager against the United Arab Emirates, whom he formerly managed. From there they travelled to Riyadh
, Saudi Arabia
where they drew with European champions Greece
and won against Finland
. Then they travelled to Hong Kong
to take part in the Carlsberg Cup
, where they defeated Croatia
before losing in the final to Denmark
. They then travelled to America where they lost to Costa Rica
, won against MLS
side LA Galaxy
and Mexico
. The tour finished in Aleppo
on 22 February 2006 with an Asian Cup
qualifying match against Syria
which they won 2–1, ending the tour with 6 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses. In the lead up to the World Cup, South Korea played five more friendlies, winning two, drawing two and losing one. At the World Cup, Korea opened their campaign with a 2–1 victory over Togo
. In their second group match they scored a late equalizer to draw 1–1 against France
, putting them in a position to qualify from Group G. However, Korea failed to make it into the last 16 after a 2–0 loss against Switzerland
, while France defeated Togo 2–0 to advance to the next round. Following Korea's exit from the World Cup, Advocaat resigned.
In December 2005, gas giant Gazprom
took over as owners of Russian Premier League
team Zenit St. Petersburg
. After a mediocre start to the season, manager Vlastimil Petržela
was sacked in the summer. On 26 June 2006, Advocaat was appointed in his place signing an 18-month contract with the option of a one-year extension. Zenit finished the 2006 season
in fourth place, earning a place in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup second qualifying round. In December 2006, the Russian Premier League transfer record was broken twice; first with the signing of Pavel Pogrebnyak
and then again when Zenit bought Alejandro Domínguez
.
For the 2007 season, Advocaat led Zenit to their first domestic league title since the Soviet Union was disbanded. Andrei Arshavin stood out as the star player of the season, being the only member of the team to start all 30 league games. Advocaat became the first foreign coach to win the Russian championship and, by winning the league, Zenit qualified for the group stage of the Champions League the following season. In August, Advocaat had signed a deal to become manager of the Australian national team, however, when Zenit offered him a new $4 million contract extension in November, Advocaat reneged on the deal with Australia. In Europe, Zenit qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Cup. Zenit finished third in their group and advanced to the last 32 of the competition. They progressed to the quarter-finals coming through matches against Villareal
and Marseille
on the away goals rule
.
Prior to the start of the 2008 domestic season, as league winners, Zenit faced Russian Cup winner, Lokomotiv Moscow, in the Russian Super Cup
on 9 March 2008; Zenit won the match 2–0. Continuing in the UEFA Cup, Zenit were victorious against German clubs Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich
to reach the final against Rangers
, Advocaat's former club. In the final
on 14 May 2008, Zenit won 2–0 and became only the second Russian team to win a European trophy. On 24 August 2008, Dynamo Moscow
player, Danny, transferred to Zenit for a Russian record transfer fee of €
30 million (£23 million). The arrival of Danny increased speculation that Arshavin was to leave the club, but the club rejected substantial bids from both Barcelona
and Tottenham Hotspur
in the summer transfer window despite the player's strong desire to leave the club. On 29 August 2008, Zenit contested with Champions League winners Manchester United
for the European Super Cup
. Zenit won the match 2–1 with new signing Danny scoring the decisive goal. In Europe, Zenit failed to advance from their Champions League group but finished third which meant they entered into the last 32 of the UEFA Cup. That year Zenit finished fifth domestically qualifying for the play-offs of the Europa League the following season. On 7 November 2009, Advocaat signed a one-year extension that contracted him to the club until the end of 2009. In December, Advocaat was named Trainer of the Year in Russia.
In January 2009, Arshavin was heavily rumoured to move again. Towards the end of the winter transfer window the Russian threatened to strike if he was not sold. Arshavin transferred to Arsenal
at the last-minute for around £16.9 million. In February, Zenit's UEFA Cup continued and Zenit progressed to the last 16. They failed to reach the quarter-finals, though, losing to Udinese
2–1 on aggregate. In the domestic season Advocaat fielded 7 foreign players in a team selection (one more than the league rules allow) against Lokomotiv Moscow in April 2009. Advocaat admitted he was at fault for the mistake and the club were fined but not deducted points. In May 2009, Advocaat agreed to become manager of the Belgium national football team when his contract with Zenit expired on 1 January 2010. However, on 10 August 2009 after run of poor results he was sacked by the club with Zenit seventh in the league.
, Franky Vercauteren
stepped down as coach and Advocaat's contract was brought forward to commence on 1 October 2009. Advocaat's first two matches in charge were the remaining fixtures in the qualifying campaign; a 2–0 victory against Turkey
and a 2–0 defeat to Estonia
. In the remainder of 2009, Belgium won in friendly matches against Hungary
and Qatar
. Belgium lost their first match of 2010 in a friendly against Croatia
.
On 6 December 2009, it was announced that Advocaat would function as both manager of the Belgium national team, and as manager of AZ. Advocaat succeeded Ronald Koeman
who was dismissed the previous day, and his contract runs until the end of the 2009–10 season
. Advocaat only watched AZ's final group match of the Champions League on 9 December 2010, and he was officially presented to the media the following day. however, His first match in charge was against PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie
on 12 December 2009; AZ lost 1–0. His first win managing the club came the following weekend defeating ADO Den Haag
3–0.
On 15 April 2010, Advocaat resigned as manager of the Belgian national team amid speculation that he was to become coach of the Russian national team
. Advocaat was later appointed Russia manager, and announced his intention to leave AZ Alkmaar at the end of the season. On 22 April 2010, it was announced that Gertjan Verbeek
would take over as AZ manager the following season. Under Advocaat, AZ finished fifth in the league
entering the third qualifying round of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.
and Advocaat began his contract on 1 July 2010 succeeding Guus Hiddink
. Advocaat signed a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee that is less than the £6 million pounds-a-year after tax that his predecessor, Hiddink, was paid.
.
.
PSV
Rangers
Zenit Saint Petersburg
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
) is a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
football manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
and former player currently the manager of the Russia national football team
Russia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...
.
He has been moderately successful as a football player and as a coach, which included two stints with the Dutch national football team
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
. He has coached a number of clubs in the Netherlands and abroad (including the Russian club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
Football Club Zenit is a Russian football club from the city of Saint-Petersburg. Founded in 1925 , the club plays in the Russian Premier League...
, with whom he won the 2008 UEFA Cup Final
2008 UEFA Cup Final
The 2008 UEFA Cup Final was the 37th final of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second tier club football tournament. The match was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, home ground of Manchester City F.C., in Manchester, England, at 20:45 CEST on 14 May 2008.The match was contested by Zenit St. Petersburg...
), as well as the national teams of a number of other countries, including South Korea
Korea Republic national football team
The Korea Republic national football team represents Korea Republic in international football and is controlled by the Korea Football Association. Korea Republic is the most successful Asian football team in the history of the FIFA World Cup having participated in eight World Cup tournaments,...
, the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates national football team
The United Arab Emirates national football team represents United Arab Emirates in association football and is controlled by the United Arab Emirates Football Association, the governing body for football in United Arab Emirates...
, and Belgium. His nickname is "The Little General", a reference to his mentor Rinus Michels
Rinus Michels
Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels OON was a Dutch association football player and coach...
' sobriquet "The General."
Club career
Advocaat was a defensive midfielderMidfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
during his playing days. His career began as an 18-year-old with Hague club ADO Den Haag
ADO Den Haag
Alles Door Oefening Den Haag , commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag , is a Dutch football club from the city of The Hague. The club was for a time known as FC Den Haag , with ADO representing the amateur branch of the club...
, and he made his debut with the club as 21-year old in 1967. His professional debut was 21 May 1967 in a 3–0 win against GVAV.
He only featured for Den Haag once more that season, and that summer the San Francisco Golden Gate Gales
San Francisco Golden Gate Gales
The San Francisco Golden Gate Gales was a soccer team based out of San Francisco, California, USA, that played in the United Soccer Association. The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The San Francisco club was actually the ADO Den Haag from The Hague in the Netherlands...
franchise imported the Den Haag team, which included Advocaat, to play for six weeks in the United Soccer Association
United Soccer Association
The United Soccer Association is a former professional soccer league featuring teams from the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American Soccer League. All the teams in the league were imported...
as part of an effort to make the sport more popular in the country. It was the following season that Advocaat won his only honour as a player, the Dutch Cup
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
in 1968. In the 1969–70 he became a regular in the team, making 29 appearances that season and scoring his first goal for the club; he made 33 appearances the season after that. From the 1971–72, the club merged with Holland Sport and became FC Den Haag. In that season and his final season, Advocaat made a further 66 appearances and scored 6 goals. In total he made 147 appearances and scored 7 goals for the club.
From 1973, his playing career continued for Roda JC until he moved to VVV-Venlo during the 1976–77 season. In his time at Roda JC, Advocaat made 121 appearances and scored 2 goals, and when the club was to be discontinued in 2009, Goal.com
Goal.com
Goal.com, founded in 2004 by Chicco Merighi and former Ferrari Maserati and Ralph Lauren President and CEO Gian Luigi Longinotti-Buitoni, is a website for international football news. Goal.com represents the largest football community in the world, with 22 language versions, covering over 200...
described him as their most famous player. In his first season with VVV-Venlo, Advocaat scored 2 goals in 20 appearances. He made 33 appearances in the 1977–78 season, scoring 4 goals, and made a further 21 appearances in his final season at the club. In total, he made 74 appearances and scored 6 goals.
In 1978, Advocaat made the move to America to play with Chicago Sting
Chicago Sting
The Chicago Sting was an American professional soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from in the 1982-83 season and again from 1984 to 1988...
in the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
(NASL). That season he made 24 appearances, scoring 2 goals. In 1979 he scored 3 more goals in 28 appearances and for the 1980 season he scored 1 further goal from 29 appearances. During the break between the 1979 and 1980 NASL seasons, Advocaat returned to the Netherlands and made 11 appearances, scoring 1 goal, for his former club FC Den Haag.
Following the 1980 NASL season, Advocaat moved to Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior and Feyenoord , the latter playing in the Eredivisie.-History:Sparta was first founded in 1887....
to play the remainder of the 1980–81 season. He spent eighteen months at the club scoring 6 goals and making 61 appearances. Following that Advocaat moved to Belgium and played in the second division
Belgian Second Division
The Belgian Second Division is the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system after the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the Belgian Football Association in 1905. Between 2008 and 2010 it was named EXQI League after a television channel owned by the league main sponsor,...
for K. Berchem Sport
K. Berchem Sport
K. Berchem Sport is a Belgian association football club based in the district of Berchem in the municipality of Antwerp and currently playing in the Promotion B . It has formerly played in the first division....
, however he only made 10 appearances before, moving back to the Dutch Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
with FC Utrecht where he made 39 more appearances before the end of his playing career.
Early coaching in the Netherlands
As well as playing football Advocaat was a PE teacher and became involved in coaching in 1981 (aged 32) when his older brother, Jaap, was offered a job running amateur Saturday football side Door Samenwerking Verkregen Pijnacker (DSVP). Jaap did not take the role but recommended Dick for the job. Advocaat coached this side during the final four years of his playing career with Sparta Rotterdam and Utrecht.In 1984, Advocaat was unexpectedly appointed as assistant to Dutch national team
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
coach Rinus Michels
Rinus Michels
Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels OON was a Dutch association football player and coach...
. Advocaat became a protégé of Michels, who's sobriquet was "The General". In reference to this, Advocaat acquired the nickname "The Little General". In 1987, Advocaat became manager of his first professional club, HFC Haarlem
HFC Haarlem
HFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889. The club won the Dutch national title in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912...
. He stayed at Haarlem for two years before moving to Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging
Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging
Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging was a Dutch professional football club from Schiedam. Founded in 1904, the club won the Dutch national football title in 1949. In 1991, SVV and neighbouring Dordrecht'90 merged to form FC Dordrecht.-History:...
(SVV) as manager. At SVV, alongside technical director Wim Jansen
Wim Jansen
Wilhelmus Marinus Anthonius Jansen is a Dutch former association football player and manager.- Playing career :He spent most of his playing career with his hometown team, Feyenoord, between 1965 and 1980...
, Advocaat led the team to become Eerste Divisie
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie is the second-highest division of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. It is also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship, which is the same name as the top league in Belgium...
champions in the 1989–90 season winning promotion to the Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
. In 1991, SVV merged with neighbouring club Dordrecht '90, who failed to win promotion to the 1990–91 play-offs. SVV had finished 16th the previous season, but remained in the Eredivisie after winning their relegation play-off. The two teams competed as SVV/Dordrecht '90 during the 1991–92 season and became FC Dordrecht
FC Dordrecht
FC Dordrecht is a football club from the city of Dordrecht in the Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie.- History :Founded on 16 August 1883 as Dordrechtsche Football Club , it became a professional club in 1954 upon the introduction of professional football to the Netherlands...
the following season, after Advocaat had left. Despite success at both clubs, Advocaat was criticised in his initial coaching years for playing defensive football.
National team
In 1990, Advocaat once more became an assistant to Michels, who was having his fourth spell as coach of the Dutch national teamNetherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
and looking to qualify
UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying Group 6
Standings and results for Group 6 of the UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying tournament.Group 6 consisted of Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Malta and Portugal. The Netherlands won the deciding game on October 16, 1991 by beating Portugal 1-0...
for Euro 1992. During UEFA Euro 1992, it became apparent it would be Michels' last job and following the tournament Advocaat took over as national coach. Advocaat lost his first two matches in charge, a friendly against Italy and a World Cup qualifier against Norway. During the qualifying campaign Advocaat and Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit
OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
fell out; Gullit was unhappy with Advocaat's tactics in the World Cup qualifier against England and was eventually substituted. Following this Gullit retired from international football, but was widely expected to return with a change of administration in the summer. Advocaat qualified for the World Cup, following a crucial win against qualification rivals England. Despite the result, Advocaat was scheduled to lose his job to Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON , known as Johan Cruyff, is a retired Dutch footballer and is currently the manager of the Catalan national team as well as a member of the AFC Ajax board of directors. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with...
for the 1994 FIFA World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
. However, talks between Cruyff and the KNVB
Royal Dutch Football Association
The Royal Dutch Football Association is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues , the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch national football team. It is based in the municipality of Zeist.The KNVB came into being on 8 December 1889...
broke down at the last minute and Advocaat retained his position, causing Gullit to remain in retirement. At the World Cup, Advocaat led the Dutch to the quarter-finals where they lost 3–2 to eventual winners Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
. Following the World Cup, Advocaat returned to manage at club level.
PSV
Advocaat returned to coaching at club level with PSV Eindhoven in 1995, taking over from interim manager Kees RijversKees Rijvers
Kees Rijvers is a retired Dutch footballer who was active as a midfielder. Rijvers made his debut at NAC Breda and also played for AS Saint-Étienne, Stade Français and Feijenoord....
; PSV finished third that season. Coming to the club, Advocaat coached existing players Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...
and Luc Nilis, and in 1995–96, Advocaat's first full season with the club, he led PSV to second place in the Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
. They also won that years
KNVB Cup 1995–96
The 78th edition of the KNVB Cup started on August 12, 1995. The final was played on May 16, 1996: PSV beat Sparta 5–2 and won the cup for the seventh time...
KNVB Cup
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
which qualified them for the following years UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
. Over the summer Advocaat signed Jaap Stam
Jaap Stam
Jakob "Jaap" Stam is a retired Dutch football player who was twice voted best defender in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. He played for several European clubs like PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, S.S. Lazio, A.C. Milan and AFC Ajax before retiring in October 2007...
, and in the 1996–97 season PSV won the Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
and qualified for the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
the following year. In June 1998, Advocaat left the club.
Rangers
In 1998 Advocaat accepted the invitation from RangersRangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
chairman David Murray
David Murray (Scottish businessman)
Sir David Edward Murray is a Scottish entrepreneur, businessman and former owner and chairman of Rangers Football Club....
to become the Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
team's new manager. Walter Smith
Walter Smith
Walter Smith, OBE is a Scottish football manager. His most recent job was at Scottish Premier League club Rangers.Smith had a relatively modest playing career, consisting of two spells with Dundee United which was split by a short time at Dumbarton.A pelvic injury meant he moved in to coaching at...
was still in the job but had announced his departure in advance. Shortly after joining Rangers Advocaat fronted a notable advertising campaign for Hair transplantation
Hair transplantation
Hair transplantation is a surgical technique that involves moving individual hair follicles from one part of the body to bald or balding parts . It is primarily used to treat male pattern baldness. It this case, grafts containing hair follicles that are genetically resistant to balding are...
.
When Advocaat took charge of Rangers he became the first foreign manager to do so and only the tenth manager in the history of the club. The previous season was the last of seven under Walter Smith, and the first time the club had finished without a trophy in twelve years. Long term members of the squad that had won nine league championships in a row left, including Ally McCoist
Ally McCoist
Alistair Murdoch "Ally" McCoist, MBE ; 24 September 1962) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Rangers in Scotland....
, Ian Durrant
Ian Durrant
Ian Durrant is a former Scottish professional footballer who played for Rangers, Kilmarnock and the Scotland national team...
, Andy Goram
Andy Goram
Andrew Lewis Goram is a former Scotland international association football goalkeeper. He started his career with Oldham Athletic and Hibernian, but he is best remembered for playing for Rangers during the 1990s, when he earned the moniker "The Goalie"...
and Stuart McCall
Stuart McCall
Andrew Stuart Murray McCall , usually known as Stuart McCall, is a former footballer who played in central midfield. He played a total of 763 league games during his career, the 13th highest of all British footballers...
. With the financial backing from Chairman David Murray
David Murray (Scottish businessman)
Sir David Edward Murray is a Scottish entrepreneur, businessman and former owner and chairman of Rangers Football Club....
, Advocaat invested heavily in the team. Big money signings such as Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Giovanni Christiaan van Bronckhorst OON , known as Gio in Spain, is a retired Dutch footballer of Moluccan descent who served as the captain of the Dutch national team from August 2008 until his retirement....
, Arthur Numan
Arthur Numan
Arthur Numan is a retired Dutch footballer. He played as a left back and was a regular fixture in Netherlands national football team...
and Andrei Kanchelskis
Andrei Kanchelskis
Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis is a Ukrainian-born Russian football manager and former association footballer who played as a right winger. Kanchelskis is the only player in history to have scored in each of the Glasgow, Merseyside and Manchester local derbies.Currently, he is managing FC...
were among Advocaat's first as Rangers tried to regain the league championship in Scotland.
In Advocaat's first season in charge the club won the domestic treble (League, League Cup and Scottish Cup). The club also had a short run in the Uefa Cup. Rangers fans paid tribute to Advocaat and the Dutch Rangers players at the 2000 Scottish Cup Final by wearing replica orange Holland international tops and other orange merchandise. The following season the club won the league by an SPL record 21 point margin, and also won the Scottish Cup
2000 Scottish Cup Final
The 2000 Scottish Cup Final was played on 27 May 2000 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 115th Scottish Cup. The final was contested by Aberdeen and Rangers. Rangers won the match 4–0. The match was the last in the long career of Aberdeen goalkeeper Jim Leighton. His big day was...
. Advocaat also guided Rangers into the Champions League having beaten the UEFA Cup winners Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
in the 3rd round qualifier. Rangers went out of the group stage after being drawn alongside Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven and Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
. The club then lost to Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
in a penalty shoot out in the UEFA cup.
Advocaats third season at Rangers was less successful. Despite investment in the team with players such as Tore Andre Flo
Tore André Flo
Tore André Flo is a Norwegian football striker, who plays for the Norwegian club Sogndal. He initially retired after being released by the Milton Keynes Dons in 2009, but announced his comeback in March 2011. His brothers Jostein Flo and Jarle Flo, and cousin Håvard Flo are also professional...
for a record £12 million, Rangers failed to win any trophies, as Celtic under new manager Martin O’Neill, won the domestic treble. Advocaat branded some of his players "fat-necks" in the press. In Europe Rangers qualified for the Champions league for the second consecutive season after two qualifying rounds. They were drawn alongside Sturm Graz, Galatasaray
Galatasaray S.K. (football team)
Galatasaray Anonim Şirketi is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray S.K. multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding 17 Turkish Super League titles and the highest number of Turkish Cups....
and Monaco
AS Monaco FC
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club are a French football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. The club was founded in 1924 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. The team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II located within Fontvieille...
. After good results against Sturm Graz and Monaco, the club failed to qualify for the next phase of the competition, finishing third behind Galatasaray on goal difference. Rangers then lost 3-0 to Kaiserslautern of Germany in the Uefa cup.
In his last season at Rangers with Celtic leading the league championship by 12 points, Advocaat resigned from the manager's position on 12 December 2001. Alex McLeish
Alex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...
was appointed as his successor with Advocaat moving to the position of General Manager. Advocaat eventually left Rangers for the Netherlands national team.
Return to the Netherlands
He rejoined the national team set-up following Louis van GaalLouis van Gaal
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal OON is a Dutch football manager formerly in charge of Ajax, Netherlands, Barcelona, AZ and Bayern Munich...
's failure to take the national team to the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
in January 2002 and presided over the Netherlands qualification for Euro 2004 via the playoffs.
Oranje
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
had finished second in their group behind the Czech Republic
Czech Republic national football team
The Czech Republic national football team represents the Czech Republic in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic, the governing body for football in the Czech Republic. Their current head coach is Michal Bílek...
and therefore went into a playoff in order to qualify for Euro 2004. They managed to achieve this after a 6–1 aggregate win over Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
but not before surviving a harrowing encounter: losing 1–0 in the first leg in Scotland. Advocaat was criticised by the Dutch media, so much so that several of the team's players refused to speak to the media even after the comfortable and inspired 6–0 victory in the return leg at the Amsterdam ArenA
Amsterdam ArenA
Amsterdam Arena is a stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is the largest stadium in the nation and it was built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost of €140 million, and was officially opened on 14 August 1996. It has been used for association football, American football, concerts, and other events...
.
Despite taking Netherlands to the semi-final stage of UEFA Euro 2004, the Dutch media were critical of Advocaat. Netherlands were beaten 2–1 by Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
in the semi-finals of Euro 2004 after a dismal performance. The team also made several criticisms of his tactics, especially those in the team's shock loss to the Czech Republic in the second game of the first round of the tournament. In that game, after the Netherlands lost their two goal lead against the Czechs, Advocaat made a tactical change that shocked even his own players as he brought on the aging Paul Bosvelt
Paul Bosvelt
Paul Bosvelt is a retired Dutch footballer. He played for Go Ahead Eagles and Twente before making his big move to Feyenoord in 1997.-Club career:...
in the midfield position replacing crowd favorite Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben is a Dutch footballer who plays for the German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Though often classified as a forward, he usually plays behind the forwards as a winger, and he is also known for his dribbling skills...
who had been contributing immensely throughout the match, with two assists. The Czechs seized the opportunity to capitalize on it and scored the decisive goal. Shortly after the tournament, with mounting pressure and even death threats, Advocaat quit his job as head coach on 6 July 2004. He then went briefly back into club management with German club Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Mönchengladbach is a German association football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. The team plays in the Bundesliga and is one of the country's most well-known, well-supported, and successful teams. Borussia Mönchengladbach has over 40,000 members and is the sixth...
, however he resigned on 18 April 2005 after less than six months at the helm.
United Arab Emirates
In July 2005, Advocaat signed a one-year contract to become coach of United Arab Emirates, but he terminated this contract in September to become manager of South Korea's national teamKorea Republic national football team
The Korea Republic national football team represents Korea Republic in international football and is controlled by the Korea Football Association. Korea Republic is the most successful Asian football team in the history of the FIFA World Cup having participated in eight World Cup tournaments,...
from 1 October 2005 until the end of the 2006 World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. During his tenure with the UAE, Advocaat was manager for two games at the 1st International Arab Friendly Tournament in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. UAE won the first game against Kuwait
Kuwait national football team
The Kuwait National Football Team is the national team of Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. They made one World Cup Finals appearance, in 1982, managing a draw with Czechoslovakia but losing to England and France. During the match against France, France scored a goal...
7–6 on penalties after the match had finished 1–1. They lost the final to Egypt 4–5 on penalties, following a 0–0 draw in normal time.
South Korea
Advocaat's first match in charge of South Korea was a friendly against Iran on 12 October 2005, which Korea won 2–0. Two more friendlies were played that year in November resulting in a draw against SwedenSweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
and a victory against Serbia
Serbia national football team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
. In early 2006, during the break between domestic seasons, Advocaat took a 23-man squad of players from the K-League
K-League
The Korea Professional Football League is South Korea's only fully professional association football league. At the top of the South Korean football league system, it is the country's highest and most prestigious level of football competition currently contested by 16 clubs.-Establishment:The...
and J-League and embarked on a 5-week, 10-game tour. It started with a Advocaat's first defeat as manager against the United Arab Emirates, whom he formerly managed. From there they travelled to Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
where they drew with European champions Greece
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...
and won against Finland
Finland national football team
The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....
. Then they travelled to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
to take part in the Carlsberg Cup
2006 Carlsberg Cup
The 2006 Carlsberg Cup was a football tournament held in Hong Kong over the first and fourth day of the Chinese New Year holiday .-=Head coach: Zlatko Kranjčar:=Head coach: Morten Olsen...
, where they defeated Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
before losing in the final to Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
. They then travelled to America where they lost to Costa Rica
Costa Rica national football team
The Costa Rica national football team, nicknamed La Sele, is the national team of Costa Rica and is controlled by the Federación Costarricense de Fútbol. Costa Rica is the third most successful team in CONCACAF after Mexico and the United States...
, won against MLS
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
side LA Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
and Mexico
Mexico national football team
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...
. The tour finished in Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
on 22 February 2006 with an Asian Cup
2007 AFC Asian Cup
The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...
qualifying match against Syria
Syria national football team
The Syria national football team represents Syria in association football and is controlled by the Syrian Football Association, the governing body for football in Syria. Syria's home grounds are Abbasiyyin Stadium and Aleppo International Stadium...
which they won 2–1, ending the tour with 6 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses. In the lead up to the World Cup, South Korea played five more friendlies, winning two, drawing two and losing one. At the World Cup, Korea opened their campaign with a 2–1 victory over Togo
Togo national football team
The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers (The Sparrow Hawks, is controlled by the Fédération Togolaise de Football.They played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Their team bus...
. In their second group match they scored a late equalizer to draw 1–1 against France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
, putting them in a position to qualify from Group G. However, Korea failed to make it into the last 16 after a 2–0 loss against Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
, while France defeated Togo 2–0 to advance to the next round. Following Korea's exit from the World Cup, Advocaat resigned.
Zenit St. Petersburg
Gazprom
Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...
took over as owners of Russian Premier League
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
team Zenit St. Petersburg
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
Football Club Zenit is a Russian football club from the city of Saint-Petersburg. Founded in 1925 , the club plays in the Russian Premier League...
. After a mediocre start to the season, manager Vlastimil Petržela
Vlastimil Petržela
Vlastimil Petržela is a Czech football coach who worked with Zenit Saint Petersburg from 2003 to 2006, winning the silver medals of Russian Premier League in 2003 and reaching the quarterfinal stage of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup...
was sacked in the summer. On 26 June 2006, Advocaat was appointed in his place signing an 18-month contract with the option of a one-year extension. Zenit finished the 2006 season
Russian Premier League 2006
Russian Premier League 2006 was the 15th season of Russian Football Championship, and 5th under the current Russian Premier League name. The league was won by defending champions CSKA Moscow. Torpedo Moscow and Shinnik were relegated...
in fourth place, earning a place in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup second qualifying round. In December 2006, the Russian Premier League transfer record was broken twice; first with the signing of Pavel Pogrebnyak
Pavel Pogrebnyak
Pavel Viktorovich Pogrebnyak is an association footballer currently plays as a striker with German side VfB Stuttgart and the Russian national team...
and then again when Zenit bought Alejandro Domínguez
Alejandro Damián Domínguez
Alejandro Damián Domínguez is an Argentine footballer who plays for River Plate, as an attacking midfielder or a second striker.-Career:...
.
For the 2007 season, Advocaat led Zenit to their first domestic league title since the Soviet Union was disbanded. Andrei Arshavin stood out as the star player of the season, being the only member of the team to start all 30 league games. Advocaat became the first foreign coach to win the Russian championship and, by winning the league, Zenit qualified for the group stage of the Champions League the following season. In August, Advocaat had signed a deal to become manager of the Australian national team, however, when Zenit offered him a new $4 million contract extension in November, Advocaat reneged on the deal with Australia. In Europe, Zenit qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Cup. Zenit finished third in their group and advanced to the last 32 of the competition. They progressed to the quarter-finals coming through matches against Villareal
Villarreal CF
Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. , usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or just Villarreal, is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Vila-real, a city in the province of Castellón within the Valencian Community...
and Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
on the away goals rule
Away goals rule
The away goals rule is a method of breaking ties in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. By the away goals rule, the team that has scored more goals "away from home" will win if scores are otherwise equal...
.
Prior to the start of the 2008 domestic season, as league winners, Zenit faced Russian Cup winner, Lokomotiv Moscow, in the Russian Super Cup
2008 Russian Super Cup
The 2008 Russian Super Cup was the 6th Russian Super Cup match, a football match which was contested between the Russian Premier League 2007 champion, Zenit St. Petersburg, and the winner of Russian Cup 2006-07, Lokomotiv Moscow. The match was held on 9 March 2008 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow,...
on 9 March 2008; Zenit won the match 2–0. Continuing in the UEFA Cup, Zenit were victorious against German clubs Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
to reach the final against Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
, Advocaat's former club. In the final
2008 UEFA Cup Final
The 2008 UEFA Cup Final was the 37th final of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second tier club football tournament. The match was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, home ground of Manchester City F.C., in Manchester, England, at 20:45 CEST on 14 May 2008.The match was contested by Zenit St. Petersburg...
on 14 May 2008, Zenit won 2–0 and became only the second Russian team to win a European trophy. On 24 August 2008, Dynamo Moscow
FC Dynamo Moscow
Dynamo Moscow is a Russian football club based in Moscow, currently playing in the Russian Premier League. Dynamo's traditional kit colours are blue and white...
player, Danny, transferred to Zenit for a Russian record transfer fee of €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
30 million (£23 million). The arrival of Danny increased speculation that Arshavin was to leave the club, but the club rejected substantial bids from both Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
and Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
in the summer transfer window despite the player's strong desire to leave the club. On 29 August 2008, Zenit contested with Champions League winners Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
for the European Super Cup
2008 UEFA Super Cup
The 2008 UEFA Super Cup was the 33rd UEFA Super Cup, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions. The 2008 competition was contested by Manchester United of England, who won the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, and Zenit St....
. Zenit won the match 2–1 with new signing Danny scoring the decisive goal. In Europe, Zenit failed to advance from their Champions League group but finished third which meant they entered into the last 32 of the UEFA Cup. That year Zenit finished fifth domestically qualifying for the play-offs of the Europa League the following season. On 7 November 2009, Advocaat signed a one-year extension that contracted him to the club until the end of 2009. In December, Advocaat was named Trainer of the Year in Russia.
In January 2009, Arshavin was heavily rumoured to move again. Towards the end of the winter transfer window the Russian threatened to strike if he was not sold. Arshavin transferred to Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
at the last-minute for around £16.9 million. In February, Zenit's UEFA Cup continued and Zenit progressed to the last 16. They failed to reach the quarter-finals, though, losing to Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....
2–1 on aggregate. In the domestic season Advocaat fielded 7 foreign players in a team selection (one more than the league rules allow) against Lokomotiv Moscow in April 2009. Advocaat admitted he was at fault for the mistake and the club were fined but not deducted points. In May 2009, Advocaat agreed to become manager of the Belgium national football team when his contract with Zenit expired on 1 January 2010. However, on 10 August 2009 after run of poor results he was sacked by the club with Zenit seventh in the league.
Belgium and AZ
Before his dismissal from Zenit, Advocaat had already agreed a two-year, $1,688,400 contract as manager Belgium to start in 2010 but, when Belgium failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
, Franky Vercauteren
Franky Vercauteren
François Vercauteren , nicknamed "The Little Prince", is a former Belgian football left winger and is now a football manager, who is currently working for Al Jazira Club.- Career :...
stepped down as coach and Advocaat's contract was brought forward to commence on 1 October 2009. Advocaat's first two matches in charge were the remaining fixtures in the qualifying campaign; a 2–0 victory against Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...
and a 2–0 defeat to Estonia
Estonia national football team
The Estonia national football team represents Estonia in international association football. Team members are selected by the head coach of Estonian Football Association . Estonia play their home matches at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia....
. In the remainder of 2009, Belgium won in friendly matches against Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
and Qatar
Qatar national football team
The Qatar national football team is the national team of Qatar and is controlled by the Qatar Football Association. They have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup but are hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The team has also appeared in seven AFC Asian Cup tournaments and hosted the 2011 AFC Asian...
. Belgium lost their first match of 2010 in a friendly against Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
.
On 6 December 2009, it was announced that Advocaat would function as both manager of the Belgium national team, and as manager of AZ. Advocaat succeeded Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman is a former Dutch footballer, and the current manager of Feyenoord. He is the younger brother of former Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman...
who was dismissed the previous day, and his contract runs until the end of the 2009–10 season
2009–10 Eredivisie
-Personnel and sponsoring:-Managerial changes:-League table:-Results:...
. Advocaat only watched AZ's final group match of the Champions League on 9 December 2010, and he was officially presented to the media the following day. however, His first match in charge was against PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie
2009–10 Eredivisie
-Personnel and sponsoring:-Managerial changes:-League table:-Results:...
on 12 December 2009; AZ lost 1–0. His first win managing the club came the following weekend defeating ADO Den Haag
ADO Den Haag
Alles Door Oefening Den Haag , commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag , is a Dutch football club from the city of The Hague. The club was for a time known as FC Den Haag , with ADO representing the amateur branch of the club...
3–0.
On 15 April 2010, Advocaat resigned as manager of the Belgian national team amid speculation that he was to become coach of the Russian national team
Russia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...
. Advocaat was later appointed Russia manager, and announced his intention to leave AZ Alkmaar at the end of the season. On 22 April 2010, it was announced that Gertjan Verbeek
Gertjan Verbeek
Gertjan Verbeek is a former footballer and current manager of AZ.-Coaching career:After retiring from his playing career in 1994, Verbeek stayed with SC Heerenveen as an assistant-coach. He left for Heracles Almelo in 2001, and after a successful stint there was hired as the successor to Foppe de...
would take over as AZ manager the following season. Under Advocaat, AZ finished fifth in the league
2009–10 Eredivisie
-Personnel and sponsoring:-Managerial changes:-League table:-Results:...
entering the third qualifying round of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.
Russia
On 17 May 2010, he was named the new manager of the Russian national teamRussia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...
and Advocaat began his contract on 1 July 2010 succeeding Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
. Advocaat signed a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee that is less than the £6 million pounds-a-year after tax that his predecessor, Hiddink, was paid.
Personal
Despite having worked in Russia more than five years, he hasn't learned any RussianRussian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
Performance by club
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
 NetherlandsNetherlands national football team The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands... |
1992 | December 1994 |
|||||
 RangersRangers F.C. Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses... |
1 July 1998 | 12 December 2001 |
|||||
| Netherlands Netherlands national football team The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands... |
25 January 2002 | 6 July 2004 |
|||||
 Borussia MönchengladbachBorussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Mönchengladbach is a German association football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. The team plays in the Bundesliga and is one of the country's most well-known, well-supported, and successful teams. Borussia Mönchengladbach has over 40,000 members and is the sixth... |
2 November 2004 | 18 April 2005 |
|||||
 United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates national football team The United Arab Emirates national football team represents United Arab Emirates in association football and is controlled by the United Arab Emirates Football Association, the governing body for football in United Arab Emirates... |
17 July 2005 | 13 September 2005 |
|||||
 South KoreaKorea Republic national football team The Korea Republic national football team represents Korea Republic in international football and is controlled by the Korea Football Association. Korea Republic is the most successful Asian football team in the history of the FIFA World Cup having participated in eight World Cup tournaments,... |
1 October 2005 | 9 July 2006 |
|||||
 Zenit St. PetersburgFC Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit is a Russian football club from the city of Saint-Petersburg. Founded in 1925 , the club plays in the Russian Premier League... |
27 June 2006 | 9 August 2009 |
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 Belgium |
1 October 2009 | 15 April 2010 |
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| AZ |
6 December 2009 | 1 July 2010 |
|||||
| Russia |
1 July 2010 | Present |
|||||
.
Managerial honours
SVV- Eerste DivisieEerste DivisieThe Eerste Divisie is the second-highest division of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. It is also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship, which is the same name as the top league in Belgium...
(1):1989–90
PSV
- EredivisieEredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
(1): 1996–97 - KNVB CupKNVB CupThe KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
(1): 1995–96 - Johan Cruijff-schaalJohan Cruijff-schaalThe Johan Cruijff Schaal is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after legendary Dutch football player Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national football league and the winner of the national...
(2): 1996, 1997
Rangers
- Scottish Premier LeagueScottish Premier LeagueThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
(2): 1998–991998-99 in Scottish footballThe 1998–99 season was the 102nd season of Scottish league football.-Summary:The 1998–99 SPL season was one that ended in success for Rangers. Dutchman Dick Advocaat was brought in to replace Walter Smith at Rangers and made major changes, bringing in many players.Rangers were...
, 1999-00 - Scottish CupScottish CupThe Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
(2): 1998–99Scottish Cup 1998-99The 1998–99 Scottish Cup was the 114th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Tennent's Scottish Cup...
, 1999-00Scottish Cup 1999-00The 1999–2000 Scottish Cup was the 115th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Tennent's Scottish Cup... - Scottish League CupScottish League CupThe Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
(1): 1998–99
Zenit Saint Petersburg
- Russian Premier LeagueRussian Premier LeagueThe Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
(1): 2007Russian Premier League 2007Russian Premier League 2007 was the 16th official season of Rosgosstrakh Russian Football Championship, and 6th under the current Russian Premier League name. The season started with the match between Luch-Energia and Moskva in Vladivostok on Saturday, 10 March 2007, at 18:00 local time... - Russian Super CupRussian Super CupThe Russian Super Cup is a one-match football annual competition. Its official sponsored name is TransTeleCom Russian Supercup . The two participating clubs are holders of the Russian Premier League champions title and the Russian Cup...
(1): 20082008 Russian Super CupThe 2008 Russian Super Cup was the 6th Russian Super Cup match, a football match which was contested between the Russian Premier League 2007 champion, Zenit St. Petersburg, and the winner of Russian Cup 2006-07, Lokomotiv Moscow. The match was held on 9 March 2008 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow,... - UEFA CupUEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
(1): 2007–08 - UEFA Super Cup (1): 20082008 UEFA Super CupThe 2008 UEFA Super Cup was the 33rd UEFA Super Cup, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions. The 2008 competition was contested by Manchester United of England, who won the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, and Zenit St....
- The 2008 UEFA Cup success earned Advocaat the Honorary Citizen of St Petersburg award making him the city's first foreign honorary citizen since 1866