At the age of 78, Dick Advocaat is set to be the oldest coach at a FIFA World Cup after his Curacao team held out for a dramatic draw in Jamaica and qualified for their first finals appearance.
The much-traveled Advocaat has coached seven other national teams, including three stints in charge of his native Netherlands with whom he went as far as the World Cup quarter-finals in 1994. However, taking Curacao to the World Cup might be his greatest achievement.
The tiny island nation, a self-governing part of the Netherlands with a population of little more than 150,000, is the smallest country to qualify for soccer’s premier showcase.
Photo: AFP
Advocaat took charge of the team in January last year. However, he had to watch them complete the job from afar having left the squad shortly after they arrived in Jamaica at the weekend to return to his home in The Hague, the Netherlands, for what the Curacao federation said were “family reasons.”
Ahead of the match, Advocaat in a statement said: “It’s a very difficult decision to have to leave the boys here. I had to make this decision with a heavy heart, but family is more important than football. From the Netherlands, I will stay in close contact with the staff, and I have complete confidence in this group of players.”
It was 2am on Wednesday in the Netherlands when Advocaat sat down to watch the team, keeping in telephone contact with team manager Wouter Jansen, who passed his instructions on to assistant coaches Dean Gorre and Cor Pot at halftime, Dutch media reported.
Curacao led a charmed existence at a packed Independence Park as Jamaica hit the woodwork three times in the second half, although they did have their chances at the other end and kept Jamaica’s veteran goalkeeper Andre Blake busy.
The fairytale looked shattered in the fourth of the five minutes added on at the end of the game when Curacao substitute Jeremy Antonisse appeared to have brought down Isaac Hayden, and Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton immediately pointed to the spot.
However, the referee was quickly encouraged by the video assistant referee officials to check the incident on the small touchline screen and without hesitation reversed his own decision to the consternation of the crowd.
Curacao’s delight was confirmed minutes later when the final whistle blew to start their celebrations.
The oldest person to coach at the World Cup is German Otto Rehhagel, who was 71 years and 317 days old when he managed Greece in their final group game against Argentina in South Africa in 2010.
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