Dick Advocaat

Coaching Russia in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat
Date of birth	(1947-09-27) 27 September 1947 (age 64)
Place of birth	The Hague, Netherlands
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Russia (Manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1966–1973	Den Haag	147	(7)
1967	→ San Francisco Gales (loan)	7	(1)
1973–1977	Roda JC	113	(2)
1977–1978	VVV-Venlo	74	(6)
1978–1980	Chicago Sting	81	(6)
1979–1980	Den Haag	11	(1)
1980–1982	Sparta Rotterdam	61	(6)
1982–1983	K. Berchem Sport	10	(0)
1983–1984	Utrecht	39	(0)
Total		543	(28)
Teams managed
1981–1984	DSVP
1984–1987	Netherlands (assistant)
1987–1989	HFC Haarlem
1989–1990	SVV (later SVV/Dordrecht '90)
1990–1992	Netherlands (assistant)
1992–1995	Netherlands
1995–1998	PSV
1998–2002	Rangers
2002–2004	Netherlands
2004–2005	Borussia Mönchengladbach
2005	United Arab Emirates
2005–2006	South Korea
2006–2009	Zenit
2009–2010	Belgium
2009–2010	AZ Alkmaar
2010–2012	Russia
2012–	PSV
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Dirk Nicolaas "Dick" Advocaat (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdɪk ˌɑt.foʊ̯.ˈkaːt]; 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."

Club career[link]

Advocaat won the Dutch Cup as a player with FC Den Haag.

Advocaat was a defensive midfielder during his playing days.^[1] His career began as an 18-year-old with Hague club ADO Den Haag,^[2] and he made his debut with the club as 21-year old in 1967.^[3] His professional debut was 21 May 1967 in a 3–0 win against GVAV.^[4][5] He only featured for Den Haag once more that season,^[4] 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.^[6] It was the following season that Advocaat won his only honour as a player, the Dutch Cup in 1968.^[2] 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.^[4] 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.^[4] In total he made 147 appearances and scored 7 goals for the club.^[4]

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,^[4] and when the club was to be discontinued in 2009, Goal.com described him as their most famous player.^[7] 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.^[4]

In 1978, Advocaat made the move to America to play with Chicago Sting in the North American Soccer League (NASL).^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[4]

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.^[4] 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.^[10]

Coaching career[link]

Early coaching in the Netherlands[link]

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 PANCA for the job.^[2][11] Advocaat coached this side during the final four years of his playing career with Sparta Rotterdam and Utrecht.^[12]

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".^[2][11] 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.^[2] 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.^[11] 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.^[13] Despite success at both clubs, Advocaat was criticised in his initial coaching years for playing defensive football.^[2]

National team[link]

In 1990, Advocaat once more became an assistant to Michels, who was having his fourth spell as coach of the Dutch national team and looking to qualify for Euro 1992.^[1] During UEFA Euro 1992, it became apparent it would be Michels' last job and following the tournament Advocaat took over as national coach.^[2][12] 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.^[1] 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.^[14] 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.^[15]

PSV Eindhoven[link]

This section requires expansion.

Advocaat returned to coaching at club level with PSV Eindhoven in 1995, taking over from interim manager Kees Rijvers; 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.^[16]

Rangers[link]

In 1998 Advocaat accepted the invitation from Rangers 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.^[17]

When Advocaat took charge of Rangers he became the first foreign manager to do so^[18] and only the tenth manager in the history of the club. The previous season was the last of seven under Walter Smith,^[18] and the first time the club had finished without a trophy in twelve years.^[19] Long term members of the squad that had won nine league championships in a row left,^[18] including Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant, Andy Goram and Stuart McCall.^[19] With the financial backing from Chairman David Murray, Advocaat invested heavily in the team.^[18] 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.^[18]

In Advocaat's first season in charge the club won the domestic treble (League, League Cup and Scottish Cup).^[18] The club also had a short run in the Uefa Cup.^[18] 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.^[20] The following season the club won the league by an SPL record 21 point margin,^[21] 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.^[22]

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,^[23] Rangers failed to win any trophies, as Celtic under new manager Martin O’Neill, won the domestic treble.^[18] Advocaat branded some of his players "fat-necks" in the press.^[24] 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^[25] and Monaco,^[26] 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.^[27]

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.^[28] 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.

More than a decade later, in March 2012, Advocaat's reign as manager came under increasing scrutiny in connection to Rangers' entry into administration. Advocaat defended the money spent on transfer fees and said he did not think the club would go bankrupt.^[29]

Return to the Netherlands[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010)

He rejoined the national team set-up following Louis van Gaal'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.

United Arab Emirates[link]

In July 2005, Advocaat signed a one-year contract to become coach of United Arab Emirates,^[30] but he terminated this contract in September to become manager of South Korea's national team from 1 October 2005 until the end of the 2006 World Cup.^[31] During his tenure with the UAE, Advocaat was manager for two games at the 1st International Arab Friendly Tournament in Switzerland.^[32] UAE won the first game against Kuwait 7–6 on penalties after the match had finished 1–1.^[33] They lost the final to Egypt 4–5 on penalties, following a 0–0 draw in normal time.^[34]

South Korea[link]

Advocaat's first match in charge of South Korea was a friendly against Iran on 12 October 2005, which Korea won 2–0.^[35] Two more friendlies were played that year in November resulting in a draw against Sweden 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.^[36][37] In the lead up to the World Cup, South Korea played five more friendlies, winning two, drawing two and losing one.^[38] 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.^[39] Following Korea's exit from the World Cup, Advocaat resigned.^[40]

Zenit St. Petersburg[link]

Zenit St. Petersburg won the UEFA Cup in 2008 under the management of Advocaat

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.^[41] On 26 June 2006, Advocaat was appointed in his place signing an 18-month contract with the option of a one-year extension.^[40] 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.^[41]

For the 2007 season, Advocaat led Zenit to their first domestic league title since the Soviet Union was disbanded.^[42] Andrei Arshavin stood out as the star player of the season, being the only member of the team to start all 30 league games.^[43] Advocaat became the first foreign coach to win the Russian championship and,^[44] 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,^[44][45] Advocaat reneged on the deal with Australia.^[46][47] 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.^[48]

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.^[49] 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.^[50][51] In the final on 14 May 2008, Zenit won 2–0 and became only the second Russian team to win a European trophy.^[51] On 24 August 2008, Dynamo Moscow player, Danny, transferred to Zenit for a Russian record transfer fee of €30 million (£23 million).^[52] 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^[53][54] despite the player's strong desire to leave the club.^[55] 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.^[56] 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.^[57] 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.^[58] In December, Advocaat was named Trainer of the Year in Russia.^[42]

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.^[59] Arshavin transferred to Arsenal at the last-minute for around £16.9 million.^[60] 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.^[61] 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.^[62] In May 2009, Advocaat agreed to become manager of the Belgium national football team when his contract with Zenit expired on 1 January 2010.^[63] However, on 10 August 2009 after run of poor results he was sacked by the club with Zenit seventh in the league.^[64]

Belgium and AZ[link]

Before his dismissal from Zenit, Advocaat had already agreed a two-year, $1,688,400^[65] contract as manager Belgium to start in 2010^[63] but, when Belgium failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, Franky Vercauteren stepped down as coach and Advocaat's contract was brought forward to commence on 1 October 2009.^[66] 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.^[67] Belgium lost their first match of 2010 in a friendly against Croatia.^[68]

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,^[69] and he was officially presented to the media the following day.^[70][71] 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.^[72]

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.^[73] Advocaat was later appointed Russia manager, and announced his intention to leave AZ Alkmaar at the end of the season.^[74] 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.

Russia[link]

On 17 May 2010, he was named the new manager of the Russian national team and Advocaat began his contract on 1 July 2010 succeeding Guus Hiddink.^[75] 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.^[76][77]

Advocaat's side began their qualifying campaign for the Euro 2012 with a unexpected defeat home to Slovakia, but at the end managed to win the group and secure automatic qualification. Advocaat will resign after Euro 2012.^[78]

Return to PSV Eindhoven[link]

Advocaat signed a 1 year contract with Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven.^[79] The contract will start on 1 July 2012.^[79] He is replacing Fred Rutten who was sacked in March 2012.^[79] For Advocaat it is a return to the club he booked his first successes with as a coach. ^[80]

Personal[link]

Dick Advocaat has daughter from a marriage which ended in divorce. ^[81]

Despite having worked in Russia more than five years, he hasn't learned any Russian.^{[citation needed]} Rumors have surfaced that Advocaat is an alcoholic, fulled principally due to his surname. Similarly, people have claimed that he suffers from impotence due to his first name.

Managerial statistics[link]

Team	From	To	Record
			P	W	D	L	Win %
HFC Haarlem	1 July 1987	30 June 1989					—
SSV Schiedam	1 July 1989	30 June 1991					—
FC Dordrecht	1 July 1991	22 August 1991					—
Netherlands	7 September 1992	15 December 1994	&1000000000000002600000026	&1000000000000001500000015	&100000000000000060000006	&100000000000000050000005	&1000000000000005768999957.69
PSV Eindhoven	16 December 1994	30 June 1998					—
Rangers F.C.	1 July 1998	12 December 2001	&10000000000000194000000194	&10000000000000131000000131	&1000000000000003000000030	&1000000000000003300000033	&1000000000000006753000067.53
Netherlands	25 January 2002[82]	6 July 2004[83]	&1000000000000002900000029	&1000000000000001600000016	&100000000000000070000007	&100000000000000060000006	&1000000000000005517000055.17
Borussia Mönchengladbach	2 November 2004[84]	18 April 2005[85]	&1000000000000001800000018	&100000000000000040000004	&100000000000000060000006	&100000000000000080000008	&1000000000000002221999922.22
United Arab Emirates	17 July 2005[30]	13 September 2005[31]	&100000000000000020000002	&100000000000000010000001	&100000000000000000000000	&100000000000000010000001	&1000000000000005000000050.00
South Korea	1 October 2005[31]	9 July 2006[31]	&1000000000000002100000021	&1000000000000001100000011	&100000000000000050000005	&100000000000000050000005	&1000000000000005238000052.38
Zenit St. Petersburg	27 June 2006[86]	9 August 2009[87]	&1000000000000009800000098	&1000000000000004600000046	&1000000000000001900000019	&1000000000000003300000033	&1000000000000004693999946.94
Belgium	1 October 2009[66]	15 April 2010[67]	&100000000000000050000005	&100000000000000030000003	&100000000000000000000000	&100000000000000020000002	&1000000000000006000000060.00
AZ[88]	6 December 2009[70]	1 July 2010[74]	&1000000000000001900000019	&1000000000000001100000011	&100000000000000040000004	&100000000000000040000004	&1000000000000005789000057.89
Russia	1 July 2010[75]	Present	&1000000000000001800000018	&1000000000000001000000010	&100000000000000050000005	&100000000000000030000003	&1000000000000005556000055.56
PSV Eindhoven	1 July 2012[79]		&100000000000000000000000	&100000000000000000000000	&100000000000000000000000	&100000000000000000000000	!—
Total			&10000000000000430000000430	&10000000000000248000000248	&1000000000000008200000082	&10000000000000100000000100	&1000000000000005767000057.67

As of 1 March 2012.

Honours[link]

SVV

• Eerste Divisie (1):1989–90

PSV

• Eredivisie (1): 1996–97
• KNVB Cup (1): 1995–96
• Johan Cruijff-schaal (2): 1996, 1997

Rangers

• Scottish Premier League (2): 1998–99, 1999-00
• Scottish Cup (2): 1998–99, 1999-00
• Scottish League Cup (1): 1998–99

Zenit Saint Petersburg

• Russian Premier League (1): 2007
• Russian Super Cup (1): 2008
• UEFA Cup (1): 2007–08
• UEFA Super Cup (1): 2008

• 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^[89]

References[link]