Dick Advocaat was visibly emotional on the bench ahead of Curaçao’s World Cup debut.
He became the oldest manager in FIFA World Cup history at the age of 78 years and 260 days when he led Curaçao against Germany on 14 June 2026, beating out the Czech Republic’ s Miroslav Koubek who had claimed the record a few days prior, from South Africa’s Hugo Broos on opening day against hosts Mexico.
This was not the plan. Advocaat had stepped down from his role in February 2026 to take care of his ailing daughter. He actually missed the game that confirmed Curaçao’s qualification – a 0-0 draw away against Jamaica in November 2025 – for this reason. But he returned in May after improvements in his daughter’s health to take over once more from his successor, fellow Dutchman Fred Rutten.
I guess you could call that fate, Advocaat getting to lead the smallest nation to ever qualify for the competition – a nation of just over 150,000 – to their first ever appearance, after guiding them to that point.
Things did not go as planned with Rutten, who was recommended by Advocaat as his replacement, on the conditions that he would not alter much. But poor results and disagreements with the squad on his tactics made sure his stint was brief, opening the path back for their former manager.
Now things didn’t go as desired for the Caribbean minnows, though expected. Succumbing to a 7-1 defeat against the Germans meant that Curaçao had the biggest goal difference in a defeat of a nation making its World Cup debut since South Korea’s 9-0 loss to Hungary in 1954, according to Opta. But Advocaat saw the positive side of things after the match.”This is not a disgrace,” he said in his post match press conference. “I think we can still be proud.”
And they should be. Livano Comenencia’s equaliser after Felix Nmecha’s early opener gave Curaçao some confidence, though short-lived, and was yet another milestone in the team’s historic effort.
Advocaat has been around, to say the least. Since the start of his coaching career in 1980, he has managed numerous clubs in his native Netherlands like PSV and HFC Haarlem, as well the Dutch national team on three separate occasions, with his first stint in 1992.
Other spells with foreign clubs like Rangers, Sunderland and Zenit have also come between managing Russia, Belgium, the UAE among others have also added to his sprawling list of appointments.
He has definitely left his mark in coaching over the last four decades plus, but you suspect leading the island nation of Curaçao, a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, at the ripe old age of 78, along with the backdrop of the emotional rollercoaster he has gone through recently, will be one that lives deep in his heart forever.
In his parting words in February earlier this year, he said: “I consider qualifying the smallest country in the world for the World Cup one of the highlights of my career. I’m proud of my players, staff, and the board members who believed in us.”
Curaçao still have group games against Ecuador and Ivory Coast to navigate, and although their chances of progressing are slim to none, Advocaat will enjoy every moment with his team.
