THE announcement yesterday that Dick Advocaat had quit as coach of the Netherlands was hardly a bolt from the blue. The former Rangers manager may have led the Dutch all the way to the semi-finals of Euro 2004, but his tactics, not for the first time in his career, came in for severe criticism and many of the country’s supporters and media commentators had lost patience.
"Despite reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2004, it is Advocaat’s opinion that there is insufficient basis to serve out his running contract," the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said. In other words, the coach does not believe he has enough support
to carry on.
Advocaat, who took charge of the Dutch side for a second time in 2002 and extended his contract in February, became the fifth coach to step down or be dismissed since the start of Euro 2004, which ended on Sunday with Greece’s surprise 1-0 victory over Portugal. Rudi Völler with Germany, Giovanni Trapattoni with Italy, Inaki Saez with Spain and Plamen Markov with Bulgaria have also left their posts within the last month.
The Netherlands made a bad job of qualifying for the championship finals - needing to beat Scotland in a two-legged play-off last November - but the pressure really mounted on Advocaat following the 3-2 defeat by the Czech Republic in Group D in Portugal.
He was roundly criticised for his decision to replace winger Arjen Robben for a midfielder while the Dutch were leading 2-1 and Advocaat later admitted that the change had been a mistake. Thereafter, the man dubbed the ‘Little General’ was heckled by fans during practices and forced to endure stunts such as supporters buying him a ticket home, and a Dutch website that devoted itself to "the worst substitution of all time".
The Netherlands squeezed through the group in second place behind the Czechs and won a penalty shoot-out against Sweden in the quarter-finals, before losing 2-1 to hosts Portugal in the last four.
Advocaat won over some of his doubters as the team advanced to the latter stages - Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende voiced his support - but he openly hinted he might resign at the end of the tournament when he claimed that personal abuse directed at him had gone too far.
The 56-year-old said after the win over Sweden: "I know that in my job there is always criticism and I accept that. But some people violated every rule of decent behaviour without realising what their pronouncements meant to the people back home. It all went much too far. When people talk about stoning and hanging you, I don’t find that normal any more. In such an atmosphere you can hardly work any more."
Advocaat coached the Dutch through 55 games, more than any other post-War manager, assembling a 31-13-11 record. He also managed them in the 1994 World Cup, where they reached the quarter-finals before being beaten by Brazil.
He then moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he had the misfortune to face the dominant Ajax side that won European honours in the mid-1990s. Still, he eventually won the Dutch title with PSV and later took the Scottish Premier League title twice with Rangers, before returning to the national side.
The Dutch are expected to have their new man in place before 18 August, when they are due to play a friendly away to Sweden. The KNVB admitted yesterday it was considering assistant coach Willem van Hanegem, a member of the Netherlands’ 1974 World Cup team, as a possible replacement.
