Soccer-Advocaat comes out of retirement again to help struggling home town club
Veteran coach Dick Advocaat has agreed yet another return to the dugout, signing on for the rest of the season at struggling Netherlands second division club ADO Den Haag, Dutch media reported on Saturday. The 75-year-old, who has announced several previous retirements, replaces former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt, who was dismissed this week, months into his first coaching job.
Advocaat, whose winning record as Dutch coach was last weekend broken by Louis van Gaal at the World Cup, began his playing career at Den Haag but never previously coached the club. He confirmed he would be going there in a Dutch television programme on Friday. Den Haag were relegated two seasons ago and in the last campaign narrowly failed to win back their topflight status, losing in a penalty shootout in the post-season promotion playoffs.
But under Kuyt this campaign, they have plummeted to 17th spot in the 20-team second division. Advocaat has coached the Netherlands three times and also the national teams of United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Belgium, Russia, Serbia and Iraq in a coaching career spanning more than 40 years.
PSV Eindhoven, Glasgow Rangers, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Sunderland are among the clubs he has taken charge of. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Doha; Editing by William Mallard)
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