Dick Advocaat extends Curaçao deal as World Cup dream remains alive for ex-Sunderland boss
Veteran Dutch coach Dick Advocaat has extended his contract with the Curaçao national team until the end of 2025, giving him the opportunity to lead the Caribbean nation through the final stages of their historic World Cup qualification campaign.
The 77-year-old initially joined Curaçao earlier this year on a short-term deal, but the KNVB announced on Thursday that Advocaat and his staff have agreed terms to stay on until at least December. A clause in the new agreement stipulates that if Curaçao qualify for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, Advocaat will continue in post for the tournament itself.
Curaçao secured progression to the final round of CONCACAF qualifying after topping Group C in the second phase. They are now set to face Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bermuda in a decisive group stage beginning in September. Only the group winner is guaranteed a place at the World Cup, while the best runners-up will battle through an intercontinental play-off for a final spot. For Advocaat, who has managed at World Cups and European Championships with the Netherlands and Russia, the prospect of leading a Caribbean island to its first-ever appearance on the global stage is a remarkable late-career challenge.
The move extends one of the most storied managerial careers in modern football. Advocaat has managed the Netherlands national team on three occasions and led top European clubs such as PSV Eindhoven, Rangers, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Zenit St Petersburg – winning multiple domestic titles and a UEFA Cup along the way.
English fans will remember his brief but memorable stint at Sunderland in 2015. Appointed in March of that year after the sacking of Gus Poyet, Advocaat masterminded a dramatic turnaround in form that saw the Black Cats beat Newcastle United in the Tyne-Wear derby, draw with Stoke City, and claim back-to-back wins over Southampton and Everton. He famously broke down in tears after guiding Sunderland to Premier League survival with a 0–0 draw at Arsenal, finishing two spots above the relegation zone.
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Though he initially announced his retirement after that emotional escape, Advocaat returned weeks later to sign a new one-year deal with the club. However, a difficult start to the 2015–16 campaign – including just one win in eight league games – saw him resign in October, with Sunderland 19th in the table.
Since then, he has managed Fenerbahçe, Feyenoord, and the Iraq national team, as well as returning to take interim charge of the Netherlands once more. His decision to take on the Curaçao job raised eyebrows given his age, but the early signs have been positive, and qualification for the World Cup would be one of the greatest achievements of his career.
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