Soccer-Curacao have no plans to bring veteran coach Advocaat back

"Fred Rutten will represent Curacao as national coach during the World Cup," the country's federation president Gilbert Martina told Dutch media on Friday. Rutten’s tenure began with a ⁠2-0 loss ​to China, followed by ⁠a 5-1 defeat by Australia in two warm-up friendlies in March.

Curacao have rejected calls to reinstate veteran ​coach Dick Advocaat before they head ​off to the World Cup ‌after ​a rocky start for his successor Fred Rutten. The Caribbean island’s football federation said it would not entertain players and ‌sponsors who wished to see the return of the 78-year-old Advocaat, who last November ensured Curacao became the smallest country to qualify for a World Cup tournament.

It said it would ‌continue to support Rutten, who took over from Advocaat at the end of February ‌due to the serious illness of his daughter. "Fred Rutten will represent Curacao as national coach during the World Cup," the country's federation president Gilbert Martina told Dutch media on Friday.

Rutten’s tenure began with a ⁠2-0 loss ​to China, followed by ⁠a 5-1 defeat by Australia in two warm-up friendlies in March. Recent reports suggested players were hoping for ⁠the return of his popular predecessor Dick Advocaat after improvements in his daughter’s health.

“Decision-making at the ​Federashon di Futbol Korsou is based on more than just the wishes of ⁠players and sponsors and is anchored in the FFK’s statutes,” Martina told the Dutch daily De Telegraaf. Advocaat would ⁠have ​been the oldest coach ever at a World Cup had he stayed in the job.

Curaçao, which has a population of just over 150,000 and a land area ⁠of 171 square miles, will play a friendly against Scotland at Hampden Park on May ⁠30 and have ⁠a further warm-up planned against Aruba in early June. At the World Cup, they will compete in Group E against Germany, Ecuador and ‌the Ivory ‌Coast. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; ​editing by Pritha Sarkar)