Former head coach Dick Advocaat and player Juninho Bacuna recently struck the first Caribbean five-guilder commemorative coin (above) in the Netherlands to honour of Curaçao's historic World Cup qualification.
AMSTERDAM--Curaçao has dismissed 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 Dutch Caribbean country’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 Curaçao 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 Curaçao 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 ‘Federashon di Futbol Korsou’ is based on more than just the wishes of players and sponsors and is anchored in FFK’s statutes,” Martina told Dutch daily “De Telegraaf”. Advocaat would have been the oldest coach ever at a World Cup had he stayed in the job.
The “Blue Wave” silver coin commissioned by the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) was produced by Royal Dutch Mint. The reverse side features King Willem-Alexander, along with the nominal value of five guilders.
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 has 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.
