Advocaat to continue Russia’s Dutch tradition
Dick Advocaat (right) with Guus Hiddink, the man he is set to replace as manager of Russia
Dick Advocaat looks set to be named the new manager of the Russian national football team and follow in the footsteps of compatriot Guus Hiddink.
The Dutchman stepped down from his 600,000 euro-a-year post as the Belgian national manager on Thursday, and confirmed today (Friday) to a Russian sports newspaper that he is holding talks with the Russian Football Association.
“The little general” is no stranger to Russian football, having led a talented Zenit St Petersburg team featuring Andrey Arshavin, Alexandr Anyukov and Anatoliy Tymoschuk to a UEFA cup win against his former club Rangers in 2008.
Although he moved to Belgium in August 2009 to be closer to his family in Holland, it seems the lure of qualifying with Russia for the 2012 European Championships was too much to resist. Having left his contract in the lowlands after only six months, the Belgian FA are looking into possible legal actions they can take against Advocaat.
Needless to say Advocaat’s salary demands have led to speculation about the reasons behind the move and how much he will be earning: it’s expected he will earn substantially more than he was with Belgium. However, it is clear that Russia represents a much better chance of adding to his glittering trophy cabinet than Belgium.
To make matters more complicated, Advocaat is still manager of Dutch Eredivise title-holders AZ Alkmaar, and it remains to be seen whether he can successfully juggle his twin committments between gruelling long-haul flights back and forth across Europe.
His predecessor in Russia, Hiddink, led an unfancied Russia team to the semi-finals of the 2008 European Championships, eviscerating a talented Dutch team en route to a defeat against eventual winners Spain, and became Russia’s favourite foreigner.
However, Hiddink’s failure to guide the team to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, falling at the play off stage of qualification to lowly Slovenia, led to recriminations and his eventual resignation and installation as manager of the Turkish national team.
So now it will be Advocaat’s remit to match and better Hiddink’s achievements with the national team, and with his wily nous and an undisputably talented squad, who’s to say he won’t go one better and reach Russia’s first final since Soviet times.
