Dick Advocaat returned to the scene of his former glories today when the Curacao side he made World Cup history with last year turned up at Hampden for a training session ahead of their friendly with Scotland.
The Dutchman, who will, at the grand old age of 78, become the oldest coach to ever manage at the finals next month, lifted the Scottish Cup twice at the Mount Florida venue during his memorable three-and-a-half year stint in charge of Rangers in the late 1990s and early 2000s
But The Little General was left wondering what heights the Ibrox club, and their city rivals Celtic, could have scaled if an ambitious plan to move the Glasgow giants to England had been given the go-ahead as he spoke to reporters.
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“It is special to be back,” said Advocaat. “I already have some memories as the manager of the national team of Holland playing against Scotland. But I didn’t expect to play against Scotland with Curacao, so that is a surprise.
“What I remember was the game when half of the stadium was orange (the 2000 Scottish Cup final win over Aberdeen). We had three or four Dutch players and they did really well. I remember the colour. In that way I was quite successful here. You have to be careful tomorrow!”
He added, “But that success had a lot to do also with David Murray. David was at that time the president and he was so successful with his company and he was so enthusiastic about everything.
“In the first two years, we did really well with five prizes out of six. The third year was not good for us when Martin O’Neill came in. Then Alex McLeish came in and he did well as well.
“David Murray and myself and the people who worked there were very much involved with the training ground. I can still remember what David said. He said, ‘You can buy two good players, or we build a training ground’. So that was a mistake from me!
“I still can remember that David Murray in that period with the president of Celtic tried to be involved in England. But they were scared to do that. And not to start in the Premier League, but to start in the fourth division. But the clubs in England refused to do that. But I still think that was a great idea.”
It has been a few years now since the prospect of Celtic and Rangers joining the Premier League has been seriously floated and Advocaat, who helped Sunderland to avoid relegation from the top flight during a short spell at the Stadium of Light, can understand why.
“No, it will never happen,” he said. “I think for Celtic and Rangers they are so big worldwide, so big it’s unbelievable. Not everybody realises that, but it’s really true.”
Advocaat is delighted to be heading to the World Cup with Curacao, who became the smallest country, both by population and by area, to qualify for the finals last year, and is hopeful the tiny Caribbean nation can cause an upset in the United States.
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Asked why he is still managing at 78, he said, “To get money! That’s what they say in Holland! No, working with people. I think that’s the most important thing. Working with a group, with different ideas. So, that makes things interesting.
“Martin O’Neill is a coach like that. Martin was already a great coach and he has proved it again. Age does not matter. It is the way they feel. The good thing is that I’m still fit. I feel fit.
“You must also have the luck a little bit to be fair that, they must want still to have you despite your age. If they don’t ask you anymore, then it is finished. But still now, I still get some telephone calls and that makes difficult to refuse.”
Advocaat continued, “We know where we start at the World Cup. We are not the favourites. But we know that even if we are not the favourites we can surprise and today with three points or even two points you can go on. It can be special.
“I started straight from the beginning with this team. But this is the third time that I have been at a World Cup, and three times at the European Championships. So this is not the first time. I know what to expect.”
