PSV icons choose party in Curaçao soap: “He was treated badly there”

In the Dutch media landscape and in many a talk show, a lot has happened in recent days and weeks regarding the controversy surrounding the coaching position of Curaçao. One former PSV coach, Fred Rutten, made way, after a great deal of pressure from the media, for the other former PSV coach, Dick Advocaat.

Three months ago, Advocaat stepped down as head coach of Curaçao due to health reasons concerning his daughter. Last November, the native of The Hague made history by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in the island’s history, after drawing 0-0 against Jamaica.

After Advocaat stepped down from his duties in February, the Curaçao football association decided to appoint Fred Rutten as his successor. Under Rutten, the island lost convincingly at a friendly tournament to China (2-0) and Australia (5-1), and partly because of this, the pressure on the born Tukker increased significantly.

In the end Rutten decided to make way for Advocaat, but the way he did it can’t count on everyone’s approval. This was also the case for PSV favorites Willy and René van de Kerkhof.

Willy believes that Advocaat could have dealt with the situation better than is the case now. “Dick should have handled that better, and I hold that against him. If he had said: I’m stepping back due to my daughter’s health, and if things get better then I’ll return, then nothing would have been wrong,” Willy said in the Willy & René PSV Podcast by Omroep Brabant.

Brother René agrees with that. ''Rutten is not my friend and will never be, but he has been treated badly there'', René thinks.