WILLEMSTAD (DA) — A coaching situation that Curaçao football officials say has been unfolding for roughly three to three-and-a-half weeks has ended with a fresh start: Fred Rutten is set to take over after Dick Advocaat stepped aside for family reasons, and the Curaçao Football Federation (FFK) is already looking at how to honor Advocaat on the island.
The turning point came about two weeks ago, when team doctor Casper van Eijck notified FFK president Gilbert Martina. Martina then flew to the Netherlands and spent extended time in conversation with Advocaat.
Those talks, Martina explained, were not handled as a president-to-coach discussion. He described them as “human to human” and “father to father” conversations — a tone that led him to fully understand Advocaat’s decision and to say he would have made the same choice in the same situation.
With that clarity, FFK moved to complete the handoff to Rutten — and the federation made clear where the decision-making sat. Martina said the players had no say in the selection of the new coach, calling it a decision made strictly by the FFK board.
For Rutten, the appointment also ties back to unfinished business from 2023.
FFK and Rutten were already in conversations in June 2023 about him taking the Curaçao job, and an initial agreement was reached. About three weeks later, Martina said, Rutten called to say he could not fulfill the position due to personal and private reasons. That path later led FFK to Advocaat in 2024. Now, in 2026, Rutten is stepping into the role he could not take in 2023.
Advocaat’s on-field record with Curaçao helps explain why FFK is also planning a tribute. According to the National Football Teams database, Advocaat coached Curaçao in 17 FIFA matches across 2024 and 2025, posting a 9-5-3 record and a 36-12 goal difference in those games. The same listing includes two additional non-FIFA matches in 2024, giving him an overall Curaçao total of 19 matches coached with an 11-5-3 record and 45 goals scored.
Martina said the federation is now looking at when it would be possible to stage a tribute for Advocaat on the island. He said Advocaat was in the Netherlands in November 2025 for personal reasons and was unable to attend the celebrations and tributes connected to Curaçao reaching the World Cup for the first time in its history.
The transition also includes changes on the bench. With assistant coach Cor Pot departing as well, FFK plans to leave it to Rutten to select and bring in his own right-hand man.
Rutten arrives with decades of experience in professional football. A career summary of his head-coaching record lists 393 matches in charge, with 209 wins, 98 draws and 87 losses, including a 142-match spell as PSV head coach.