Netherlands national team boss Dick Advocaat has called on fans of the national team to become more realistic while also putting Ruud Gullit forward as his replacement.
- By Michael Bell
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The 70-year-old is set to step down from his position at the end of the month after Netherlands failed to reach the 2018 World Cup. Romania away on Thursday should be his final game in charge.
Speaking to AD, Advocaat stated that the Dutch national team is no longer at the height of its power and expectations need to be more realistic going forward.
He said, “We must also become more realistic in this country. We no longer have the level of old as in 1974, 1988, 1998 and 2010. That’s not bad, we’ll be back to it again. Gullit said it right: Iceland does not have any rivalries, but as a team they are great. An example for Oranje in the coming period. A clear and strict system, a collective. And in the future, those exceptional talents will come true. ”
Advocaat also stated that he believed four wins out of five, which he achieved, would have been enough to reach the playoffs, “Gullit and I thought four wins in the last five duels would be enough to reach the playoffs. France-away would be a different job. That also became the case. Too offensive? We just played very badly there. There has been a lot of mistakes. ”
The current boss has also called on the KNVB to keep Ruud Gullit involved after he leaves, “We still cannot handle our heroes very well in the Netherlands. Gullit is a great personality, abroad they try to respect him. In the Netherlands, we are very critical of criticism. If I was the KNVB, I would always love him with Oranje. He is a great signboard, all doors open to Ruud. Also applies to Ronald Koeman by the way. Put those two together and you’re actually done. ”
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