78-year-old Dick Advocate, the Dutch coach of the Curacao national team, became the oldest coach in the history of the final stage of the World Cup.
Advokat’s age was 78 years and 260 days during the match between Germany and Curaçao in the group stage of the World Cup 2026 in Houston, USA.
The lawyer surpassed the result of the head coach of the Czech national team, Miroslav Koubek, who was 74 years and 283 days old. This indicator was recorded in the match between the Czech Republic and South Korea at the 2026 World Cup.
The Dutch specialist managed the Zenit club in 2006-2009 and won the Russian Championship and the Super Cup, as well as the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. In 2010-2012, he worked as the head coach of the Russian national team.
During his career, Advokat managed the clubs “Harlem”, PSV, “Rangers”, “Borussia (Mönchengladbach), AZ”, “Sunderland”, “Fenerbahce”, “Sparta”, “Utrecht”, “Den Haag”, as well as the national teams of the Netherlands, South Korea, UAE, Belgium, Serbia and Iraq.
Dick Advocate has been coaching Curacao since January 2024 and led the team to its first ever World Cup.
The team lost 7:1 in the 1st round match against Germany within the framework of the WC-2026. Curacao is ranked 82nd by FIFA.
