Advocaat to assist Blind as Dutch football team coach

Amsterdam, May 15 (IANS) Dick Advocaat has replaced Ruud van Nistelrooy as assistant in the staff of the Dutch national football team.

In February, van Nistelrooy declared he would quit his current function to continue as youth coach at PSV Eindhoven. Netherlands head coach Danny Blind chose the 68-year-old Advocaat as his replacement, the Dutch football federation said on Saturday, reports Xinhua.

"I asked Advocaat to be my assistant a while ago and I am glad he said yes," said Blind. "We have a difficult World Cup qualification campaign ahead and it is good we can use his know-how. I am looking forward to the cooperation."

From 1984 to 1987 and from 1990 to 1992 Advocaat was already assistant at the national team, and from 1992 until 1995 and from 2002 until 2004 he was the head coach. With Marco van Basten, who led the Dutch team between 2006 and 2008, the Dutch national team now has two former head coaches as assistants.

Advocaat will join the Dutch national team on a training camp to Portugal, starting next Sunday. The Netherlands, who failed to qualify for Euro 2016, will play friendlies against Ireland on May 27 in Dublin on June 1 in Gdansk and Austria on June 4 in Vienna.