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‘The excitement is already there’: Fred Rutten ready to lead Curaçao to the World Cup (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 day ago by CombatWombat@feddit.online to c/worldcup@lemmy.world

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The Dutchman, who succeeded Dick Advocaat, was once offered the assistant’s role to Erik ten Hag at Manchester United

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[–] CombatWombat@feddit.online 1 points 1 day ago

It's just a little guy:

Curaçao will become the smallest nation to play at a World Cup, in population (about 156,000) and land area (171 sq miles) and Rutten is looking forward to the challenge. “The excitement is already there,” the 63-year-old says. “You wake up with it and you go to bed with it.” Sadly for Rutten, his first game in charge ended in a 2-0 defeat to China at the Accor Stadium in Sydney on Friday.

With Curaçao part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, where many of the squad were born, the federation’s almost exclusive use of Dutch coaches for more than 10 years is no shock. The technical director, Khalid Sinouh, was a reserve goalkeeper under Rutten at PSV in 2011-12 and put him forward.