Dick Advocaat continues to oppose all criticism regarding his new career move. The 73-year-old Hagenar was recently introduced as the new national coach for Iraq.
The lawyer confirmed earlier that he is not doing it for the money. Moreover, the argument that he should not go to Iraq, due to the human rights issue in the country, was brushed aside by the junior general. In a conversation with Voetbal International, he asks: “Can you still go to China? To Turkey? To Russia? To the United States, even?”. The lawyer wants to turn it around. “Ordinary people are always victims of what is going on in a country and football is a distraction. If we qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, Iraq has something to look forward to.”
After leaving Feyenoord, Advocaat decided to stop as coach of the club. However, he thought it was too early to say goodbye. “After Feyenoord I sat at home for a few weeks. At first it’s okay, but after a while I’ll look at that phone. If they don’t call, I get nervous.”
In his words, the lawyer could go in several directions and thus chose Iraq. He could soon try to lead the country to the World Cup in Qatar: Iraq is in a qualifying group with South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Syria and Iran and should finish in the top three. “Twelve hours of flying for a match that’s about something, yes, I missed that,” admits Advocaat, who also faces Bert van Marwijk in confrontations with the Emirates. “You’ll soon have two ex-Orange national coaches against each other in the Middle East. That’s nice, isn’t it?”
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