Dick Advocaat (1998 to 2001)
Having been announced as Walter Smith’s successor during the month of February, Dutchman Dick Advocaat finally took up his position as the Club’s first ever foreign manager on 1st July 1998. He would be joined by his trusted assistant, Bert Van Lingen.
At 50 years of age, Advocaat already had a wealth of experience from coaching in his native Holland. His tactical astuteness and reputation for being a tough disciplinarian were just two of the qualities that attracted Rangers to turn to the man dubbed “The Little General”.
Season 1997/98 had proved to be one too many for Smith and his all-conquering but an ageing squad. A tenth successive league championship had eluded Rangers and, for the first time under the ownership of David Murray, there would be an empty trophy room come to the end of the campaign. It truly was the end of an era. In addition to the management team of Smith / Archie Knox and Davie Dodds moving on, stalwarts such as Andy Goram, Richard Gough, Ian Durrant, Stuart McCall and Ally McCoist had also played their last game for the Club. With Brian Laudrup following the already departed Paul Gascoigne out of Scotland, the side had lost much of its spine and a fair amount of ‘X-factor’.
Although Advocaat was still in charge of one of Europe’s top clubs in PSV Eindhoven, he would also spend the final months of that 97/98 season forensically examining footage of the first team, reserve team and training sessions involving Rangers. With the odd fleeting visit to Ibrox on those rare occasions when PSV were not in action, Advocaat was already forming a view on who would feature after the summer. Even if the season had ended on a happier note for Rangers, it was already crystal clear that a major overhaul of the first team squad was on the horizon.
Much to the annoyance of his employers in Eindhoven, his top signing target was their captain, Arthur Numan. The Dutch left back was keen to accompany Advocaat and a £4.5m deal was eventually agreed. Also moving from Holland was highly rated young midfielder, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst. A fee of £5m was paid to Feyenoord to secure Gio’s services. A further £10m was spent on front men Andrei Kanchelskis and the lesser-known Gabriel Amato. French World Cup winner Lionel Charbonnier would initially provide Antti Niemi with competition for the goalkeeping slot. Almost going unnoticed among those multi-million-pound transfer deals was Bosman signing Rod Wallace (Leeds United). With Joachim Bjorklund, the only departing player to command any sort of transfer fee, the net spending under Advocaat over the summer alone was a cool £22m.
The competitive season was underway just three weeks after Advocaat’s official start date as Rangers faced Shelbourne at (neutral) Tranmere in the UEFA Cup qualifiers. With a starting XI that included Porrini, Gattuso, Amoruso, Thern and Albertz, Rangers inexplicably found themselves 3-0 down to the Irish part-timers with just half an hour remaining in what would surely have ranked as the worst result in the history of the Club. However, a Jorge Albertz penalty within 60 seconds of Shelbourne scoring their third sparked Gers into life and an incredible comeback would see Rangers take a 5-3 lead into the second leg at Ibrox. Perhaps still smarting at the defensive frailties on show, the signing of central defensive duo Daniel Prodan and Colin Hendry were completed in the aftermath.
An opening day defeat at Tynecastle was certainly not the start Advocaat would have been looking for as Rangers looked to regain the Championship from Celtic at the first time of asking. Rod Wallace would score in the first 4 league matches of the campaign as his Rangers career hit the ground running.
Although used sparingly under Walter Smith, the elevation of youngster Barry Ferguson to the side under Advocaat was a significant development. Still only 20 years of age, Barry quickly became a leader and focal point of the team under Advocaat. As Rangers steadied the ship domestically, a Ferguson inspired performance in the Bayer Arena saw the side earn a tremendous victory on German soil as Leverkusen were defeated 2-1. Perhaps not yet truly understanding the significance of the Old Firm fixture, Advocaat was brought down to earth the following month when his side suffered a 5-1 reversal at Parkhead. His decision not to alter the defensive shape in the aftermath of Scott Wilson’s red card saw Rangers on the end of what seemed an unnecessary thumping. The reaction to that defeat certainly appeared to strengthen resolve and the side would go unbeaten in the league until 20th March. Despite hitting a couple of speed bumps in the title run-in, Rangers returned to Parkhead on 2nd May 1999 not only looking to right the wrongs of that previous visit but knowing that victory would secure the Championship at the home of their fiercest rivals. The players did not disappoint, a Neil McCann double and Jorge Albertz penalty securing an emphatic 3-0 win on a day when Celtic appeared to implode both on and off the pitch.
Having already secured the League Cup with a win over St. Johnstone at Parkhead, Advocaat now had the chance to secure the domestic Treble in his debut season. Celtic would again provide the opposition, albeit this time at Hampden Park. In a rather subdued match, it was that man Rod Wallace who proved the difference as Rangers ran out 1-0 winners. With Stefan Klos, Neil McCann and Claudio Reyna having all contributed greatly since arriving mid-way through the season, the signs were promising for 1999/2000 as title winners Rangers looked to get back into the European Champions League.
In what was a relatively quiet pre-season by the standards set 12 months previously, striker Michael Mols was the main acquisition for a fee of £4m. By the end of August, that price tag was beginning to look like daylight robbery as Mols tormented defences at home and abroad. Although handed one of the hardest possible opponents, Rangers did achieve qualification for the Champions League with a memorable 2-1 aggregate victory over Parma (the side who had eliminated Rangers from the UEFA Cup the previous season). Mols had been magnificent in both legs. Having scored twice versus FC Haka in the previous qualifying round and 8 league goals in the first 7 matches, it was clear that the Dutchman was something special.
The draw for the Champions League group stages could not have been more challenging. Advocaat was inevitably handed a return to former club PSV Eindhoven in addition to European giants Bayern Munich and the Spanish side Valencia. Well beaten in Valencia, the side responded brilliantly in Matchday 2 and was desperately unlucky to concede a late deflected equaliser to Bayern at Ibrox. Back-to-back victories over PSV had put Rangers in a decent position to qualify but Gaizka Mendieta’s inspired performance saw Valencia leave Ibrox with the points. Rangers headed to Munich knowing that qualification was still in their own hands, and they were sensational on the night. With Ferguson again dominating a star-studded midfield, only the woodwork and some inspired goalkeeping by Bayern’s Kahn kept Rangers at bay. Agonisingly, the home side would win 1-0 and the long-term ramifications were worse when a collision between Kahn and Mols would end Michael’s season prematurely. It was an injury from which he would never completely recover.
Other than an extra-time defeat at Pittodrie in the League Cup, the domestic dominance continued under Advocaat. Having lost only 1 league game to date, the title was wrapped up in April 2000 when St. Johnstone was defeated 2-0 in Perth. Billy Dodds, a replacement for the injured Mols, scored both goals against one of his many former Clubs. Highlights of the campaign included two comprehensive victories over Celtic at Ibrox (4-2 & 4-0) whilst Rod Wallace had again popped up with an Old Firm winner this time in one of the Parkhead meetings.
Rangers had the chance to gain revenge over Aberdeen in the shape of the 2000 Scottish Cup Final. By way of a tribute to their Dutch manager and a strong contingent of players from the Netherlands, Hampden was awash with Orange as the Rangers support watched the side dismantle Aberdeen 4-0 to complete the Double. 5 domestic trophies from a possible six and two promising Euro campaigns represented an excellent return under Advocaat and the future seemed more than bright.
The Dutch colony at Ibrox would continue to grow during the summer of 2000 with Fernando Ricksen and Bert Konterman arriving for a combined fee just short of £9m. However, Celtic was also backing their new manager Martin O’Neill with unprecedented transfer funds and it was evident that Advocaat was not going to have it all his own way as he prepared for his third season in Scotland. With both sides going into the first Old Firm clash of the season with a 100% league record, a close encounter was anticipated. Trailing by three goals after just 12 minutes, Rangers were shell shocked and would eventually lose the match 6-2 with Ricksen being withdrawn from the action early having suffered a torrid afternoon. Rangers dipped back into the transfer market to sign yet another Dutchman when Ronald de Boer arrived for £4.5m from Barcelona. Three successive defeats in October saw Rangers trailing by some 13 points come to the end of that month and the gap would widen further by the time Celtic came to Ibrox. It was a game Rangers simply had to win and a 5-1 victory provided a glimmer of hope whilst helping to slightly dilute the pain of that previous encounter. The win had also marked the (scoring) debut of Tore Andre Flo, a record £12m signing from Chelsea in the lead up to the match.
It proved a false dawn, Rangers losing the two remaining Old Firm clashes of the season and finishing empty handed as O’Neill emulated the treble success Advocaat had enjoyed in his own first season. A huge opportunity to qualify from the Group stages of the Champions League was also missed when Monaco escaped from Ibrox with a 2-2 on the final matchday.
With results not at the required levels, speculation of unrest within Ibrox began to emerge. Struggling for form, Advocaat had stripped Lorenzo Amoruso of the captaincy mid-season and passed the responsibility to Barry Ferguson. As is always the case in Glasgow, rumours quickly began to surface and of talk, ill feelings between the new and deposed skipper began to circulate allied to a split between the Dutch and other players. There were undoubtedly senior players who were beginning to tire of Advocaat’s rules and regulations and the departure of fans favourites such as Tugay and Albertz at the end of the campaign only served to highlight that the spirit within the squad was not where it had once been.
As season 2001/02 approached, Giovanni van Bronckhorst headed for the English Premiership for a club record fee of £8.5m, those funds being nullified by the capture of Shotta Arveladze and Michael Ball. Disappointingly, Rangers failed to qualify for the Champions League and despite having only lost twice in the league as December approached, both defeats had significantly been at the hands of Celtic. In the aftermath of the second of those defeats, Rangers again found themselves 10 points behind their arrivals and with a mountain to climb. There was a feeling that for all of Advocaat’s “total football” approach, he simply could not get the better of O’Neill’s Celtic side who would happily soak up pressure and often win the game from a set piece due to their superior physicality. To a certain degree, it was perhaps seen as something of a role reversal from the Walter Smith successes of the mid 1990s.
Speculation over Advocaat’s future began to mount and despite securing European football beyond Christmas (albeit continued participation in the UEFA Cup), he resigned his position on 12th December 2001 following a 1-1 draw with Hibernian at Ibrox. Initially staying at the Club (moving into the role of General Manager) and therefore credited with picking successor Alex McLeish, it felt like an uneasy long-term situation. He would soon leave Rangers to rejoin the Dutch National set up, quietly vacating the premises rather than being very obviously replaced.
It would not be the final time that Advocaat and Rangers would cross paths. Dick’s excellent Zenit St. Petersburg team would thwart Gers in the 2008 UEFA Cup Final in Manchester. 11 years later, and by now in his 70s, he would find himself in charge of Feyenoord when Rangers came to Rotterdam for a Europa League group match which ended in stalemate.
The origins of the financial crisis which beset the Club in 2012 are often, and perhaps harshly, traced back to Advocaat’s big money purchases.
by Rick Plews
Dick Advocaat (1998 to 2001)
Having been announced as Walter Smith’s successor during the month of February, Dutchman Dick Advocaat finally took up his position as the Club’s first ever foreign manager on 1st July 1998. He would be joined by his trusted assistant, Bert Van Lingen.
At 50 years of age, Advocaat already had a wealth of experience from coaching in his native Holland. His tactical astuteness and reputation for being a tough disciplinarian were just two of the qualities that attracted Rangers to turn to the man dubbed “The Little General”.
Season 1997/98 had proved to be one too many for Smith and his all-conquering but an ageing squad. A tenth successive league championship had eluded Rangers and, for the first time under the ownership of David Murray, there would be an empty trophy room come to the end of the campaign. It truly was the end of an era. In addition to the management team of Smith / Archie Knox and Davie Dodds moving on, stalwarts such as Andy Goram, Richard Gough, Ian Durrant, Stuart McCall and Ally McCoist had also played their last game for the Club. With Brian Laudrup following the already departed Paul Gascoigne out of Scotland, the side had lost much of its spine and a fair amount of ‘X-factor’.
Although Advocaat was still in charge of one of Europe’s top clubs in PSV Eindhoven, he would also spend the final months of that 97/98 season forensically examining footage of the first team, reserve team and training sessions involving Rangers. With the odd fleeting visit to Ibrox on those rare occasions when PSV were not in action, Advocaat was already forming a view on who would feature after the summer. Even if the season had ended on a happier note for Rangers, it was already crystal clear that a major overhaul of the first team squad was on the horizon.
Much to the annoyance of his employers in Eindhoven, his top signing target was their captain, Arthur Numan. The Dutch left back was keen to accompany Advocaat and a £4.5m deal was eventually agreed. Also moving from Holland was highly rated young midfielder, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst. A fee of £5m was paid to Feyenoord to secure Gio’s services. A further £10m was spent on front men Andrei Kanchelskis and the lesser-known Gabriel Amato. French World Cup winner Lionel Charbonnier would initially provide Antti Niemi with competition for the goalkeeping slot. Almost going unnoticed among those multi-million-pound transfer deals was Bosman signing Rod Wallace (Leeds United). With Joachim Bjorklund, the only departing player to command any sort of transfer fee, the net spending under Advocaat over the summer alone was a cool £22m.
The competitive season was underway just three weeks after Advocaat’s official start date as Rangers faced Shelbourne at (neutral) Tranmere in the UEFA Cup qualifiers. With a starting XI that included Porrini, Gattuso, Amoruso, Thern and Albertz, Rangers inexplicably found themselves 3-0 down to the Irish part-timers with just half an hour remaining in what would surely have ranked as the worst result in the history of the Club. However, a Jorge Albertz penalty within 60 seconds of Shelbourne scoring their third sparked Gers into life and an incredible comeback would see Rangers take a 5-3 lead into the second leg at Ibrox. Perhaps still smarting at the defensive frailties on show, the signing of central defensive duo Daniel Prodan and Colin Hendry were completed in the aftermath.
An opening day defeat at Tynecastle was certainly not the start Advocaat would have been looking for as Rangers looked to regain the Championship from Celtic at the first time of asking. Rod Wallace would score in the first 4 league matches of the campaign as his Rangers career hit the ground running.
Although used sparingly under Walter Smith, the elevation of youngster Barry Ferguson to the side under Advocaat was a significant development. Still only 20 years of age, Barry quickly became a leader and focal point of the team under Advocaat. As Rangers steadied the ship domestically, a Ferguson inspired performance in the Bayer Arena saw the side earn a tremendous victory on German soil as Leverkusen were defeated 2-1. Perhaps not yet truly understanding the significance of the Old Firm fixture, Advocaat was brought down to earth the following month when his side suffered a 5-1 reversal at Parkhead. His decision not to alter the defensive shape in the aftermath of Scott Wilson’s red card saw Rangers on the end of what seemed an unnecessary thumping. The reaction to that defeat certainly appeared to strengthen resolve and the side would go unbeaten in the league until 20th March. Despite hitting a couple of speed bumps in the title run-in, Rangers returned to Parkhead on 2nd May 1999 not only looking to right the wrongs of that previous visit but knowing that victory would secure the Championship at the home of their fiercest rivals. The players did not disappoint, a Neil McCann double and Jorge Albertz penalty securing an emphatic 3-0 win on a day when Celtic appeared to implode both on and off the pitch.
Having already secured the League Cup with a win over St. Johnstone at Parkhead, Advocaat now had the chance to secure the domestic Treble in his debut season. Celtic would again provide the opposition, albeit this time at Hampden Park. In a rather subdued match, it was that man Rod Wallace who proved the difference as Rangers ran out 1-0 winners. With Stefan Klos, Neil McCann and Claudio Reyna having all contributed greatly since arriving mid-way through the season, the signs were promising for 1999/2000 as title winners Rangers looked to get back into the European Champions League.
In what was a relatively quiet pre-season by the standards set 12 months previously, striker Michael Mols was the main acquisition for a fee of £4m. By the end of August, that price tag was beginning to look like daylight robbery as Mols tormented defences at home and abroad. Although handed one of the hardest possible opponents, Rangers did achieve qualification for the Champions League with a memorable 2-1 aggregate victory over Parma (the side who had eliminated Rangers from the UEFA Cup the previous season). Mols had been magnificent in both legs. Having scored twice versus FC Haka in the previous qualifying round and 8 league goals in the first 7 matches, it was clear that the Dutchman was something special.
The draw for the Champions League group stages could not have been more challenging. Advocaat was inevitably handed a return to former club PSV Eindhoven in addition to European giants Bayern Munich and the Spanish side Valencia. Well beaten in Valencia, the side responded brilliantly in Matchday 2 and was desperately unlucky to concede a late deflected equaliser to Bayern at Ibrox. Back-to-back victories over PSV had put Rangers in a decent position to qualify but Gaizka Mendieta’s inspired performance saw Valencia leave Ibrox with the points. Rangers headed to Munich knowing that qualification was still in their own hands, and they were sensational on the night. With Ferguson again dominating a star-studded midfield, only the woodwork and some inspired goalkeeping by Bayern’s Kahn kept Rangers at bay. Agonisingly, the home side would win 1-0 and the long-term ramifications were worse when a collision between Kahn and Mols would end Michael’s season prematurely. It was an injury from which he would never completely recover.
Other than an extra-time defeat at Pittodrie in the League Cup, the domestic dominance continued under Advocaat. Having lost only 1 league game to date, the title was wrapped up in April 2000 when St. Johnstone was defeated 2-0 in Perth. Billy Dodds, a replacement for the injured Mols, scored both goals against one of his many former Clubs. Highlights of the campaign included two comprehensive victories over Celtic at Ibrox (4-2 & 4-0) whilst Rod Wallace had again popped up with an Old Firm winner this time in one of the Parkhead meetings.
Rangers had the chance to gain revenge over Aberdeen in the shape of the 2000 Scottish Cup Final. By way of a tribute to their Dutch manager and a strong contingent of players from the Netherlands, Hampden was awash with Orange as the Rangers support watched the side dismantle Aberdeen 4-0 to complete the Double. 5 domestic trophies from a possible six and two promising Euro campaigns represented an excellent return under Advocaat and the future seemed more than bright.
The Dutch colony at Ibrox would continue to grow during the summer of 2000 with Fernando Ricksen and Bert Konterman arriving for a combined fee just short of £9m. However, Celtic was also backing their new manager Martin O’Neill with unprecedented transfer funds and it was evident that Advocaat was not going to have it all his own way as he prepared for his third season in Scotland. With both sides going into the first Old Firm clash of the season with a 100% league record, a close encounter was anticipated. Trailing by three goals after just 12 minutes, Rangers were shell shocked and would eventually lose the match 6-2 with Ricksen being withdrawn from the action early having suffered a torrid afternoon. Rangers dipped back into the transfer market to sign yet another Dutchman when Ronald de Boer arrived for £4.5m from Barcelona. Three successive defeats in October saw Rangers trailing by some 13 points come to the end of that month and the gap would widen further by the time Celtic came to Ibrox. It was a game Rangers simply had to win and a 5-1 victory provided a glimmer of hope whilst helping to slightly dilute the pain of that previous encounter. The win had also marked the (scoring) debut of Tore Andre Flo, a record £12m signing from Chelsea in the lead up to the match.
It proved a false dawn, Rangers losing the two remaining Old Firm clashes of the season and finishing empty handed as O’Neill emulated the treble success Advocaat had enjoyed in his own first season. A huge opportunity to qualify from the Group stages of the Champions League was also missed when Monaco escaped from Ibrox with a 2-2 on the final matchday.
With results not at the required levels, speculation of unrest within Ibrox began to emerge. Struggling for form, Advocaat had stripped Lorenzo Amoruso of the captaincy mid-season and passed the responsibility to Barry Ferguson. As is always the case in Glasgow, rumours quickly began to surface and of talk, ill feelings between the new and deposed skipper began to circulate allied to a split between the Dutch and other players. There were undoubtedly senior players who were beginning to tire of Advocaat’s rules and regulations and the departure of fans favourites such as Tugay and Albertz at the end of the campaign only served to highlight that the spirit within the squad was not where it had once been.
As season 2001/02 approached, Giovanni van Bronckhorst headed for the English Premiership for a club record fee of £8.5m, those funds being nullified by the capture of Shotta Arveladze and Michael Ball. Disappointingly, Rangers failed to qualify for the Champions League and despite having only lost twice in the league as December approached, both defeats had significantly been at the hands of Celtic. In the aftermath of the second of those defeats, Rangers again found themselves 10 points behind their arrivals and with a mountain to climb. There was a feeling that for all of Advocaat’s “total football” approach, he simply could not get the better of O’Neill’s Celtic side who would happily soak up pressure and often win the game from a set piece due to their superior physicality. To a certain degree, it was perhaps seen as something of a role reversal from the Walter Smith successes of the mid 1990s.
Speculation over Advocaat’s future began to mount and despite securing European football beyond Christmas (albeit continued participation in the UEFA Cup), he resigned his position on 12th December 2001 following a 1-1 draw with Hibernian at Ibrox. Initially staying at the Club (moving into the role of General Manager) and therefore credited with picking successor Alex McLeish, it felt like an uneasy long-term situation. He would soon leave Rangers to rejoin the Dutch National set up, quietly vacating the premises rather than being very obviously replaced.
It would not be the final time that Advocaat and Rangers would cross paths. Dick’s excellent Zenit St. Petersburg team would thwart Gers in the 2008 UEFA Cup Final in Manchester. 11 years later, and by now in his 70s, he would find himself in charge of Feyenoord when Rangers came to Rotterdam for a Europa League group match which ended in stalemate.
The origins of the financial crisis which beset the Club in 2012 are often, and perhaps harshly, traced back to Advocaat’s big money purchases.
by Rick Plews
