Advocaat: I did not go down on my knees for Netherlands job
The new Oranje boss has made it clear he did not apply to become Netherlands coach after his appointment was confirmed on Tuesday.France-Netherlands live stream online
Freshly appointed Netherlands coach Dick Advocaat has rejected claims he put his name forward to the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), stating that he "did not have the desire to be national team coach" until he was approached.
Advocaat was confirmed as new Netherlands boss on Tuesday, signing a contract until the end of the 2018 World Cup qualification campaign, potentially to be extended until after the tournament in Russia should the Dutch qualify.
KNVB director Jean-Paul Decossaux suggested the 69-year-old had applied for the position through intermediaries, but Advocaat has stressed there is no truth in such claims.
Advocaat's third bite of the Oranje
"It is nonsense that I went down on my knees to get this job," Advocaat, who assumes the role for the third time in his career, told De Telegraaf.
"I did not have the desire to become national team coach and did not even see myself as a real candidate at first. "If others mentioned my name or if [agent] Rob Jansen advised the KNVB, that did not happen because I asked them to do so.
"It would not have been a problem for me had they gone for someone else. But that did not happen. They picked me."