Former Rangers manager Dick Advocaat has returned to management after he agreed to take over Eredivisie side FC Utrecht.
The 70-year-old turned out for the club for one season in 1983/4.
He replaces the outgoing Jean-Paul de Jong who was sacked on the 4th of September.
Great to see “The Little General” back in the hotseat
He may be in his 70s, but Advocaat is a well liked and respected figure in the game.
The Little General, as he known, has managed at both club and international level, but also near 20 year playing career. He has now managed an incredible 23 teams.
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Amongst those are the likes of Borussia Monchengladbach, PSV, Zenit St. Petersburg, Sunderland and of course Rangers. He managed Zenit to victory in the 2008 UEFA Cup Final.
He has also coached the Dutch (twice), UAE, South Korean, Belgian, Russian and Serbian national team.
He’s been out of work for less than a year since he left Sparta Rotterdam.
He’s renowned for short stints at clubs and is a feisty yet likable character.
A Rangers reign with great highs, and eventual lows
Dick Advocaat managed Rangers between 1998-2001 and brought some of the most iconic and noteworthy players in our history to the club.
Giovanni van Bronkhorst, Arthur Numan, Ronald de Boer, Fernando Ricksen and Andrei Kanchelskis were amongst the names he signed. He was the clubs first of three foreign managers and won the treble in his first season. The next he won the double, and the league by a record points margin.
It was to be a reign tinged with controversy though as the signings made during this period were to later be part of the club’s turmoil in 2012.
It’s difficult to attach any blame to Advocaat though because he was working under the stewardship of the Rangers hierarchy and could never have foreseen what would follow.
Rangers fans have largely fond memories of his time and the club and will be glad he’s still in management.