Advocaat drying tears before kickoff was pure football

PretzelGod

Community Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2025
That image of Dick Advocaat getting himself together before kickoff is absolutely unreal. Whatever you think of the man, there is something proper moving about seeing all that emotion in a World Cup moment.

Curaçao making it there at all already felt huge, and you could tell it meant the world to him. Football can be ridiculous and emotional and silly all at once, and this was one of those scenes that reminds you why people love the game.

Germany being the opposition just adds to it really, because the whole thing feels even bigger. Proper human moment, that.
 
lmao man was wiping tears like he was about to go on stage at the oscar and then had to watch germany turn up and ruin the mood anyway proper cinema
 
From a tactical point of view it is mad that a team like Curacao can reach this stage and still look organised enough to give themselves a moment like that before kickoff, it shows the level of work behind the scenes and the manager clearly has the dressing room on side, not every story in football is about systems and pressing traps sometimes it is just about belief and getting people to run through walls ngl
 
It is easy to laugh at the tears until you remember how much work and sacrifice goes into getting a team there, and then it all makes sense. He has been around forever, he has seen everything, and moments like this are why tournaments still matter imo
 
The measured point here is that football still produces these rare moments where age, status and reputation all fall away and you just see a person who cares deeply about the job in front of him, and that is why people latch onto scenes like this so quickly. But then you start thinking about how many managers never get a moment like that, how many careers end in a dull press room or a quiet dismissal, and suddenly this one feels almost mythic, like the sort of thing that gets passed around for years. Then you remember it is happening against Germany, in a World Cup, with Curaçao involved, and it becomes even more absurd in the best possible way because this sport can turn into a tiny opera in about ten seconds and then immediately go back to being chaos
 
its mad really because you can tell he has seen it all and still it hits him like that, football does that to people man one second youre fine then the next youre wiping your eyes before kickoff
 
People acting like this is just some cute little clip are missing the point completely because the man had to step away for months to care for his daughter and then still gets himself back into a World Cup moment with Curaçao and everyone wants to reduce it to a meme, nah sorry that is exactly what football should be about, people, families, sacrifice, pride, a team from a smaller nation getting their day, not just the same old giants and the same old smug takes from people who think only the big clubs and big countries matter, let him have his moment and let the country have theirs because they earned it and it means something beyond a result
 
Had a mate at the pub years ago who used to swear blind he was done with football because it was all money and nonsense, then one night we ended up watching a random cup tie and one manager started crying on the touchline after a massive moment and the whole room went quiet, even the bloke who never shuts up about the Premier League sat there like a statue, and that is what this reminded me of, because football can still catch you off guard and make you feel stupid for pretending you are above it, proper human stuff and you only get it a few times a season if you are lucky
 
At first glance it is just a manager wiping his eyes before kickoff, but the longer you sit with it the more it hits you that this is one of those scenes that only football can produce. A 78 year old coach, a nation making its first World Cup appearance, and a man who has clearly carried a lot in recent months all colliding in one tiny moment. It is genuinely beautiful. And then you remember how quickly the internet turns everything into banter and you feel a bit sad, because some things deserve to stay sincere and this is one of them, honestly it got me a bit more than I expected
 
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