Dick Advocaat UEFA Cup Tactic
Dick Advocaat, born in 1947, in The Hague, Netherlands, is one of football’s most experienced and respected figures, known for both his playing days and a vastly successful managerial career that spanned continents and decades.
Advocaat began his football journey at ADO Den Haag, making his professional debut in 1966. During his tenure at Den Haag (1966–1973), Advocaat helped the club secure the KNVB Cup in 1968.
After his time with Den Haag, he played for several Dutch clubs, including Roda JC (1973–1977), where he was a consistent presence in midfield. He then moved to VVV-Venlo (1977–1979), followed by a stint at Sparta Rotterdam (1979–1980).
He concluded his playing career with FC Utrecht (1980–1982), making over 500 professional appearances in total.
Though he was never capped for the Netherlands’ senior national team, his reputation as a hard-working and intelligent midfielder set the stage for his transition into coaching.
Advocaat’s coaching career began under the tutelage of renowned manager Rinus Michels and, later, as assistant to his mentor Leo Beenhakker at various clubs. His first major head coaching job came at Haarlem (1987–1989) – not this Harlem - followed by a brief spell at SVV and Dordrecht.
Advocaat's international reputation grew during his time as assistant, then manager, of the Netherlands national team.
He served as assistant under Rinus Michels and took over as head coach in 1992. Under his management, the Oranje reached the quarter-finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
He returned for a second spell (2002–2004), leading the Netherlands to the semi-finals of Euro 2004.
Beyond the Netherlands, Advocaat became known for his globetrotting managerial career. Notably, he managed the Dutch club PSV Eindhoven from 1995 to 1998, winning the Eredivisie in 1996–97.
He also coached Rangers in Scotland (1998–2001), leading them to two Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups, and a League Cup.
Advocaat's international tenures include managing the United Arab Emirates (2005), South Korea (2005–2006, guiding them at the 2006 FIFA World Cup), and Belgium (2009–2010).
He found notable success with Zenit St. Petersburg, winning the Russian Premier League (2007), Russian Super Cup (2008), and UEFA Cup (2008).
Over his expansive managerial career, Dick Advocaat became renowned for his tactical acumen, motivational skills, and ability to adapt across cultures and footballing environments.
He is recognised as one of football’s most enduring and travelled managers, having led teams in the Netherlands, Scotland, Germany, Russia, England, Turkey, and beyond.
One of his successes came while managing Zenit Saint Petersburg. Their triumphant campaign in the 2007-08 UEFA Cup remains one of the most remarkable stories in European football.
Entering the competition as relative outsiders, Zenit navigated a challenging group stage and then soared through the knockout rounds with a blend of attacking flair and steely resilience.
The Round of 16 pitted them against Marseille. Zenit lost 3-1 in France but produced an inspiring 2-0 victory at home, going through on away goals yet again.
Their quarter-final clash with Bayer Leverkusen saw Zenit win convincingly, 4-2 on aggregate, thanks to the attacking prowess of Pavel Pogrebnyak and Andrey Arshavin, who would become the heroes of Zenit’s campaign.
The semi-finals brought a formidable challenge in Bayern Munich, a tournament favourite.
After a 1-1 draw in Munich, Zenit stunned the football world with a dazzling 4-0 win in Saint Petersburg, characterized by swift counterattacks and clinical finishing.
Zenit’s UEFA Cup journey culminated on 14 May 2008 in Manchester, where they faced Rangers in the final.
The side dominated play with their quick, precise passing and relentless energy. Goals from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyryanov secured a 2-0 victory, earning Zenit their first major European trophy.
Advocaat predominantly utilized a 4-3-3 formation, but the 4-2-3-1 was also part of his arsenal. Especially while managing Zenit.
The back four, led by central defenders Ivica Križanac and Nicolas Lombaerts (at times), provided a reliable defensive spine, while wing-backs Aleksandr Anyukov and Radek Šírl supported both defense and attack.
Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, the midfield anchor, was crucial in shielding the defense and initiating attacks. His partners, Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyryanov provided energy and transition play.
The wingers Viktor Fayzulin and Andrey Arshavi were given license to roam and interchange.
Pavel Pogrebnyak, the lone striker (replaced by Fatih Tekke in the final due to suspension), was tasked with finishing moves and holding up play, often bringing the wingers into play.
Zenit’s system relied on quick ball movement and transitional play. Advocaat’s side averaged 51% possession across the knockout stage, but they excelled at vertical progression—moving the ball quickly from defense to attack.
The full-backs’ overlapping runs created numerical superiority on the flanks, stretching opposition defences.
Andrey Arshavin epitomized Zenit’s offensive creativity. He contributed 2 goals and 6 assists in the competition, serving as the chief orchestrator in the final third.
Advocaat encouraged positional fluidity: Arshavin and Zyryanov often drifted centrally, opening space for the overlapping full-backs and had late midfield runners.
This movement overloaded opposition defences and created high-quality chances.
In the UEFA Cup final, Zenit limited Rangers to only 2 shots on target, a testament to their defensive organisation and collective effort.
In game, I went for the 4-3-3 formation displayed by the team. But it can easily become a 4-2-3-1 or 2-3-5 in game, depending on the game moment.
In goal, we have a sweeper keeper on defend duty. A goalkeeper role would also work, but I used a sweeper to make sure that in the game, he is helping to workaround the opposition’s pressing trap.
The back four is made of a wing back on attack duty, two central defenders on defend and a full back on support.
The way the back four is setup is tightly linked with the rest of the positions on the pitch. In 2008, Aleksandr Anyukov had the most appearances and club goals for Zenit and in his career, making me decide on the attack duty instead of the support one, due to his presence up front.
On the left side, Radek Šírl was bit more conservative. But a wing back role on support could also work here.
In front of them, we have a defensive midfielder on defend. An anchor would maybe be more fitting, but in the game, the DM role covers balances better the defensive side with the possession, attacking one. In my opinion.
The two central midfielders are a central midfielder on support and a box-to-box midfielder. The central midfielder is meant to receive the ball and progress it further, as he thinks it’s best on moment-to-moment basis.
I assigned the take more risks and get further forward player instructions to him. While the box-to-box midfielder is meant to arrive late in the opposition’s area.
On the flanks, I chose an inverted winger on attack on the right side and an inside forward on attack on the left side.
The purpose of the roles is to keep the opposition guessing in the game. In my opinion, Andrey Arshavin may have been more of a trequartista or raumdeuter, but if you want to have presence in the attack from his flank, the inside forward seems the best role to use.
And the striker is a target forward on attack, although a complete forward role would also work here.
All three attackers are asked to mark tighter, to try and disrupt the opposition’s build up as much as possible.
I chose positive as mentality.
In possession, fairly wide attacking width and play out of defence. Standard passing directness and a slightly higher tempo. And work the ball into the box, to focus our attacks on the opposition’s goal and avoid reckless shooting.
In transition, counter-press, counter and distribute the ball to the defence through short kicks.
And out of possession, a high press and a higher defensive line. To press the opposition into conceding the ball as fast as possible.
If this setup is too aggressive for you, a standard defensive line would also work.
And trigger press is set as more often.
In my save, managing Bayern Munich coming from FCSB in Romania, we won the league by a considerable margin and have dominated the domestic competitions. Much like real-life Bayern.
And in Europe, we were knocked out by Liverpool in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Dick Advocaat has managed several clubs and nations in football. And his legacy is present at an of them. I am just glad that in 2008, he managed to help a team full of potential to fulfil it.
