In Glasgow, Advocaat Is Hated, Loved

Dick Advocaat`s dual relationship with Glasgow, both as a hero and foe at the same time, is attracting interest in Korea. The current head coach of the Korean national soccer team worked for the Glasgow Rangers for three years from 1998. In 1999 and 2000, the Rangers won both the Scottish FA Cup and the regular season Premiership, achieving the double crown for two successive years.

Glasgow has two different teams based in the same city. One is the Rangers, which Advocaat directed, and the other is Celtic. Both teams were established in the 1880s, and they have been two of the biggest archrivals in world football history. Their battle-like matches have been notoriously fierce.

"In Glasgow, people can be classified in two categories. Rangers fans and Celtic fans," said Kim Cheol-ung (40), a Korean who has lived in Glasgow for 10 years, as he was describing the intensity of the rivalry. "Look at the students walking on the streets. You can see a lot of blue or green-striped T-shirts. The blue one is the Rangers` uniform and the green is Celtic. If you ask those in blue tees, they`ll tell you that Advocaat is a hero, while the green-tee guys won`t agree." An international student Kang Ju-Young told this reporter that "this season, Celtic became the champions while Rangers took the third place. There are a lot of Rangers` fans who miss Advocaat here.

As for Advocaat, Scotland was the "land of fortune." Thanks to his outstanding career with the Rangers, he was appointed once again as Netherlands`s head coach and led the Dutch national team in EURO 2004.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com