Rangers
In 1998, Advocaat accepted the invitation from Rangers chairman David Murray to become the Scottish Premier League team's new manager. Walter Smith was still in the job but had announced his departure in advance.
When Advocaat took charge of Rangers, he became the first foreign manager to do so and only the tenth manager in the history of the club. The previous season was the last of seven under Walter Smith, and the first time the club had finished without a trophy in 12 years. Long term members of the squad that had won nine league championships in a row left, including Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant, Andy Goram, and Stuart McCall. With the financial backing from Chairman David Murray, Advocaat invested heavily in the team. Big money signings such as Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Arthur Numan, and Andrei Kanchelskis were among Advocaat's first as Rangers tried to regain the league championship in Scotland.
In Advocaat's first season in charge, the club won the domestic treble (League, League Cup and Scottish Cup). The club also had a short run in the UEFA Cup. Rangers fans paid tribute to Advocaat and the Dutch Rangers players at the 2000 Scottish Cup Final by wearing replica orange Holland international tops and other orange merchandise. The following season, the club won the league by an SPL record 21 point margin, and also won the Scottish Cup. Advocaat also guided Rangers into the Champions League, having beaten the UEFA Cup winners Parma in the third round qualifier. Rangers went out of the group stage after being drawn alongside Bayern Munich, PSV and Valencia CF. The club then lost to Borussia Dortmund in a penalty shoot out in the UEFA Cup.
Advocaat's third season at Rangers was less successful. Despite investment in the team with players such as Tore Andre Flo for a record £12 million, Rangers failed to win any trophies, as Celtic under new manager Martin O’Neill won the domestic treble. Advocaat branded some of his players "fat-necks" in the press. In Europe, Rangers qualified for the Champions league for the second consecutive season after two qualifying rounds. They were drawn alongside Sturm Graz, Galatasaray, and AS Monaco. After good results against Sturm Graz and Monaco, the club failed to qualify for the next phase of the competition, finishing third behind Galatasaray on goal difference. Rangers then lost 3-0 to Kaiserslautern of Germany in the UEFA Cup.
In his last season at Rangers, with Celtic leading the league championship by 12 points, Advocaat resigned from the manager's position on 12 December 2001. Alex McLeish was appointed as his successor with Advocaat moving to the position of General Manager. Advocaat eventually left Rangers for the Dutch national team
More than a decade later, in March 2012, Advocaat's reign as manager came under increasing scrutiny in connection to Rangers' entry into administration. Advocaat defended the money spent on transfer fees and said he did not think the club would go bankrupt.
Read more about this topic: Dick Advocaat, Coaching Career