Al Jazira manager Henk ten Cate has revealed he has turned down the Netherlands vacancy as the search for Danny Blind’s successor continues.
Ten Cate, 62, arrived at Al Jazira in December 2015 and led the UAE club to the President’s Cup in his first season, after which he signed a two-year contract.
This season, in Ten Cate’s first full campaign, the Dutchman has led Jazira to the brink of their first top-flight league title in six years.
The National understands Jazira have now offered him an improved contract.
Ten Cate’s success in the UAE has seemingly caught the attention of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB).
"I was offered the job on Monday, but in the end I decided not to do it," Ten Cate told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
“If you accept such a responsible job — to me the most honourable in Dutch football — it is essential that the whole organisation is behind it, or it will not be a success.”
At the weekend, he revealed that he had long talks Saturday in an Abu Dhabi hotel with Hans van Breukelen, the technical director of the KNVB.
Blind was sacked as Netherlands manager on March 26 after a 2-0 defeat to Bulgaria that left the team’s chances of reaching the World Cup finals hanging by the slenderest of threads.
The loss in Sofia put the Dutch in fourth place in qualifying Group A, trailing six points behind leaders France.
The Netherlands, three times the World Cup runners-up, also failed to qualify for the Euro 2016.
Ten Cate, a former manager for Ajax and Panathinaikos, said he believed the Dutch could “still qualify for the World Cup in Russia.” The next qualifying match is on June 9 against Luxembourg.
And he wished Van Breukelen “every success in his quest for a new coach.”
Breukelen said on Tuesday that he hoped to present the new manager in the next few days. He is also said to be in talks with Dick Advocaat, 69, the current manager of Istanbul’s Fenerbahce.
The Dutch national team is facing two coming friendlies, against Morocco on May 31 and the Ivory Coast on June 4.
* The National staff
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
SUCCESSION%20SEASON%204%20EPISODE%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreated%20by%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJesse%20Armstrong%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Brian%20Cox%2C%20Jeremy%20Strong%2C%20Kieran%20Culkin%2C%20Sarah%20Snook%2C%20Nicholas%20Braun%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
RESULTS
6pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $40,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: AF Alajaj, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
6.35pm: Race of Future – Handicap (TB) $80,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner: Global Storm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.10pm: UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Azure Coast, Antonio Fresu, Pavel Vashchenko
7.45pm: Business Bay Challenge – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Storm Damage, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
20.20pm: Curlin Stakes – Listed (TB) $100,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Appreciated, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill
8.55pm: Singspiel Stakes – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O'Meara
9.30pm: Al Shindagha Sprint – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Meraas, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
