Former press officer Kees Jansma has severed his long-standing friendship with head coach Dick Advocaat following a turbulent managerial dispute within the Curacao national football team, pundit Rene van der Gijp revealed on the talk show Vandaag Inside on Thursday.
Jansma resigned from his position after Advocaat unexpectedly reclaimed the managerial role shortly after stepping down for personal reasons.
The move forced interim successor Fred Rutten to exit amid a major media storm.
The administrative breakdown occurred after Advocaat initially left due to his daughter's severe illness.
He returned in May after Curacao suffered consecutive friendly defeats against Australia and China under Rutten's brief tenure.
Jansma expressed deep dissatisfaction with the handling of the managerial transition rather than the personnel choices themselves.
"This has nothing to do with the choice for one or the other, but with how it came about," said Jansma.
"First Dick Advocaat stepped down and that is sad and tragic. But then, when things improve, the next one has to disappear.
I don't think that's right. That goes a bridge too far for me."
Van der Gijp detailed Jansma's emotional distress during a recent dinner gathering with football personalities.
"I had a dinner where Kees was also present. I noticed that Kees is really very upset.
Terribly upset. Especially by what happened," said Van der Gijp.
The abrupt fallout marks the end of a long relationship, as Jansma had closely monitored all communication logs during the national team crisis.
"He really saw Dick as a friend. That is now over.
Kees simply thinks that Dick did not do well. He was part of everything, saw all the text messages, experienced everything.
But he also thinks it is truly terrible that this happened," said Van der Gijp.
Van der Gijp emphasized that the personal breach has been particularly difficult for the veteran press officer given their history of close camaraderie.
"They really got on well with each other. It was always super fun," said Van der Gijp.
Van der Gijp reiterated that the underhanded nature of the coaching replacement remains the core reason behind the permanent rift.
"He is really terribly upset by everything that happened," said Van der Gijp.
The analyst confirmed that Jansma continues to struggle with the loss of the friendship, especially considering the age of the individuals involved.
"He saw Dick really as a friend, but that is now over. I find that sad, I think that's a real shame.
The whole incident was just not well done, he thinks it's truly terrible. They really got on well with each other," said Van der Gijp.
Van der Gijp noted that Jansma expressed his ongoing sorrow directly during their recent interactions.
"He also said a few times: I'm really struggling with it, also because you've just lost a friend.
He is really struggling with it," concluded Van der Gijp.
Van der Gijp affirmed that Jansma felt compelled to walk away because of the mistreatment directed at Rutten.
"Ja, ja," nodded Van der Gijp.
Van der Gijp supported the decision to leave the program, even though the emotional impact remains significant for Jansma.
"True, true. And he is completely right in that," stated Van der Gijp.
"But then you're still allowed to be very upset about it? He thinks it's super bad."
Talk show co-host Johan Derksen defended Jansma's immediate resignation, describing it as a principled stand against political maneuvering within the football association.
"I think Kees solved it very correctly," stated Derksen.
Derksen added that Jansma had high hopes for the international project before the internal deception took place.
"He was really a friend of Dick. Kees conducted himself really very correctly.
He would have really liked to go along. A underhanded trick was pulled, that's why he dropped out," responded Derksen.
Derksen clarified that the fallout was caused by an unethical move against colleagues rather than a simple disagreement.
"No, no not just something ugly. A bit of an underhanded trick was pulled.
Kees says: if you deal with people like that, then I drop out," interjected Derksen.
