Published: 20 May, 2009, 12:21
Edited: 20 May, 2009, 12:21
There are reports in the Russian sports press that Zenit St. Petersburg will be celebrating the New Year without current manager Dick Advocaat.
The Sport Express daily says the Dutch master is on the cusp of agreeing to a deal to take over as coach of the Belgian national squad, citing sources inside the Belgian Football Association saying a two-year deal is merely a formality.
Reports suggest that Advocaat's salary would be 2 million euros a year.
Zenit earlier hinted that they would agree to Advocaat’s combining club and national side posts next year, but the head of Belgian football's governing body, Francois De Keersmaeker, says that "the distance between Belgium and St. Petersburg is too great" to make this is a realistic possibility.
The Belgian FA dismissed national coach Rene Vandereycken in April after a series of results in World Cup qualifiers left Belgium with little hope of qualifying for the final stages of the 2010 contest.
Advocaat, whose current contract expires at the end of the year, has made an indelible mark on the St. Petersburg squad. The 61-year-old led Zenit to a league title in 2007, while also helping the side secure its first ever UEFA Cup the year after that.