Dick Advocaat had the dubious distinction of being a bigger celebrity in Korea than Michael Bolton, the croaky crooner afforded cult status in Asia. Since leading Zenit St Petersburg to the UEFA Cup final, he has become more popular in old Leningrad than a stiff pour of Stolishnaya.

In his 61st year, Advocaat's star has rarely been brighter. Nor has his prodigious enthusiasm for a game that has occasionally thrown him a curve ball. On his second tour of international duty, he lead the Netherlands to the semi-final of Euro 2004. His reward was derision, death threats and a private jet home; as much for his own sanity as his protection.

Few more fascinating characters have bustled through the saloon doors of Scottish football. The hard-line disciplinarian who thought nothing of administering £50 spot-fines for late coming and mobile phone use also displayed a self-consciousness that prompted a hitherto coot-like coach to cause awkwardness among his PSV Eindhoven charges when, in 1995, he returned from the Easter holidays with a seemingly miraculous thatch of thick dark hair.

This is the great Advocaat paradox: a man with a concentrated genetic conceit who, in spite of a handsome and extensive CV, is driven by his own sense of unfulfilment. This, remember, was the coach to had pledged to his wife retirement and contentment at the family home in The Hague at 60. Lady Advocaat will have to wait a while yet for a touch of peace and tranquillity.

Advocaat, to some consternation, rejected the chance to become Australia's national coach last summer after Zenit doubled his salary to a reputed £2m to stay in St Petersburg. He still has unfinished business on these shores. He was convinced his relationship with Frank Arnesen would have won him the head coach's role at Tottenham Hotspur that instead went to Martin Jol. Equally, he was a leading contender to replace Graeme Souness at Blackburn Rovers until Mark Hughes was appointed.

Advocaat, frankly, will not be truly satisfied until he has landed a plum job in the Barclays Premier League.

"Oh yeah, definitely," he said without a second's hesitation. "It will happen - if the right club comes for me, not any club. That will still come."

The lack of acknowledgement from English chairmen has piqued the proud Dutchman. "It has been strange, as I feel I have done well," he said. "My first two years at Rangers were good. I've been two-times the coach of Netherlands. Champion in Holland, champion in Scotland, and Russia. I don't know why it hasn't happened yet."

Advocaat and Walter Smith are now at the vanguard of a new approach towards experienced coaches in club football. No longer is turning 60 a prerequisite for the semi-retirement from international football. Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Robson have led the way in confounding football's ageist tendencies in Britain. It's hip to be old . . .

"When I became the manager of Holland again, after Rangers, they wanted the younger men - like the Klinsmanns, the van Bastens, the Gullits," said Advocaat, "but now they look at guys who are 58, 59, 60. You've got Giovanni Trapattoni with Republic of Ireland at 68 - and he has a four-year deal."

In a frank retrospective, Advocaat revisited the scenes of past glory and ignominy with a whimsical thread woven through his nomadic adventures.