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On a Hiddink to nothing?
Neale Graham For CNN
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Well-traveled Dutchman Guus Hiddink has taken
the Chelsea manager's job until the end of the season. Photo
AFP/ Getty Images
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Few positions in world football
carry with them such expectation of immediate success as the Stamford
Bridge hotseat.
Jose Mourinho's brilliance, allied to owner Roman Abramovich's largesse,
secured Chelsea Premier League titles as well as cup success, just not
the Champions League crown the club so craves.
The Portuguese one-off still casts a huge shadow over Stamford Bridge
more than 18 months after his departure. Avram Grant and Luis Felipe Scolari
have found Mourinho's act impossible to follow.
Hiddink, who will also continue his role as Russia coach, has taken the
job until the end of the season as a favor to his comrade Abramovich.
And what does he have to lose?
How do you think Hiddink will do at Chelsea? What would be considered
a success for the Dutchman?
Chelsea's slump in form has left them long shots for the championship
yet the Dutchman has already stated they are still in the title race.
"There's a 10-point difference but things can happen in the final
stages of the championship," he said, suggesting going through the
motions is not in his DNA.
But even if the Premier League is beyond them, they remain among the bookies'
favorites to go far in the Champions League. It is easy to forget they
were a John Terry spot-kick away from winning the whole thing barely nine
months ago.
If Hiddink can get Chelsea doing what they used to do so well -- and the
return of powerful midfielder Michael Essien from injury will help --
they still have the weapons to hurt any team in Europe.
And it's in Europe where Hiddink made his name, winning the European Cup
in 1988 with an unfancied PSV side and almost reaching the final again
in 2005 during his second spell with the Eindhoven outfit.
His resume includes stints in other high-pressure jobs such as Fenerbahce,
Valencia and Real Madrid and, like Scolari, Hiddink has also shown himself
to be an achiever on the international scene too.
Semi-finalists with Holland at France 98, he took over South Korea in
2001 and led the co-hosts of the 2002 World Cup to the last four. No Asian
country had ever gone as far in a World Cup before and he left the job
a national hero.
While still in charge of PSV, he agreed to coach another underdog in the
shape of Australia in 2005 and led them to the World Cup in Germany. There,
the Socceroos performed superbly and had eventual winners Italy rattled
for much of their second-round match before succumbing to a late, controversial
penalty.
Hiddink took Russia to Euro 2008 -- at the expense of England -- where
they showed flashes of brilliance throughout. There was no shame in losing
in the semi-final to a scintillating Spain side that would go on to win
the tournament.
The 62-year-old is now looking to reach a fourth World Cup with his fourth
different nation. He made it clear to Abramovich from the outset he would
not leave Russia, well set in their qualifying group, in the lurch.
A lack of recent experience of the club game might count against him --
don't forget when Scolari was appointed Chelsea manager he hadn't been
involved in day-to-day football since 2001.
But whereas the Brazilian had never taken charge of a European club before
and his English was far from fluent, Hiddink has a wealth of experience
of the continental game and should have no difficulty getting his ideas
across.
Ever-flexible, he has indicated he knows where to improve Chelsea, saying:
"The players are very committed, but sometimes you can have a little
bit of a different approach to get even more efficiency out of the players."
Getting the strike partnership of top scorer Nicolas Anelka and Didier
Drogba to click would be a start.
Time and again Hiddink has shown himself to be a master motivator and
while Chelsea are no underdogs, they do need to believe in themselves
again after a season of shattered unbeaten records and morale-sapping
results against teams big and small.
If it doesn't work out, 'the Goose' still has his Russian job and an extra
couple of million dollars in his pocket. But if it does, he could well
have a big decision to make in the summer.
CNN.com,
February 16, 2009
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