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How Guus Hiddink works his football magic
By Neale Graham
For CNN
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Guus Hiddink, the Russia and Chelsea coach,
has had much to smile about in his 22-year managerial career. Photo
Getty Images
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LONDON, England (CNN) - How does a man from an unassuming
Dutch village go to being loved in South Korea, adored in Australia, revered
in Russia and admired in England?
By being an exceptional football manager, for one.
Enjoying success around the world - at different levels with different
players in different cultures - has made Guus Hiddink one of the most
admired bosses around.
Born in rural Varsseveld, near the German border, in 1946, Hiddink's early
years were unremarkable. While playing semi-professional football, he
spent 10 years as a gym teacher at a school for children with learning
difficulties.
Most of his playing days were in the midfield of De Graafschap, a small-ish
club with no history of winning silverware. He later spent two years playing
in America before returning to retire at De Graafschap.
Little, then, to suggest that here was a man who would achieve so much
in his later career. But great players seldom become great managers.
His first steps in that direction came at De Graafschap, Holland, where
he was assistant manager before moving to the same role at Dutch giants
PSV Eindhoven.
By 1987, at the age of 40, he was in charge of PSV and led them to their
1988 European Cup win, a feat unthinkable today. He almost reached the
final again in 2005 during his second spell in Eindhoven.
Hiddink's keeper at PSV, Hans van Breukelen, revealed some of the manager's
methods. "He's very interested in people and immediately tries to
create a family environment," he told Britain's Sun newspaper.
"I can vividly remember him smoking and having a cup of coffee with
his players. I don't know if he still smokes but he was a chain smoker
at PSV."
Hiddink's resume includes stints in other high-pressure jobs such as Fenerbahce,
Valencia and Real Madrid, but it's on the international scene where his
shrewd tactical mind, organizational skills and motivational prowess grabbed
attention.
Semi-finalists with Holland at the 1998 World Cup, 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.
He agreed to coach another underdog in the shape of Australia in 2005
and led them to the 2006 World Cup. There, the Socceroos 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, where they were beaten by Spain at the
semi-final stage.
Naturally his hometown Varsseveld wanted to capitalize on Hiddink's huge
global popularity. The "Guuseum" was built in his honour, which
for a time was particularly popular with South Koreans on a pilgrimage
to see from where their idol hailed.
Chelsea were in the doldrums when he arrived on a short-term deal in January
as a favor to his comrade, Roman Abramovich, the club's billionaire owner.
And the Hiddink magic has worked again, giving the Blues direction to
a season that was drifting under previous boss Luiz Felipe Scolari.
But the straight-speaking Dutchman is loyal to the project he has in charge
of the Russian national side and insists he will leave Chelsea at the
end of the season regardless.
Sure of himself but free of ego, Hiddink knows what he wants. And, as
he's repeatedly proved, he knows how to get it too.
CNN.com,
17 April 2009
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