|
Liverpool's Hiddink hopes dashed
By David Maddock
| |
|
|
Guus Hiddink Photo mirrorfootball.co.uk
|
Guus Hiddink's hopes of a swift return to the Premier League
appear to have been dashed by the Russian FA.
The Dutchman has been linked with Liverpool - with his agent yesterday
claiming to have had contact from the Anfield board - and has made clear
his desire to come to England as soon as possible.
But that now seems impossible, with the former Chelsea manager admitting
that he must first get clearance from the Russian football authorities...
and that looks unlikely to happen.
Hiddink is under contract to the Russian Federation until July, but after
failing to qualify for the World Cup finals, it is accepted he will leave
as their national team manager.
His role was funded by Stamford Bridge owner Roman Abramovich to the tune
of £6million a year, but that money has now run out, and Hiddink
will look elsewhere, with his agent claiming to have had nine separate
enquiries, four from top clubs, and five from national federations, with
the Turkish Federation making an offer thought to be in the region of
£7million a year.
Hiddink though, has given his word he will first speak to the Russian
Federation before he commits to talks with any prospective new employers,
and that is where the problem comes in.
The Russian FA will not elect a new president until February 3, ruling
out any talks until then. And when the election is completed, it seems
certain the new head of the football body will be the current Zenit St
Petersburg president, Sergey Fursenko.
He has already gone on record to say that if he gets the job, then he
will require Hiddink to remain with the Federation until his contract
runs out in July.
That means no swift return to the Premier League, even though the manager's
agent, Cees van Nieuwenhuizen, made the claim yesterday that there have
been approaches from not only Liverpool, but Manchester City and Juventus
for his services.
"I have spoken with representatives of four clubs and five national
federations," Van Nieuwenhuizen told Sovetskiy Sport, a Russian newspaper.
"Almost all of the options have previously been mentioned in the
press - Manchester City, Liverpool, Juventus, etc. However, as I have
repeatedly said, we have not held contract talks with anyone.
"To all we have said that there must first be talks with the new
president of Russian FA and to know his position on the future."
Hiddink arrived at Chelsea last season as a temporary manager when Phil
Scolari was sacked mid-campaign by the Stamford Bridge board, and he has
been linked with a similar role, should Rafa Benitez leave Liverpool.
But last night, the Reds boss was given open backing by owner George Gillett,
who insisted that this season's travails are nothing more than a "blip",
and that the manager still has the full support of the board.
"We at Liverpool believe that if you were to put together a list
of the top five or six coaches, managers in the world, then Rafa would
definitely be on that list for us," he said.
"And we think he's been tossed a curve ball by circumstance, injuries
and so forth. I think that's been a real challenge to the coach.
"He's had to really make some innovations and play with some players
out of position. And notwithstanding that they've played with a lot of
passion. I really believe it's a blip."
Mirrorfootball.co.uk,
20/01/10
|
|
