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Hiddink seeks more big tournament success with Russia
at Euro2008
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Photo: canadianpress.google.com
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Russia coach Guus Hiddink has a
history of success at the World Cup. His only trip to the European Championship
was one to forget.
Coaching his native Netherlands in 1996, Hiddink's talented squad was
built around the young Ajax team that won the Champions League a year
earlier.
But it crumbled on and off the field as tensions soared between white
players and those of Surinamese descent, culminating in Edgar Davids being
sent home for insulting Hiddink.
Now. the 61-year-old Hiddink has a chance to do at Euro 2008 what he has
become famous for at the World Cup: take a rank outsider beyond what's
expected.
He has already proved his worth to Russian soccer fans by qualifying from
a group that included England and Croatia, even if Hiddink's team got
a big assist from a faltering English team that failed to advance.
"You make your own luck," Hiddink wrote in a column. "We
were unbeaten against Croatia - seen by many as a title favourite - and
we won the all-or-nothing match against England (in Moscow)."
In Switzerland and Austria next month, Russia is in a tough group with
defending champion Greece, Spain and Sweden.
If Hiddink lives up to his past performances, he should guide his team
to the knockout stage.
After the debacle of Euro 96, when the Netherlands scraped through the
first round before being eliminated on penalties by France, Hiddink managed
to patch up differences between players. He took the Netherlands to the
World Cup semifinals, winning matches and plaudits with attacking flair
before losing to Brazil on penalties in Marseille.
The foundations for Hiddink's rise to international success had been laid
a decade earlier, when he guided PSV Eindhoven to a European Cup title
and a Dutch league crown.
Hiddink won two more league titles with PSV before moving overseas, first
to Fenerbahce and then to Valencia, before taking over the Netherlands.
After his success at the 1998 World Cup, Hiddink took over at Real Madrid,
but lasted less than a season before being fired. He also failed to make
an impression at Real Betis.
Hiddink then became coach of South Korea and propelled the 2002 World
Cup co-hosts to the tournament semifinals - the best showing ever by an
Asian team at soccer's showcase tournament.
Hiddink's team beat Poland for its first World Cup victory, and then Portugal
in the group stage before knocking out Italy and Spain. The South Koreans
lost to Germany in the semifinals.
When soccer underachiever Australia started hunting for a coach capable
of taking its team to the World Cup for the first time in more than 30
years, the list was very short.
Hiddink joined the Socceroos in 2005 and became another nation's sporting
hero when he guided the team past Uruguay in a two-leg playoff to secure
a berth at the 2006 World Cup.
Again exceeding expectations, and underscoring his ability to get the
best out of teams, Hiddink guided Australia to the second round by beating
Japan 3-1 - with three goals in the closing 10 minutes - and drawing with
Croatia. The Socceroos' run was ended by a controversial penalty decision
that gave Italy its only goal in the final moments of a 1-0 win.
Last year, Hiddink's biggest challenge came in a Dutch court, where he
was convicted of tax evasion and given a fine and suspended six-month
prison sentence.
Even in court, Hiddink forced a draw: He was convicted of filing a false
tax return for January-August 2003, but acquitted of any wrongdoing in
2002.
Canadianpress.google.com,
11 May 2008
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