Guus Hiddink will take over as Netherlands manager after the 2014 World Cup, the Dutch Football Federation confirmed on Friday. Louis van Gaal said that he would leave the team after the summer and Hiddink had been linked to the job for months.
Guus Hiddink to be Netherlands manager after 2014 World Cup
The Netherlands have hired one of the best managers they have ever produced, and have a succession plan.
Epsilon
In his introductory press conference, Hiddink announced that Danny Blind and Ruud van Nistelrooy would be his top assistants. His contract will run through Euro 2016 and then Blind will take over as manager heading into 2018 World Cup.
This will mark Hiddink's second stint in charge of the Nethelands, having managed them at the 1998 World Cup, where the Dutch made the semifinals. Hiddink managed South Korea at the next World Cup, where he led the hosts to the semifinals as well and became such a hero in the country that they named a stadium after him. Four years later, he managed Australia to their first World Cup in 32 years.
After working his magic with Australia, Hiddink was one of the hottest names in world football and it only got hotter after leading Russia to the Euro 2008 semifinals, but he failed to qualify them for the 2010 World Cup and couldn't get Turkey into Euro 2012 either. In between, he managed Chelsea on an interim basis and lost just one match at Stamford Bridge while capturing the FA Cup.
Hiddink’s last job came at Anzhi Makhachkala, but while he had some success there, he failed to win a trophy and resigned unexpectedly.
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