The Netherlands have badly underachieved since Guus Hiddink took over as coach, and he hasn't even made it to the end of Euro 2016 qualifying in his post. On Monday, KNVB announced Hiddink's departure as Netherlands national team manager.
Netherlands part ways with Guus Hiddink midway through Euro 2016 qualifying
Jurgen Klinsmann is out here getting guys fired.
Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
Hiddink's side actually won their last competitive game, a qualifier away to Latvia, 2-0. But the warm-up for that match was embarrassing, even if it was just a friendly. Up 3-1 at home against the United States, the Netherlands collapsed, losing 4-3. The game-winner was scored by Bobby Wood, who has six goals in 61 career first-team professional matches, and assisted by Jordan Morris, who is not a professional soccer player.
Heading into September's qualifiers, the Netherlands are in deep trouble. They have 10 points from six matches, putting them in third place in their group. They're three points behind the Czech Republic and five behind Iceland. They take on Iceland at home on Sept. 3, then go away to Turkey three days later. Because the Czechs have two easy games, the Netherlands likely need to win both matches to control their own destiny or at least pick up four points to feel like they have a realistic shot to finish in the top two.
Based on Hiddink's record, there wasn't much reason to believe he was going to be able to guide the Oranje to those results. He's lost away to the Czech Republic and Iceland in qualifying, and drawn at home against Turkey. The Netherlands have also lost friendlies against Mexico and Italy since the World Cup.
KNVB said in their statement that they are still considering a successor, but it’s most likely to be former player Danny Blind, the father of current Netherlands star Daley Blind. He managed Ajax for one season and has spent the last eight seasons as an assistant coach, joining the Netherlands national setup in 2012. If his one year of management is any indication, he might return the team to their traditional 4-3-3 formation.
As for Hiddink, he might be in demand despite this failure. He had a successful stint as Chelsea caretaker boss and did a reasonable job in a bizarre situation as Anzhi Makhachkala manager. However, he has unquestionably failed in his last three national team jobs, as manager of Russia, Turkey, and now the Netherlands.
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