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Guus Hiddink
Former manager of the Russian National Football Team
Guus Hiddink (Гус Хиддинк) was born on November 8th, 1946 in Varsseveld, Netherlands. He was manager of the Russian National Football Team from 2006 until May 2010.
Hiddink’s major achievements before coaching the Russian team include winning the treble with PSV Eindhoven, leading South Korea to a fourth place finish in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, managing the Netherlands into the same position in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and leading Australia to the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup – their first appearance in the tournament for 32 years.
Hiddink took on the managerial role of the Russian national team after the 2006 World Cup. In April of 2006 he had signed a two and half year contract worth US$2.4 million per year plus bonuses, with an option to extend the contract by a further two years. He successfully led the Russian team through qualifying rounds to the 2008 European Championships. Following impressive performances in the group stage and early knock-out rounds, the team reached the semi-finals of the Euro 2008 tournament after beating the highly favored Netherlands 3-1. Russia was beaten by eventual winners Spain 3-0 in the semi-finals.
Following the 2008 tournament, Hiddink signed a new deal keeping him with Russia until 2010. The team failed to qualify automatically for a spot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and was beaten by Slovenia in a play-off in November 2009. Following the defeat, Hiddink confirmed he would be standing down as manager of the Russian national team when his contract expired in early summer 2010. He is succeeded by fellow Dutchman Dirk Advocaat.
Hiddink has several nicknames including "Hiddingu", "Aussie Guus", "Tsar Hiddink", "The Wizard", "Guus Geluk" (Dutch for Disney's Gladstone Gander) or "The Goose."
Relevant links:
The Guus Hiddink Foundation
Related Russia Profile articles:
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Dynamo: Modern Russia and the People’s Game. By Marc Bennetts (07/09/2008,
Vladimir Kozlov)
Our
Very Own Dutchman (06/23/2008, Alexander Arkhangelsky)
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