Russia can approach Euro 2008 in a confident frame of mind as in Guus Hiddink they possess one of the most sought after international coaches in the world.
The 61-year-old Dutchman believes Russia has a realistic chance of advancing to the knockout stages after being drawn in Group D along with reigning champions Greece, Spain and Sweden.
“We should not expect any easy matches at the championships, but we will do our utmost and maybe produce some surprises there,” Hiddink said.
PHOTO: AP
“We are definitely not the favorites in our group. The Spaniards and the Swedes are, while the Greeks will do their best to retain their title,” he said.
“I have almost determined the team’s line-up. Just two or three positions are still up for grabs. But I will announce the squad just before the deadline,” Hiddink said.
Born in the small rural Dutch town of Wisch on Nov. 8, 1946, Hiddink was a moderate player but has since accrued an impressive set of trophies as a manager with a variety of clubs.
He guided PSV Eindhoven to six Dutch titles and four national cups along with the Dutch Supercup in 2003.
In the European arena, he won the European Cup with PSV Eindhoven in 1988 and the Intercontinental Cup in 1998, also turning around the fortunes of several underachieving national teams.
He led the Netherlands to the 1998 World Cup semi-finals before even more astonishingly repeating the feat with co-hosts South Korea in 2002.
The Dutchman also guided Australia into the last 16 at the 2006 World Cup in Germany where they somewhat unluckily lost to eventual winners Italy.
After that Hiddink became the eighth national coach of Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the first-ever foreign manager of the country’s national side.
“I’m an ambitious coach and I want to be successful here in Russia,” Hiddink declared soon after taking over.
The Dutchman confirmed his words and gave further proof of his reputation of being a lucky coach by taking Russia into the Euro 2008 finals, finishing second in Group E — one point ahead of England.
Hiddink, who was linked to the England job at one point when Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson stepped down after the 2006 World Cup, might be seen as a gun for hire but he is always his own man and brooks no argument with anyone, even if they happen to be his employers.
“I took over the Russian team to win,” Hiddink said. “Of course I can be flexible but I will do it my way. I came here to be in charge and not to follow anybody’s instructions.”
Tainan TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya, who is leading the CPBL in home runs, has withdrawn from this weekend’s All-Star Game after the unexpected death of his wife. Moya’s wife began feeling severely unwell aboard a plane that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening. She was rushed to a hospital, but passed away, the Hawks said in a statement yesterday. The franchise is assisting Moya with funeral arrangements and hopes fans who were looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game can understand his decision to withdraw. According to Landseed Medical Clinic, whose staff attempted to save Moya’s wife,
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt yesterday backed Nick Champion de Crespigny to be the team’s “roving scavenger” after handing him a shock debut in the opening Test against the British and Irish Lions Test in Brisbane. Hard man Champion de Crespigny, who spent three seasons at French side Castres before moving to the Western Force this year, is to get his chance tomorrow with first-choice blindside flanker Rob Valetini not fully fit. His elevation is an eye-opener, preferred to Tom Hooper, but Schmidt said he had no doubt about his abilities. “I keep an eye on the Top 14 having coached there many years
Saudi Arabia yesterday were drawn to take on Iraq and Indonesia in the fourth phase of Asia’s preliminaries for next year’s FIFA World Cup, with back-to-back Asian Cup winners Qatar to face the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. The winners of each of the three-team groups, which are to be played in October, would join already-qualified Australia, Japan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Iran and Jordan at next year’s expanded 48-nation finals in the US, Canada and Mexico. Saudi Arabia, who are attempting to qualify for a seventh World Cup finals since 1994, are to host Group A and open against Indonesia on
Ukrainian coal miner Andrii’s face lit up when he talked about meeting Oleksandr Usyk. “Wow,” the 36-year-old said in English. Andrii and more than a dozen other war veterans were on hand when Usyk beat Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion. It was a rematch of their 2023 bout that Andrii viewed under vastly different circumstances. “I watched this fight on the front line on my phone,” he said through an interpreter during a stop on Friday at the Ukrainian Embassy in London. “We were watching very quietly, but when he won there was loud
RSS