Hiddink’s Masterclass

Hiddink’s Masterclass

When Sven was sacked from the England job after the last World Cup it was mooted that the FA should try and give the job to Hiddink, then, when McLaren disappeared from the scene under that horrendous umbrella, it was still suggested that the FA should find a way of convincing Hiddink to take the job. Capello’s a good manager, certainly, but Hiddink is nothing short of a miracle worker.

His record is imperious enough, he has never failed to make it out of the group stages at a major international tournament, and he is now on his fourth team. The Australians went out to eventual winners Italy after a ridiculous penalty decision, the South Koreans somehow made it all the way to a semi-final, as did the Dutch only to be ousted on penalties by a Brazilian side that was playing some fantastic football. Now, with Russia, Hiddink finds himself one match away from an achievement that he has never managed before, to lead a side in an international championship final.

Most would think that it’s unlikely that Hiddink will do it, according to Blue Square football betting the Spanish are absolutely overwhelming favourites, but then, so were the Dutch and they were dealt with fairly comfortably. Anyone who is into betting will know to their cost that it’s not wise to bet against Hiddink – or they may know that you win more than you lose if you always bet with his sides.

What exactly he does, I don’t think anyone can really say. He’s tactically a bold manager, and is willing to make changes when he gets it wrong, but in fairness, he doesn’t get it wrong very often. The South Koreans and the Australians were incredibly athletic sides who were in great physical shape and worked very hard, and the same can be said of the Russians. It’s not particularly remarkable for teams to be prepared to run all day, the difference with Hiddink’s teams is that he makes them run in the right places.

On the surface it’s the same things that we get taught from our earliest childhood. Close the opposition down quickly, get in their faces, and when you have the ball don’t be afraid to try and do things with it. It’s the art of actually getting inside the players’ heads enough to make them do exactly that. Football is a confidence game, and when you’re facing the best players in the world to actually believe that you can sweep them away is quite a thing, and that’s what Hiddink is so brilliant at, making players believe that they can do it.

The other thing that Hiddink does well, and this may seem like something of an irrelevant thing to say is that he puts round pegs in round holes, rather than trying to mix and match. At PSV, for example, he put together a team that worked perfectly, on paper often wouldn’t match up to the opposition, but on the pitch would perform wonderfully. He is willing to adapt his formation to match the set of players, whilst at the same time adapting the players to fit the formation.

All in all, it is difficult to say all the reasons why Hiddink is such a wonderful manager, and I doubt you would know for sure until you played under him, but he is phenomenally successfully and it would be a risky business to bet against Russia tonight.