Guus Hiddink

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Hiddink was born in Varsseveld and started his career as a player in the youth side of amateur club SC Varsseveld. He turned professional after signing for Dutch club De Graafschap in 1967, playing at the Doetinchem club under manager Piet de Visser. In 1973, during Hiddink's second spell there, he and manager de Visser earned promotion to the Eredivisie. Hiddink spent most of his playing career at De Graafschap, including three years under de Visser, and remains a fan of the club. He joined PSV in 1970, but after failing to win a permanent position in the team, rejoined De Graafschap after just one year and remained there until 1977. In 1981, he rejoined De Graafschap again and retired a year later. Generally he played as a midfielder. Hiddink honed his coaching skills as assistant manager at PSV Eindhoven from 1983 until he was appointed manager there in March 1987. When he took command, the club was three points behind Ajax in the league, with ten matches remaining. PSV, however, managed to win the championship six points ahead of Ajax. It was at PSV where he led the team to its first ever European Cup triumph in 1988 (and The Treble), affirming the Eindhoven club's ranking as one of the three giants of Dutch football, alongside rivals Ajax and Feyenoord. He also won three Eredivisie titles with the club between 1987 and 1990.

In Their Own Story

Hiddink faced his biggest managerial challenge when he took over the reins of the Netherlands national team on 1 January 1995, where he took charge of a team of talented individuals continually racked by internal arguments and disputes. His usual 4–4–2 tactic of deploying wingers backed-up by central midfielders resulted in goals from defensive midfielders such as Philip Cocu and Edgar Davids. Hiddink took a firm approach to the team, an example of which was demonstrated at UEFA Euro 1996 when Edgar Davids was sent home after an argument with Hiddink. The team reached the quarter-finals of that tournament before losing on penalties to France. He was able to prevent further internal conflict in the 1998 FIFA World Cup where his team played some of the more entertaining football in that tournament. The team beat Argentina in the quarter-finals 2–1, then suffered a defeat at the hands of Brazil on penalties in the semi-final—later finishing fourth. This loss signalled an end of another era for Hiddink, as he resigned as Netherlands national coach soon after, where he was then appointed manager of Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Reader's Guide

Hiddink became manager of Spanish La Liga side Real Madrid in the summer of 1998, replacing Jupp Heynckes, but poor league form and off-pitch remarks about the board and finances of the club prompted his termination in February 1999. Hiddink then took over the reins at Spanish club Real Betis in 2000 for the rest of the season. His time there ended badly, with him being sacked by May 2000. In the summer of 2000, rumours were rife over his future, with Scottish club Celtic among the clubs named as a potential destination. The temptation to manage another World Cup–bound international team proved irresistible to him, however, and he agreed to coach the South Korea national team on 1 January 2001. Hiddink became manager of South Korea in January 2001. Success hardly came easy with a team that had appeared in five straight World Cups but had yet to win a single match. South Korea co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup tournament with Japan. At the World Cup, Hiddink's team achieved its first victory in the tournament's history in a 2–0 group win over Poland. After a 1–1 draw with the U.S. and a 1–0 victory against heavily favoured Portugal, South Korea advanced to the second round. Their second-round opponents were Italy, whom they upset 2–1 with a golden goal by Ahn Jung-hwan. South Korea's miracle run finally ended after Germany under Rudi Völler won 1-0 in the semifinals. As with the Dutch team four years earlier in France, Hiddink led his team to fourth place after a 3–2 defeat to Turkey in the consolation game. Hiddink became the first-ever person to be given honorary South Korean citizenship.

Did You Know?

• Hiddink was born in Varsseveld and started his career in the youth side of amateur club SC Varsseveld.
• He turned professional after signing for De Graafschap in 1967, and in 1973 earned promotion to the Eredivisie with the club.
• Hiddink led PSV Eindhoven to its first ever European Cup triumph in 1988, as part of a Treble-winning season.
• He became the first-ever person to be given honorary South Korean citizenship after leading the team to the 2002 World Cup semifinals.
• Hiddink managed both PSV Eindhoven and the Australia national team simultaneously in 2005.