guus hiddink · Biography

In March 1987 PSV Eindhoven promoted its assistant coach, Guus Hiddink, to the head job, and within fourteen months the club had won the European Cup. Born on 8 November 1946 in Varsseveld, in the Dutch province of Gelderland, Hiddink went on to coach the Netherlands, South Korea, Australia, Russia, Turkey and Curaçao, as well as Real Madrid, Valencia, Fenerbahçe, Real Betis and Chelsea, in a bench career that ran from 1987 to 2021.

Playing career

Hiddink spent most of his playing years at De Graafschap, the club from Doetinchem, close to his home town. He played there from 1967 to 1970, again from 1972 to 1977 and a final spell from 1981 to 1983. In between he had a season at PSV in 1970-71 and four years at NEC Nijmegen, from 1977 to 1981. During his NEC years he went on loan to North America, joining the Washington Diplomats in 1978 and the San Jose Earthquakes in 1980. He retired in 1983 and that same year returned to PSV as assistant coach.

PSV and the 1988 treble

After taking charge in March 1987, Hiddink won the Eredivisie in 1986-87. The following season brought the treble: the league, the KNVB Cup and the European Cup, won on 25 May 1988 at the Neckarstadion in Stuttgart, where PSV and Benfica drew 0-0 after extra time and the Dutch side won the shootout 6-5. PSV retained the league in 1988-89 and lifted the cup again in 1989 and 1990. In 1990 he left for Turkey to coach Fenerbahçe for a season, before moving to Spain, where he took over Valencia between 1991 and 1993 and briefly again in 1994.

Netherlands and Real Madrid

Hiddink became Netherlands coach in 1995. At Euro 1996 his side were knocked out in the quarter-finals by France on penalties. At the 1998 World Cup in France the Dutch beat Argentina 2-1 in the quarter-finals, lost the semi-final to Brazil on penalties and finished fourth. He then joined Real Madrid, and on 1 December 1998 the team won the Intercontinental Cup at Tokyo's National Stadium, beating Vasco da Gama 2-1 with goals from an own goal by Nasa and from Raúl. The club dismissed him in February 1999. His next post, at Real Betis, lasted only part of 2000.

South Korea and the 2002 World Cup

In 2001 the Korea Football Association appointed Hiddink to lead the national team at the World Cup it was co-hosting with Japan. In 2002 South Korea beat Poland and Portugal in the group stage, knocked out Italy with a golden goal in the round of 16 and Spain on penalties in the quarter-finals. They lost the semi-final to Germany and the third-place match to Turkey, finishing fourth. Shortly afterwards he became the first person to receive honorary South Korean citizenship.

Back at PSV, Australia and Russia

Hiddink returned to PSV in 2002 and won three more league titles, in 2002-03, 2004-05 and 2005-06, as well as the Johan Cruyff Shield in 2003 and the KNVB Cup in 2005. From 2005 he combined the club with the Australia job and took the Socceroos to the 2006 World Cup, where they beat Japan 3-1, lost 2-0 to Brazil, drew 2-2 with Croatia and went out to Italy, 1-0, in the round of 16. That same year he took over Russia. At Euro 2008 his team beat the Netherlands 3-1 after extra time in the quarter-finals before losing the semi-final 3-0 to Spain in Vienna, which earned them a share of third place. He left the post in 2010.

Chelsea, Turkey and the final years

On 11 February 2009, while still in charge of Russia, Hiddink agreed to coach Chelsea until the end of the season after the dismissal of Luiz Felipe Scolari. His last match was the 2009 FA Cup final, a 2-1 win over Everton at Wembley. He coached Turkey from 2010 to 2011, a spell that ended with defeat to Croatia in the Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs, 3-0 on aggregate. In February 2012 he signed for Anzhi Makhachkala and resigned in July 2013. In 2014 he succeeded Louis van Gaal as Netherlands coach, a second spell that ended on 29 June 2015. That December he returned to Chelsea as caretaker after José Mourinho's dismissal, staying until May 2016. He coached China's Olympic team between September 2018 and September 2019 and was appointed by Curaçao in August 2020. He stepped down from that job on 9 September 2021, the day he announced the end of his coaching career.