Hiddink: Russia not afraid of Oranje

June 20th, 2008 | By: Jan | 6 Comments »

When he got back in the Russian hotel, Guus Hiddink enjoyed a late supper and went to bed. But the sleep wouldn’t come. He enjoyed a fist-thick cuban cigar on the balcony, the adrenaline racing through his body

Hiddink: “At some stage, it was four am. I couldn’t release the tension. But I loved it. Watching the stars, enjoying a red wine with a cigar. Then I turned my mobile phone on and a hailstorm of text messages came in. From Russia, Australia, South Korea, Europe, South America. I had to empty my inbox every 30 minutes… It seems we made an impression. That’s good.”

His players were on cloud nine as well. Captain Semak: “We are very grateful to Hiddink. He makes us work hard, very hard even, but it works. We get results and we play Dutch style. Attractive and forward oriented. And his influence on the team is huge. But I can’t see us win against Holland just like that. I think they are the best so far. But, we’ll have two teams with the will to attack. I think it will be a huge game.”

A typical example of Hiddink’s methods. During the open training some weeks ago Hiddink made his team attack the B-side. Hiddink would stand on the middle line, behind the defenders and he had forbidden them to go over the middle-line, back to their own half. “Hiddink said: you can defend till here. You can’t go back to your own half. If you get in trouble, play yourself out of it by going forward.”

This was something the Russians had never done. They are used to clustering around their own box and waiting for space to counter. Hiddink doesn’t want to see that ever again. He wants modern football, thinking forward, turning possession around and push up the park. The players “get” him now. Semshov: “The quarter finals is not a result as such. We want to go on. Afraid of Holland? Why would we? We play Dutch style football with the best Dutch manager ever. Why be afraid?”

The press conferences with Hiddink are always fun. When he appeared at the press conference after the Sweden game, the Swedish press gave him a spontaneous applause. “Will you become team manager of Sweden?”, was the first question…

The coming match against Holland is obviously special for the former Oranje manager (1994 – 1998). “I am not patriotic in the sense that my loyalty is in distress. It’s just sports. I don’t play for the flag or anything and I look forward facing Holland. I know basically every one of Oranje. With some lads I’ve worked even. So, it’s special. I am planning to become the traitor of the year.”

Holland is the favorite? Hiddink: “Of course. Holland is world class and much tougher than Sweden. With all due respect, but Sweden is predictable. Holland is everything but.”

Semshov is not impressed: “We have a lot of confidence because we have faith in Hiddink. A day for the match he tells us, guys you do what you want to do today. That trust is paid back by us in the match.”



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Comments
Username By Joey | June 20th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
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Dumbass hiddink needs to keep his mouth shut and focus solely on the game!! Making stupid declarations the day before the game can only bite you in the ass later on!!!

Posted from United States United States

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Username By bunchapooha | June 20th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
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lol.. what? how?

Posted from Netherlands Netherlands

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Username By Steve McClaren | June 21st, 2008 at 1:32 am
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Is everyone named Joey an idiot? Pretty common I have to say

Posted from United States United States

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Username By AJ | June 21st, 2008 at 1:46 am
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Joey for president. Obama watch out!

Posted from Canada Canada

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Username By Clay | June 21st, 2008 at 2:29 am
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To AJ: Since when Canadians meddle into American politics?Oh poor Canada!!! Last time I checked Canada has no President, no Prime Minister, no Lawmakers, no Army, no Sports(not even soccer)…Oh, our young little brother meddling into our business.But it’s a rite of passage as I understand…so we ,Americans, the Greatest and most Powerful Nation on this Universe,the all merciful, still will love you unconditionally, and will protect you in times of difficult. We dont’ mind you playing sports with us(Steve Nash)…but stay out of politics(Obama is ours!).

To Joey, what a shame you are! You clearly do not understand or appreciate Football. Hiddink is the most acclaimed and sought after international coach of all time. I have read all of his comments, and not once has he made “stupid declarations”. He is clearly enjoying himself, and he deserves all the praise for bringing beautiful and artistic football to countries that lack it and and are neglected in football matters.Whether Hiddink loses this game or wins it, he is a winner all over the world, and unarguably a hero in the image of Peter The Great in the Soviet Union.

Posted from United States United States

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Username By goose | June 21st, 2008 at 3:36 am
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as we all know Peter the Great went to Holland to learn about shipbuilding…today its football; Piet Visser, Dick Advocaat, Guus Hiddink….lots of money too in Russia; theyll be a player the coming years

Posted from Netherlands Netherlands

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