Hiddink linked with Socceroos job
Highly respected Dutchman Guus Hiddink has emerged as the front-runner for the Socceroos coaching job as the race to appoint Frank Farina's replacement nears its end.
Hiddink, who stunned world football when he guided outsider South Korea to the 2002 World Cup semi-finals, is believed to be Football Federation Australia's first choice after meetings in Europe.
FFA high performance manager John Boultbee confirmed Hiddink was one of the candidates he had spoken to in the past week.
"We're talking to a very small number of candidates, of which he (Hiddink) is one," Boultbee told AAP from Europe.
"We're making good progress."
The sticking point could be negotiating around Hiddink's current job with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.
The 58-year-old guided PSV to the Dutch championship and the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2004-05 and his club will be loathe to have its season interrupted by the Socceroos' push towards the World Cup finals.
Boultbee confirmed the FFA wants someone who can show a high level of commitment to the role.
"We need somebody who will be available whenever the team is assembled, to be able to visit the players and their clubs whenever they're not assembled, to be in Australia to look at A-League players," Boultbee said.
"Those are our requirements - the person has to be able to fulfill those.
"We're looking for a person who has the right type and level of experience to take us to the next level - and World Cup experience is very important to us."
Hiddink has the right credentials and the signature of a man rated one of the world's finest coaches would be a massive coup for Australian Soccer.
Hiddink coached Holland to the 1998 World Cup semi-finals, before surprisingly repeating the feat with South Korea in 2002 - the first Asian nation to reach the World Cup semis.
He has also coached Spanish giants Real Madrid, Valencia and Real Betis.
If the push for Hiddink fails, it is understood another former Dutch national coach in Dick Advocaat is second choice.
Advocaat, who coached Holland to the European Championship semi-finals last year, has been out of work since departing German club Borussia Moenchengladbach in April.
He has close ties with Socceroos skipper Craig Moore from their time at Glasgow Rangers where they won two Scottish championships, and signed Moore when he was at Gladbach.
If the top two choices fall over, options include Serbian supercoach Bora Milutinovic - the only man to coach five different nations at World Cup finals - and Argentina's 1986 World Cup winning manager Carlos Bilardo.
FFA officials want the new coach to be in place prior to the Socceroos' next match - a friendly against Colombia in London on August 17.
The new coach will only have four games prior to the playoff against the fifth-placed South American team in November to work with the Socceroos.
After the Colombia friendly, Australia will play the Solomon Islands in a two-legged Oceania qualifier in September it should win to book a showdown with the South Americans.
The Socceroos also have a friendly pencilled in against Jamaica in October.
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We are finally going to win the World Cup !!!
Highly respected Dutchman Guus Hiddink has emerged as the front-runner for the Socceroos coaching job as the race to appoint Frank Farina's replacement nears its end.
Hiddink, who stunned world football when he guided outsider South Korea to the 2002 World Cup semi-finals, is believed to be Football Federation Australia's first choice after meetings in Europe.
FFA high performance manager John Boultbee confirmed Hiddink was one of the candidates he had spoken to in the past week.
"We're talking to a very small number of candidates, of which he (Hiddink) is one," Boultbee told AAP from Europe.
"We're making good progress."
The sticking point could be negotiating around Hiddink's current job with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.
The 58-year-old guided PSV to the Dutch championship and the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2004-05 and his club will be loathe to have its season interrupted by the Socceroos' push towards the World Cup finals.
Boultbee confirmed the FFA wants someone who can show a high level of commitment to the role.
"We need somebody who will be available whenever the team is assembled, to be able to visit the players and their clubs whenever they're not assembled, to be in Australia to look at A-League players," Boultbee said.
"Those are our requirements - the person has to be able to fulfill those.
"We're looking for a person who has the right type and level of experience to take us to the next level - and World Cup experience is very important to us."
Hiddink has the right credentials and the signature of a man rated one of the world's finest coaches would be a massive coup for Australian Soccer.
Hiddink coached Holland to the 1998 World Cup semi-finals, before surprisingly repeating the feat with South Korea in 2002 - the first Asian nation to reach the World Cup semis.
He has also coached Spanish giants Real Madrid, Valencia and Real Betis.
If the push for Hiddink fails, it is understood another former Dutch national coach in Dick Advocaat is second choice.
Advocaat, who coached Holland to the European Championship semi-finals last year, has been out of work since departing German club Borussia Moenchengladbach in April.
He has close ties with Socceroos skipper Craig Moore from their time at Glasgow Rangers where they won two Scottish championships, and signed Moore when he was at Gladbach.
If the top two choices fall over, options include Serbian supercoach Bora Milutinovic - the only man to coach five different nations at World Cup finals - and Argentina's 1986 World Cup winning manager Carlos Bilardo.
FFA officials want the new coach to be in place prior to the Socceroos' next match - a friendly against Colombia in London on August 17.
The new coach will only have four games prior to the playoff against the fifth-placed South American team in November to work with the Socceroos.
After the Colombia friendly, Australia will play the Solomon Islands in a two-legged Oceania qualifier in September it should win to book a showdown with the South Americans.
The Socceroos also have a friendly pencilled in against Jamaica in October.
===================================================
We are finally going to win the World Cup !!!
