Guus Hiddink is putting an end to his trainer career, he says in the program HLF8 by SBS6. The 74-year-old coach was most recently active as technical director and national coach of Curaçao, but surprises presenter Johnny de Mol in the talk show with the message that he has decided to leave that position. When De Mol asks Hiddink whether it is ‘really ready’, he answers in the affirmative.
“I haven’t been active lately, because of corona. It didn’t go well for a while, we lost in the World Cup qualifiers. They were not allowed to play the Gold Cup. Coincidentally, I sat with the president yesterday and we have come to the conclusion that I am going to stop for a while, because we are not going into the next trajectory with direct qualifications,” says Hiddink, who took over from Remko Bicentini a year ago as national coach. Curacao. The island was killed in the second round of the World Cup qualifying cycle in the Caribbean and Central and North America against Panama.
De Mol then asks for clarity whether Hiddink will stop at Curaçao. “No, we’re going to stop. As technical director. I was a coach as a technical director. No, I’m going to stop completely,” Hiddink clarifies. He still has a contract on Curaçao until the end of 2022. The first official game for Curaçao will not wait until the summer of 2022, when the new Nations League of CONCACAF starts. “They need to take a good look at the matter and reconsider. What the strategy is for the long term. It is also difficult to organize good training camps in the short term.”
Hiddink’s message causes surprise to De Mol, who asks Hiddink again whether ‘it is ready’. The trainer answers in the affirmative. De Mol then asks whether Hiddink is going to do another ‘Dick Advocaatje’, ‘somewhere in a faraway country’. “No”, is the answer from Hiddink. During his career he worked for PSV, Real Madrid, the Dutch national team, South Korea, Australia, Russia and Chelsea, among others.