Don’t Have Guus To Kick Around The Rumor Mill Anymore

Not too long ago you couldn’t hear the name “Guus Hiddink” without hearing “Chelsea FC” somewhere in the vicinity of the same sentence. Guus has ended speculation on his future – namely the one involving the sidelines at Stamford Bridge – by signing a two year extension to continue as coach for the Russian national team, taking him through the World Cup in South Africa. Of course Roman Abramovich is still writing his paychecks, or a portion of them at least, but for country, not club. That huge sigh of relief you hear emanating from London is coming from deep within Avram Grant.

If you’re a Russian football fan, this is very good news for you considering the phenomenon known as The Magic of Guus Hiddink which falls from the sky every four years. Especially given the performances the Russian team has managed since the break up of the USSR.:

1994: Round 1
1998: DNQ
2002: Round 1
2006: DNQ

And then there’s GH’s World Cup performance.:

1998: Semi-finals
2002: Semi-finals
2006: Second round

Basically, having Guus is like a free (well, not even close to free, but you get the idea) pass to the knockout rounds of the World Cup. Money well spent, especially for a national team on the rise with some amazing talent making its way over to Western Europe nowadays.

For now, however, he has the European Championships to worry about, and a difficult group to boot. One including Spain, Sweden and Greece. And even sooner, a friendly against Romania on Wednesday. World Cup 2010 is still a good way off.

Also, we’re still looking for a blogger for Russia for the European Championships this summer. Up and coming squad, world class coach, some great group games…..not to mention taking shots of vodka while blogging is strongly encouraged (you know, to immerse yourself in the culture). If interested contact daryl[at]worldcupblog[dot]org and let him know why you’d be all kinds of fantastic.