Hiddink has stadium named after him in South Korea
July 9, 2008
SEOUL (SW) - Guus Hiddink’s status as hero has not been forgotten in South Korea. The Dutch manager now has an actual stadium named after him.
The stadium, which is in fact the second to use the coach’s name, was constructed in the city of Pohang, at about four hundred kilometers from the country’s capital city, Seoul.
The venue has been nick-named ‘Field of Dreams’ and also refers to the accessibility for blind people. Hiddink commented: "Hopefully this stadium will help all disabled people to gain hope and courage through football."
Hiddink became a true legend in South Korea, after taking the country to the semi finals of the 2002 World Cup.
Since, he helped Australia to the round of sixteen in 2006 and guided the Russians to the semi finals at Euro 2008.
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2008-06-22 - Spain v Italy
June 22, 2008
Euro 20082008-06-22 - Spain v ItalySports Betting Preview by Gooner |
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UEFA Euro 2008 - Quarter-Final Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna Sunday 22nd June 2008 - KO 19:45 The final quarter-final at UEFA EURO 2008 brings together two former winners in Spain and Italy, both of them bidding to add to their one and only success on the European stage. For Spain it is an opportunity to make the last four for the first time since 1984 while Italy are bidding for their second semi-final in three EURO tournaments. SPAINSpanish fans would have been disappointed to see the final results from Group C meant that they had to face the Italians, as for all the Spanish bravado and boasting about their team, the Azzurri are the one European side that Spain worry about at competitive games. (see h2h below). Spain are in good form, that is clear, as they are on a runk of nine straight international wins and seven competitive match wins. Victory will see them break their record for longest winning streak which stands at nine - and last time that streak was ended by .. Italy. WEIRD FACT : ITALYItaly have not been very impressive at all during group play, heavily beaten by the Dutch 0-3, and then only claiming a 1-1 draw with Romania thanks to a penalty save by Gigi Buffon which gave the Azzurri a lifeline. It was a better performance against France winning 2-0, albeit a very disappoint France, but once again Luca Toni looked less than lethal, and it was a pair of goals from a free-kick and the penalty spot that won the game. The loss of midfielders Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo will affect Italy’s shape here, although it must be said that neither player has been living up to his reputation so far. A GOOD OMEN? : After winning the World Cup in 1990 Germany finished runners-up in 1992 and 1998 World Cup Champions France also won Euro 2000. HEAD TO HEADSpain and Italy have played each other on 27 previous occasions. Spain have won eight, Italy nine and there have been 10 draws. In competitive matches, Spain have been less successful winning just one out of nine. Italy have won five times and there have been three draws. Spain though have not lost to Italy in their last four encounters since a 2-1 defeat in the 1994 World Cup quarter-finals, managing two wins and two draws in 4 friendly encounters. The most recent fixture came in Elche in March 2008, when Villa’s goal with 12 minutes remaining secured a 1-0 win for Spain. TEAM NEWSSpain coach Luis Aragones still says that he has not decided on his line-up yet but he is likely to stick to his first-choice side after having fielded his reserves in the 2-1 win over Greece. Aragones gave a strong indication to what his preferred starting line-up is when Spain trained on Friday - playing the XI in the first two games against the rest of the squad on Friday. Italy midfielders Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo are both suspended for this match after picking up two bookings. Alberto Aquilani and Massimo Ambrosini will probably come in while Daniele De Rossi and Simone Perrotta may also start. THE VERDICTThe form line suggest Spain should win this match, while history, omens and that wobbly Spanish record suggest that Italy could provide some sort of upset. Italy do have the belief about them to win this game, but considering what I’ve seen on the pitch so far, I feel that the 2.60 price on Spain to win is a price not to be turned down.
The Pick :
PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :
FIXED ODDS BETTING :I’ll go with SPAIN to finally get over their Italian hoodoo in competitive games. This is their best chance of doing it.
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Flying Dutchmen aiming for Euro glory
June 21, 2008
At least one Dutch coach will be in the last four of the European Championships. If a great playing record is among the criteria it will be Marco van Basten; if it’s a coaching pedigree that counts it will be Guus Hiddink.
Netherlands coach Van Basten is aiming to become the first person to win the European tournament as both player and coach after his goal-scoring prowess helped the Dutch clinch their one and only major title in 1988. Hiddink, in charge of Russia, stands in his way in a quarter-final clash in Basle on Saturday as he aims to reach a third major tournament semi-final with three different nations.
Hiddink, at 61, is one of the most renowned coaches in the international game. He has won six Dutch titles and coached four nations - the Netherlands, Russia, South Korea and Australia. Both South Korea and the Netherlands reached World Cup semis under the coach.
VanbastenVan Basten, at 43, is a relative coaching newcomer, in charge of the Dutch national side in his first coaching post and with no experience yet of club management. He takes over at Ajax from July 1 in his maiden club appointment. In 1988, when Basten volleyed a brilliant goal past Soviet Union keeper Rinat Dasayev to seal a 2-0 victory in the Euro final in Munich, Hiddink had been making his own spectacular mark on the game by leading PSV Eindhoven to a domestic double and a European Cup victory against Benfica in Stuttgart.
Their two paths have rarely crossed. Van Basten was an Ajax player who went on to great things at AC Milan before injury cut short his playing career. Hiddink played in midfield for most of his career at De Graafschap, with a spell at PSV Eindoven and in the United States.
A much-travelled coaching career includes spells at Fenerbahce, Valencia, Real Madrid and Real Betis. However, there are similarities. Van Basten may well have noted Hiddink’s management style during the latter’s tenure of the Dutch national side a decade ago, between 1994 and 1998. Hiddink has never shied from confronting big-name players he feels are not fitting in with his scheme of things.
He demands only the best, and needed a firm grip when he took on a talented Dutch squad which was fraught with internal dissent. At Euro 1996 he sent midfielder Edgar Davids home after a dispute, and two years later took a side playing entertaining football to the semi-finals of the World Cup where they were beaten by Brazil on penalties.
Russian players also seem to have benefited from Hiddink’s no-nonsense style. He is a father figure to the youngest squad in the tournament, but that did not prevent him reading the riot act after the team slid to a 4-1 defeat to Spain in their opening game of the tournament.
“I demand a response. I don’t want to sound cocky, but if you want to play at international level then the demands I lay down means you can go one of two ways: either fly, or fight. That’s the choice we offered. They chose to fight,” he said after an impressive 2-0 victory over Sweden to book their quarter-final place. He added: “You cannot guarantee that they will play every game that well, but you can guarantee that players know the principles, what the values are of being in the national team. That’s what we’ve emphasised in our team meetings.” Van Basten has shown similar rigour since taking over the Dutch four years ago.
He had no hesitation in dropping mainstays like Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Davids and Roy Makaay. Seedorf was later recalled but then before the tournament said he no longer wanted to play under van Basten, while Bayern Munich midfielder Mark van Bommel has also fallen out with the coach and appears to be no longer in his planning. Ruud van Nistelrooy is another player who has seen the tough side of van Basten after he was benched at the 2006 World Cup.
The Real Madrid striker quit the international team after the tournament, but is now back in the fold in a Dutch side which impressively defeated world champions Italy 3-0 and France 4-1. The coach was heavily criticised before the tournament by many back home including playing great Johan Cruyff for pragmatic tactics which shun the traditional Dutch 4-3-3 system. But he stuck to his principles.
He has so far been proven right. Both Dutch coaches are flying at Euro 2008 after splendid football from their sides. But on Saturday there will be a hard landing for one of them.
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David Beckham and LA Galaxy to play in China
January 25, 2008
News are out that England football superstar David Beckham is bringing his LA Galaxy team to Shanghai, China’s largest city for a game against a team largely made out of youth players on March 5.
It is said that Beckham will play only 45 minutes to “avoid injuries” ahead of the start of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season in the United States.
Acccording to news reports, the team will be captained by the England star and will play China’s East Asia, a team of youngsters most of whom are less than 20 years old.
It is also said that Galaxy will play it safe with one of the world’s most expensive midfielder, who moved from Spanish club Real Madrid last season.
Beckham’s star appeal helped draw major attention for MLS from US fans but knee and ankle injuries limited him to five MLS appearances as Galaxy missed the playoffs in 2007 for the second year in a row.
According to the news report, the club could play one more game in China before the team heads to South Korea, the next leg of their Asia tour ahead of the MLS season opener in late March.
will Posh be in China?
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