Chapter 60: The Amazing Coach
Magical, great, miraculous, a series of adjectives do not seem to be enough to describe the Dutch tactician Hiddink, because on the football field he can make everything impossible possible, miracles are definitely not so easy to create, leading a number of different national teams to achieve amazing results in a row, so that one by one unfavored teams create miracles and history, this is the great Hiddink left the magic of international football.
Was Hiddink just a stroke of luck to do so?
The answer is no!
Hiddink, it seems, was born to make history and create miracles, and in his lifetime, he created at least six miracles, each of which is thrilling in retrospect.
Hiddink did not achieve any special fame as a player, but he was a huge success as a coach, and in 1986 he became the head coach of PSV Eindhoven, when he led the team to the Eredivisie title, under the leadership of Hiddink, PSV Eindhoven achieved a triple league title, the first time in the history of PSV Eindhoven.
In 1988, Hius led PSV Eindhoven to the league title, the Dutch Cup and the European Champions Cup, and under Hiddink's leadership, PSV Eindhoven won the club's first and only Champions Cup title in its 95-year history.
Of course, in the process of leading the PSV Eindhoven team, in addition to the results, Hiddink also has a great achievement, he has coached many of the best players in the history of Dutch football such as Gullit and Koeman, and these players have benefited Dutch football for many years.
Hiddink's success at PSV Eindhoven may not be well known due to his age, but it laid the foundation for many of his subsequent national team miracles.
In 1995, Hiddink commanded the talented Dutch national team, and at that time, the Dutch team was sluggish due to the retirement of the "Three Musketeers". However, under the leadership of Hiddink, the Dutch team reached the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup in France, and under Hiddink's leadership, the Dutch team created the best result in the World Cup in the past 30 years.
However, some people may say that the success of the French World Cup is due to the strong strength and heritage of the orange team, and it is not the credit of Hiddink, but it is undeniable that what is more commendable than the results is the unrestrained football played by the Dutch team, which is still considered the most beautiful Dutch team in history.
In 2001, Guus Hiddink became the head coach of the South Korean national team. Under his leadership, South Korea, which has never qualified from the group in the World Cup in history, actually made it all the way to the final four, which is not only the best record in the history of Korean football, but also the best record of Asian teams in the World Cup.
In the 1/8 final between South Korea and Italy, when the South Korean team was behind in the score, Hiddink changed three strikers in a row, and the South Korean team had only one defender on the field at that time, but there were five forwards, which became a great spectacle in the history of world football. This kind of courage not only allowed the South Korean team to equalize, but also made the world marvel at Hiddink's bravery and strength.
Others may think that the referee played a key role in taking care of the hosts, after all, the shamelessness of the Koreans that summer was as famous as their kimchi.
After the 2002 World Cup, Hiddink voluntarily resigned as coach of the South Korean national team and returned to Eindhoven. In 2003, under the leadership of Guus Hiddink, PSV Eindhoven reclaimed the league trophy after a three-year absence.
In 2005, Hiddink led PSV Eindhoven all the way to the semi-finals of the Champions Cup, which was also the only time since the new century that the Eredivisie team reached the semi-finals of the Champions Cup.
Of course, even more commendable than the results is that Hiddink has once again coached a number of world-class stars, such as Arjen Robben.
In the summer of 2006, Guus Hiddink was appointed as Australia manager. At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Guus Hiddink led Australia, who had not qualified for a World Cup finals for 32 years, to the round of 16, the best record in Australia's history since participating in the World Series.
Australia didn't go any further, as they ran into eventual champions Italy early, and the Italians only eliminated Australia with a magical goal in the final minute of the game.
In this coaching, Hiddink's classic game was that Australia brought on Kennedy, Aloisi and Cahill three attackers in succession against Japan when they were behind the scoreline, and scored three goals in the last eight minutes to defeat Japan. The performance of this battle also made the world re-understand the spirit and strength of Australia.
Of course, some people will say that the Australians have the strength in the first place, but they lack luck, but it cannot be denied that the luck of the Australians is brought by Hiddink.
After the 2006 World Cup, Hiddink signed a two-year contract with the Russian Football Association, and under his leadership, the Russian team, which had never qualified in the group of the World Series since independence, actually beat Sweden, the Netherlands and other strong teams to advance to the semi-finals of the European Championships, creating the best record in Russian history.
In charge of the tournament, Guus Hiddink produced a number of miracles in a row, leading his team to a European Championship qualifying victory over a mighty England side, who were knocked out of the competition.
In the group stage, the Russian team faced Sweden, which "can qualify with a draw", and won the battle to advance to the quarterfinals. Previously, the Swedish team eliminated many world-class giants such as Italy and Argentina in the case of "a draw can qualify".
Of course, the classic battle of this coaching is that Russia defeated the Netherlands, in the game, Hiddink made two substitutions, and in the end, the cooperation of these two people scored the key goal to beat the Netherlands, Hiddink is also the only Dutch coach who led other countries to defeat the Netherlands after coaching abroad.
Hiddink celebrated with the team after the magical Dutchman defeated the favourites and he was probably one of the few Dutchmen cheering for Russia that night.
While all the Dutch were in a state of infinite frustration and sorrow, Hiddink was a proud success. Because he once again made history, once again achieved impossible miracles, and once again shocked the world.
Simple adjectives can no longer describe Hiddink's greatness and wonder, and perhaps only God can explain why this Dutchman was able to perform so many miracles. To be sure, Hiddink and God are not relatives, it's just that he is better at impressing God.
Everyone knows that Hiddink is the magic coach, so where is he?
Everyone knows that Hiddink can make history, so how exactly did he make history?
It is possible for a miracle to happen once, and it may be the favor of the goddess of luck to happen twice, but when the miracle can occur every time, then there must be a lot of mystery in it, what is this mystery?
That's Guus Hiddink, the master tactician.
The magical Dutch boss has a magical ability to turn the bad into the magic, making anything possible, and always responds in the most direct way whenever people question Hiddink and his team.
At Euro 2008, Guus Hiddink's team came from the cold city of Siberia, but they played a passionate all-attacking and all-defensive sexy football.
When the media criticized Russia and Hiddink after the 1-4 defeat to Spain, the tactician did not surprise people's opinions, but silently painted a blueprint for the future.
With successive victories over Greece and Sweden, people saw a refreshing Russian legion, an "orange army" wearing white jerseys.
As long as the team led by Hiddink has some things in common, they all have similar blood, abundant physical strength, desperate attack and tenacious combat effectiveness.
The super physical training method has made the already outstanding physical strength of the Korean team even more amazing, and it has also turned the Australian kangaroo into an immortal superman, and the same Russian players have become physical monsters.
Now it's Chelsea's turn, and the law is still the same, and the technical statistics of the distance traveled in each round of games, Chelsea always have a lot of people on the list, which is enough to see the abundance of fitness.
Chelsea's team doctor had the most say in the intensity of Hiddink's training when he took over the midway point, and when each player lost two kilometres in two weeks, the brutality and wonder of Hiddink's training methods were evident.
That's Hiddink's magic, he always makes the impossible possible!
When Hiddink arrived at Stamford Bridge, Scolari had just led his side to a heavy defeat to arch-rivals Everton, and the confidence that Hiddink instilled in the team was crucial when they were able to bounce back after the underdogs and lack of self-confidence.
If we fail to rekindle the players' desire to fight, people will not see Chelsea who have reached the semi-finals of the Champions League today, and the highly targeted tactical arrangement reflects Hiddink's sophistication and intelligence, and can seize the lifeblood of the opponent in all games, and how can Chelsea desperately attack the opponent's weaknesses in every game?
When Hiddink decided to take over Chelsea, there were also doubts about this, when Hiddink insisted on asking to serve as Chelsea's temporary firefighter without resigning from the position of head coach of the Russian national team, people were skeptical, because at that time, Chelsea under the leadership of Scolari, it was a complete mess, the morale of the team was low, gangs, and no fighting power at all, but through a series of games, people had to admire, because they could clearly feel, Hiddink's magic.
After coming to Chelsea, Hiddink according to the actual situation of Chelsea at that time, developed a strategy with speed as the core, specifically fast running, fast passing, of course, Hiddink is not static, in the face of strong opponents, while emphasizing speed, the first thing is to suppress the opponent's attack, control the opponent's speed, lay down heavy troops in the midfield defense, and then by increasing the run, forming a local number of advantages, to break through the opponent's defense, specifically, by his development of the defender close to the close, The frenzied pressing in the midfield, the attacking tactics of attacking the opponent's weak lanes, and the super physical fitness cultivated for the players in normal training can be called the two magic weapons of Chelsea's salted fish in the second half of the season.
While clarifying the tactics, Hiddink also tried to overcome the crowd, replacing the Brazilian's favorite Deco with Joe Cole, who was abandoned by Scolari, completely negating Scolari's recruitment in the summer, and reusing those veterans who have played for Chelsea for many years, these players are familiar with each other and have a more tacit understanding, after Hiddink took over Chelsea, the Chelsea team can often play a sharp and fast combination in the game, which is inseparable from the tacit understanding between the players.
Guus Hiddink's first game in charge of Chelsea was an FA Cup defeat to old rivals Everton, an opponent whom almost everyone did not believe Chelsea, who had just undergone a change of manager.
But the miraculous Hiddink did it, and by half-time, Chelsea were already 2-0 up, and Everton boss David Moyes couldn't wait to use up the three substitutions in an attempt to strengthen the attack, but Hiddink sat firmly on the Diaoyutai and was completely unmoved, and it turned out that Everton's substitutions not only failed to pay off, but made Chelsea play more and more crazy.
This is especially true in the next league game against Liverpool, who used up three substitutions in the first 60 minutes, and Hiddink is still as steady as a mountain, and there is no move at all.
The subsequent game proved that Liverpool's substitutions had the opposite effect, that is, although Chelsea did not make substitutions, they actually played better because of the opponent's substitutions.
Many magical coaches change the game immediately after substitutions, Hiddink's realm has become, and you can change the game without substitutions, of course, all of this has a premise, he has an accurate judgment of the game process, and he has a deep understanding of the opponent's players, which has a great relationship with his full preparation before the game, strong ability to collect information, and accurate judgment.
Of course, Hiddink has not always been the same to respond to all changes, Champions League 1/8 finals, after the first home game was forced to draw by Juventus, in the second leg, Hiddink enabled Kalou, who sent a fatal assist, when the score was equalized by Juventus, Hiddink had a replacement at the last moment with a very fast little Wright, as a result, after Wright Jr. came on the field, a pass and a shot decided the game.
The most amazing thing is the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Liverpool, Hiddink replaced Kalou and Ballack in the game, replaced the former, and immediately sent three strikers for the strikers, and the latter was the key to Liverpool at the end of the game.
If you don't change it, you can score goals and assists if you change it, this kind of magic has exceeded the limit of what words can describe.
In the second leg of the contest with Liverpool, Hiddink's magic was even more evident, first of all, in the initial stage of the game, Chelsea experienced a cautious start, immediately ordered the flag to wave the attack, and Liverpool started to attack, his courage is amazing, and what is even more amazing is that the Liverpool team in a significantly better state was completely suppressed by the Chelsea team in the offensive battle, and it turned out that Hiddink's judgment was very correct.
Subsequently, Chelsea led by one goal, and the Dutch substitutions continued to strengthen the attack, at this time, in the face of the Liverpool team known for its strong attacking power, Hiddink once again showed his blood, he did not make substitutions to strengthen the defense, the first substitution, it was the front midfielder to replace the back midfield, the second substitution, but also the change of striker, in other words, he simply wanted to play the opponent again.
Interestingly, because of Hiddink's substitutions to strengthen the attack, Chelsea got many chances to kill their opponents in the subsequent games, and Liverpool's attack lost its power because of the forward-looking, in a word, Hiddink proved that what is the best defense is attack.
Hiddink's magic wasn't just in the game, when he first arrived at Chelsea, the fitness of Chelsea, who had been in turmoil for most of the season, was worrying, but it didn't take long for Hiddink to come and Chelsea became the best team in the Premier League.
Chelsea seem to have been reborn one by one, but it's no surprise that no matter which team Hiddink is in charge, this team is known for its ability to run. This is true for South Korea, PSV Eindhoven, Australia, Russia and even more so for Chelsea now, and we have to admit that Hiddink has his own unique points when it comes to physical training and conditioning.
Since Hiddink's arrival, the Chelsea team has been in better and better form, full of stamina, which is obviously due to Hiddink, who took over in extremely poor form and made everyone look down on it.
But as the season progressed, the Chelsea team got better and better, and the form was completely stimulated, and I have to admit that Hiddink has a good way of adjusting the team's form.
In this game, Chelsea face a menacing Fiorentina side, who have scored 24 goals in 10 games so far in the Champions League this season.
Hiddink boasted before the game that he would play against Fiorentina, but without a solid defense, it is difficult for the team to go far, Hiddink of course knows this, the most threatening in the Fiorentina team is undoubtedly Degan, therefore, Hiddink made a clear deployment of his two central defenders, Terry is responsible for keeping close to Digan, and Ivanovic is responsible for filling in for him.
Judging from the first half of the game, the two central defenders completed their tasks excellently in the game, especially Terry, who defended Digan like a shadow throughout the game, and rarely let Digan face the goal to get the ball, and many people know that Digan in the Fiorentina offensive system in addition to breaking goals, there is also a very important role is the "launch tower", the team's offense is the first time to find the center Digan Digan, and Digan then through the side or knock back to teammates, to create opportunities for the goal.
But under the pressure of Terry, it is difficult for Digan to take the ball comfortably, and it is even more difficult to play the role of a transfer station, and Ivanovic's complement is also just right, often able to find the second landing point, and destroy Digan's pass, such defensive tactics successfully limited Digan's play, and in the first half of the game, Fiorentina's offensive system basically collapsed.
Digan is Fiorentina's arrowhead, but dominating Digan is only half the threat of Fiorentina's attack, because Fiorentina's more terrifying attacking strength is reflected in the midfielder's ability to cut back and score, as Modric's goal in the previous match against Sporting Lisbon and Barcelona against Beckham.
In response to this characteristic of Fiorentina, Hiddink adopted the tactics of crazy pressing in the midfield, successfully cutting off the connection between Modric and Montolivo, so that Fiorentina's middle could not organize an effective attack, so that Fiorentina's strikers were always in a lonely situation.
In this game, it can be clearly found that Fiorentina's attack is very awkward, especially the positions of Modric and Montolivo overlap, the two are either too close or too far away.
In fact, this was not their intention, but Chelsea's defence played a clear control role for them, so that they could not stand in the position they were used to, always receiving the ball in a one-to-many situation, and the proportion of errors was naturally high.
And Chelsea's vice-captain Frank Lampard is the key player in the implementation of this tactic, so far in the game, Lampard has covered almost every corner between his own penalty area and the opponent's penalty area, not only in the middle of the implementation of active grabbing, when the ball is transferred to the side, but also often with the full-back siege, resulting in Fiorentina's attack, always can not be combined with the side, the basic scene is that the middle attack is destroyed by the big foot, the side attack has gone and there is no return, after Hiddink's tactic was successful, Fiorentina's attack was completely limited.
After the tactical success in defense, Chelsea also need to open up the situation in the attack, and this key is the defensive weakness of Fiorentina on the right side, this season because of Abate's transfer, Desiglio is not mature enough, Maggio's position is even more fixed than Frei and Degan, at this time in the season, Maggio also feels tired, he really can't run.
In this game, Hiddink deliberately switched Kalou, who had been playing on the right side in the previous games, to the left side, in order to strengthen the attack on the right side of Fiorentina, and Drogba and Lampard often pulled to this side in the game, forming a numerical advantage over Fiorentina locally.
It paid off, as Chelsea spent the first half on almost all of their attacking flank, with a tired Marcho failing to hold the right corridor and allowing Frank Lampard and Kalou to break through twice and come close to conceding goals.
Because of his excellent physical fitness, Chelsea's attacking players can easily complete the acceleration, while Maggio, although he is in good position, has no choice but to be physically exhausted, and his pace can no longer keep up with the control of his brain, and his defense is almost useless in front of Chelsea's rapid running.
And all the tactics developed by Hiddink for Chelsea are also based on super physical fitness, if there is no large-scale running, you can't press crazy in the midfield, there is no high-speed running, and it is impossible to break through Fiorentina's right defense, it can be said that Hiddink's precise deployment completely broke Fiorentina's right defense.
Chelsea were expected to end Fiorentina's dominance in Europe, but even more so were expected to crush Hiddink's magic.
But judging from the current situation of the game, Fiorentina may be really difficult to win this game at Stamford Bridge.
In the locker room!
Degan's face looked a little gloomy, the first half of the game was simply too bad for him, he was like a child, completely restrained hand and foot.
Prandley was not able to show up in the dressing room due to a suspension, and now all eyes are on Degan, as a leader, as the captain of the team, Degan has an obligation to help the team solve the current problem.
Chelsea's frantic scrambling in midfield made it impossible for Fiorentina to organise the attack through the midfield, and Chelsea, to be precise, the characteristics of the English team, were also destined to be unable to look for opportunities through long balls like Barcelona did.
Fiorentina did not try this in the first half, and as a result, Digan was completely killed by Terry and Ivanovic.
Throughout the first half, Fiorentina's most threatening attack came from set-pieces, and there was no chance to be found in the sports battle.
Hiddink really has two brushes!
Of course, Digan can't admit it on his lips, this is determined by his character, but in his heart he has to write down the word "service" to Hiddink.
Last season, Fiorentina and Chelsea drew two games on the road, but it was a comfortable win to return to home.
I didn't expect a Hiddink to really make Chelsea change in such a short period of time.
Of course, Guus Hiddink is not a god and he does not have the ability to turn a stone into gold, what he does is to make up for Chelsea's shortcomings through training and at the same time develop tactics according to the characteristics of Chelsea players.
If Prandley were here, he would definitely be able to find a way to deal with Chelsea, but it's a pity that Mr. Prandley is in a hurry with the stands now because of his mouth.
What to do?
Eighteen Palms of the Dragon!? Dog-beating stick method!? Tiangang Beidou Array!?
Digan's mind was in a mess, and suddenly his eyes lit up, and he gave back to him in his own way!
Didn't Chelsea attack Fiorentina's wing?
If they can, why can't Fiorentina learn from it, the midfield is a meat grinder, neither side can open up the situation in the middle, even if they break through the defensive chain of the midfield, it is not easy to break through the center-back combination that hits the opponent head-on.
Just as Fiorentina's Marcio has become a shortcoming due to physical problems, Chelsea's wide defense is not the same, Ashley. Kerr and Malouda, who played as a guest fullback in this game, have offensive ability, but defensive ability is second-rate at best.
"David! Luca! In the second half, we changed the formation, you two don't care about the defense in the middle, take two more wings, Cristian replaces Adrian, Ricardo, you retreat a little bit, and Carlos and Cristian are responsible for the defense in the middle. ”
Degan's words lit up everyone's eyes, yes! You play on the wing, we play on the wing, and our front line is the most powerful weapon on the football field!