Guus Hiddink, Van Nistelrooy to Coach Netherlands
By Oladunjoye Opeyemi
The Dutch Football Association has finally announced Guus Hiddink, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Danny Blind as the management team of the Netherlands’ national team in a two-year contract until EURO 2016.
67-year-old Hiddink will be in charge of the Dutch national team for a second time after a spell with the Oranje from 1994 to 1998.
Van Nistelrooy, 37, formerly a Manchester United and Real Madrid Striker, had 70 caps and scored 35 goals for the Dutch team retired from the field in 2012. It’s his first experience on a coaching team while 52-year-old Blind who had 42 caps in 10 years for Netherlands as a defender, has been an Assistant Manager for the Oranje since 2012.
Aside the Dutch National team, Guus Hiddink has also managed PSV, Fenerbahce, Valencia, Real Madrid, Chelsea (interim basis), Anzhi and the national teams of Australia and South Korea.
As National team coach of Netherlands, he will be expected to qualify for EURO 2016 from a group including Czech Republic, Turkey, Latvia, Iceland and Kazakhstan.