Guus Hiddink’s record with Chelsea.
After the sacking of Chelsea’s former manager, the Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari during the 2008–09 English Premier League season, Chelsea confirmed on 11 February 2009 that Hiddink would become Scolari’s replacement until the end of the Premier League season, whilst continuing his duties with Russia.
Hiddink’s first game in charge was a 1–0 victory against Aston Villa at Villa Park.
His first game in charge at Stamford Bridge was a 1–0 victory over Juventus in the Champions League knockout stage.
Success continued in the form of a 3–1 away victory against Liverpool—commentators stated that Hiddink had rejuvenated Chelsea following Scolari’s departure.
After knocking Liverpool out of the competition, Hiddink went on to take Chelsea to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea lost out to eventual winners Barcelona in the 93rd minute after 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, after numerous penalty calls were turned down. They were knocked out on the away goals rule.
Hiddink only lost once during his tenture as Chelsea manager, a 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, where Luka Modric scored the only goal of the match. In the final home game of the season, in which Chelsea beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0, Chelsea home fans chanted Hiddink’s name throughout the match and called for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to ‘sign him up’ (on a permanent basis).Hiddink’s highly positive reception highlighted the Chelsea fans’ appreciation of the manager. He marked an end to his Premier League campaign with a thrilling 3-2 away win over Sunderland.
In his last game as a temporary coach of Chelsea, he won the 2009 FA Cup by beating Everton 2-1 at Wembley. He was visibly pleased at winning the Cup, and in subsequent interviews claimed it was one of his biggest achievements. Even though throughout his tenure at Chelsea various players asked him to stay, including captain John Terry, Michael Ballack, and Petr Čech, Hiddink always stated that he intended to return to his post with Russia.
Now that he is a free agent following his release from the Russia job when they failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, he is available to the likes of Liverpool, maybe we should sign him on a pre-contract agreement for next season.
I am still hoping Rafa can turn things around for Liverpool though.
Its up to you, the fans.
What do you think?
Should we go for Guus, or stick with Rafa?