Guus Hiddink to step down as Netherlands coach

Not a happy second coming for Guus; Hiddink to leave his post as Netherlands head coach

Guus Hiddink will quit his position as Netherlands head coach on July 1, the Dutch Football Association has announced in a statement on its official website. Assistant coach Danny Blind, who was set to succeed Hiddink after Euro 2016, is most likely to take over as manager, with the rest of the coaching staff keeping their place as well, BBC Sport reports

“I am sorry that it went this way” Hiddink said. “I thought it was an honour to again coach the Dutch national team. I wish my successor, the staff and the players every success on the way to the European Championships in France.”

The 68-year-old began his second spell in charge of the Dutch national team just 10 months ago, with a contract running until the Euro Championships next year. Just two victories in six games, however, has left them third in the six-team qualifying group behind leaders Iceland and Czech Republic.

The recent development marks one of the lowest points in an otherwise stellar managerial career, having led South Korea to the 2002 World Cup Semi-final, Australia to the round of 16 four years later and Russia to the last four stage at Euro 2008.

Hiddink also managed his home country to a semi-final finish at the 98’ FIFA World Cup during his first spell in charge from 1994 to 1998.Their next appearance at the last four stage came in the 2014 edition when Hiddink’s predecessor Louis Van Gaal led the Dutch team to third place in the quadrennial event by defeating hosts Brazil in a third-place playoff.

It looked a tough act to follow, and four defeats in his first five games was a terrible start, the lone victory coming against lowly Kazakhstan. Friendly defeats to Mexico coupled with reverses against Iceland and Czech Republic in the qualifying matches left Hiddink on the brink of losing his job.

Though his last match in charge was the 2-0 victory over Latvia, the 4-3 friendly defeat to the United States just days earlier echoed what went wrong for Guus in his second spell in charge.15 goals conceded in 10 games; the defensive shortcomings with not much enterprise going forward either resulted in a less than impressive brand of football.

BBC Sport cited KNVB director Bert van Oostveen saying, “I regret this development. Unfortunately, the results of Guus’ work were not immediately visible for everyone. We thank Guus for his efforts”.