5 Managers who could lead Lionel Messi to World Cup glory

3. Guus Hiddink

Football’s ultimate “man-for-a-job”. The most left-field of all the choices, and the only one not hailing from Patagonia, Hiddink may just be the breath of fresh air that Argentine football needs. The Dutchman is a stickler for the values of discipline, team-work, and co-ordinated effort (which you will notice is a hallmark of all five managers on this list – it doesn’t take an expert to see what La Albiceleste so sorely lack) and has extensive experience managing teams as diverse as Real Madrid and Anzhi Makhachkala, Chelsea and Real Betis and South Korea and Australia.

His world-cup pedrigree is unquestionable (who can forget what he did in Korea-Japan ‘02) and his style of management would suit an outfit that is in dire need of an experienced hand who has been there and done that, time and time again. He also has experience coming in when the chips are down and tackling near-impossible targets head-on. He is what one would call in corporate parlance the perfect consultant and the Argentines may do well to outsource this one task to the semi-retired Dutchman.

Club honours: @PSV – 1x European Cup, 6 x Eredivisie, 4 x KNVB Cup, @Real Madrid – Intercontinental Cup, @Chelsea – FA Cup

National honours: @Netherlands – 4^th place WC’98, @South Korea – 4^th place WC ‘02, @Russia – semifinalists Euro ‘08