Guus Hiddink resigns as Netherlands National team coach, Hiddink suceeded by Danny Blind

Guus Hiddink stepped down from the position of the Holland coach after 10 months of taking the charges of the Dutch National Football team. Hiddink, who is considered one of the most successful football coaches of all time, has numerous achievements under his belt. However, his resignation, after less than a year in charge, came as a shock but was a predicted one. Guus, who led the Dutch team to the semi-finals of the 1998 FIFA World Cup held in France, handled the slot of the head coach for the second time in March, 2014 replacing Louis Vann Gaal. He was supposed to stay in the managerial post until the end of Euro Cup 2016. Guus has been succeeded by Danny Blind.

Guus was being surrounded by controversies as soon as his team started preparing for the Euro Cup tournament. The Dutch team lost five and won four out of ten matches during the Euro Cup qualifying matches. The ‘Orange’ team defeated their arch-rival Spain by 2-0 in a friendly match but lost the matches against Iceland and Czech Republic. This has slimmed down their hopes and chances of qualifying for the Euro 2016. They are still lagging five and three points behind Iceland and Czech respectively.

"I am sorry that it went this way," said Hiddink who was also in charge of Holland from 1994 to 1998. "I thought it was an honor to coach the Dutch national team again and I wish my successor, the staff and the players every success on the way to the European Championships in France.” The former Dutch football manager and player echoed his sentiments in his recent interview.

The 68 year old has had a very successful as well as tumultuous history as a football coach and a manager. He has coached the underdogs like South Korea, Russia, Australia, Turkey including his home team, the Netherlands during his 28 years old coaching career.  South Korea had reached the semi-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, jointly held by Japan and South Korea. It was the first occasion after almost five World Cups when the Korean nation made it to the semis. After his South Korean success stint, he was felicitated with several honors. More interestingly, a South Korean football stadium has been named after him.  

Guus also led Russia to the semis of the 2008 Euro cup. He also handled PSV Eindhoven in Dutch Premier League: 1987, 1988, 1989, 2003, 2005, 2006. Dutch FA Cup: 1988, 1989, 1990, 2005. Dutch Super Cup: 1993. European Cup: 1988. Champions League semi final: 2005. The Real Madrid also won the Intercontinental Cup in 1998 and Chelsea won the FA Cup in 2009 and reached the semi-final of Champions League in 2009.

Despite having such a wonderful career, he has not been able to keep controversies at the bay. While his tenure as a Korean team’s coach, he was accused of spending his time with girlfriend instead with his team. He was also given a six-month suspended jail sentence and fined €45,000 after being found guilty of tax evasion by a Dutch court. Prosecutors had demanded a ten-month prison sentence for Hiddink, who was accused of evading €1.4 million in Dutch taxes by claiming to be a resident of Belgium from 2002 to 2003. The Dutch Tax Intelligence and Detection Service claimed that he had not spent enough nights at his Belgian house which he had stated was his primary address. However, Hiddink who is in relationship with partner Liesbeth Pinas, has been denying the accusation charges.

Well, following his resignation from the post of football manager of the one of the high-profile and successful football teams, his fans and haters alike took the social media by storm by posting tweets and photos about his exit from the Netherlands National football team.