Guus Hiddink signs two-year deal with Turkey national team

Former Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink signs two-year deal to take over as manager of Turkey national team

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Wednesday, 17, Feb 2010 11:33

By Matthew Champion.

Former Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink will become the next manager of the Turkey national team after opting not to extend his contract with Russia.

The venerable Dutch manager has signed a two-year deal to take control of Turkey starting August 1st with an option for a further two years.

"The Turkish Football Federation chairman and vice chairman met Mr Hiddink in Amsterdam and agreed on a deal of four years, of which two years will be optional," a statement said.

The 63-year-old, who managed Istanbul giants Fenerbache for one season in the early 1990s, is one of the most experienced managers in world football.

In 1998 he took the Netherlands to the World Cup semi-finals, matching the achievement with co-hosts South Korea in 2002 before reaching the knockout stages with Australia in 2006.

But his Russia team, which reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008, missed out on South Africa 2010 after losing to Slovenia in a playoff.

The move to Turkey, who have not qualified for the summer finals, is a surprise, with Hiddink strongly linked to the vacant Nigerian managerial post after the Super Eagles sacked their coach Shaibu Amodu despite securing qualification for the World Cup and taking them to third place in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Hiddink had also been mentioned in connection with Rafa Benitez's job at Liverpool if the Spaniard failed to achieve fourth place in the Premier League and was sacked.

Last season Hiddink, who has also managed Real Madrid and PSV, won the FA Cup with Chelsea and took the Blues to the semi-finals of the Champions League and second place in the Premier League after job-sharing his duties with the Russian national team.