Retirement is the life for Guus Hiddink these days, but he’s still in good nick. And no wonder: before reflecting with FFT on a distinguished career, the Dutch doyen had his weekly training session with other former pros such as Sjaak Swart and Danny Muller, something he relishes at the age of 75.
Hiddink spent most of his modest playing career with De Graafschap and NEC Nijmegen before teaming up with George Best in the USA, but he tells us his left foot is “still functioning well”. He made his commute on a blue Vespa – a farewell gift from Chelsea players in 2016, and very handy when navigating Amsterdam’s busy traffic.
It’s also a nice reminder of two short but sweet spells in west London, where Hiddink delivered an FA Cup and went close in the Champions League. Such love at Chelsea is also in abundance elsewhere: particularly PSV, as a shock European Cup winner in 1988, and in South Korea and Australia on the back of unprecedented World Cup progress.
As he answers your many questions, it becomes evident that appreciation for the well-travelled tactician comes from everywhere – and not just from fans, either. A heart-to-heart with Mark Viduka here, a personal message from Andres Iniesta there: it’s the kind of love that gets you put on a stamp…
Your father was a hero in the Dutch resistance during the Second World War, no? You must have heard some stories – you and your five brothers!
Rene de Jong, Nijmegen
Yeah, I think my parents wanted a girl but didn’t manage it. [Laughs] I grew up in a lovely agricultural region – I’d help a family friend to milk cows – and my dad was a headteacher who let us do as we pleased. He was part of the war resistance. He never talked about it when I was young, but later he said he helped British pilots if they crashed behind the lines. He also pinched food vouchers in order to redistribute them. He never bragged about it, though.
I heard you became a teacher while playing for De Graafschap and NEC. What did you learn?
David Johnstone, East Kilbride
At the time you’d usually train only in the afternoon, so in the morning I was a PE teacher at this school for socially maladjusted children. I enjoyed it, and it was very diverse: there were children with epilepsy or mild Down’s syndrome but also with social disabilities or high aggression levels. One day, a young guy turned to me with a knife. He said he was going to stab the tyres of my car. I said, “My tyres? OK, then you have to go outside – you’ll find my car there.” He came back after 15 minutes and told me he hadn’t
