Headed home

Hiddink returns to Holland after wonderous World Cup run

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (Reuters) -- Guus Hiddink, who took South Korea to the World Cup semifinals, will return to coach to Dutch first division side PSV Eindhoven.

"Guus Hiddink has given a definitive answer and will coach the club's first team for the next two seasons," PSV Eindhoven said in a statement Monday.

Hiddink, 55, coached South Korea for 18 months. The host nation beat Poland, Portugal, Italy and Spain and finished fourth -- the best World Cup showing by an Asian team in the tournament's 72-year history.

PSV Eindhoven is the club that gave Hiddink his start as an assistant in 1983. He had played there and went on to become head coach, leading them to the Dutch League championship three times and to the Champions League in 1988.

"It's good to be back and to work with a warm and ambitious club. Those were the most important reasons for me to come back," Hiddink told a news conference. "I'm a happy coach."

Hiddink coached Fenerbahce in Turkey and Spain's Valencia before taking over the Dutch national team in 1995. He then coached in Spain at Real Madrid and Real Betis before taking the South Korea job in December 2000.

Hiddink, whose coaching contract with South Korea ended after the Asian side's third-place playoff defeat by Turkey, confirmed that he would maintain ties by serving as an adviser to South Korea as it prepares for the 2006 finals.

Asked if he would return to train Korea after his PSV stint, he replied: "A lot can happen in soccer in two years."

PSV President Harry van Raaij expressed delight at the return of Hiddink, who will begin his new job on Aug. 1 after taking a holiday.

"You see before you a particularly proud PSV president because we have managed to get Guus Hiddink back to where he started his very successful career," Van Raaij told reporters.

Hiddink won huge popularity in South Korea, and was recently awarded its top sports medal and honorary citizenship.

South Korea fans wore "I love Hiddink" T-shirts throughout the World Cup and roared every time his face flashed across stadium screens. His success prompted a book on his management style, something pundits urged the government and companies to emulate and captured in a simple play on his name: "He think."

Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.