Does Guus Hiddink need Chelsea?

It doesn’t take much brain to see that Chelsea are in trouble. Empires created overnight have always faced a problem to be taken seriously as states and the same goes for football clubs. Symbolically, Terry’s missed penalty was perhaps a chance for Chelsea to turn from a millionaire’s toy to a serious project.

Scolari is just a scapegoat, only the uninformed expected big things from „big Phil“; this Chelsea squad gambled away all of their chances and there are a lot of cracks behind the shiny surface. The compensation Mourinho and Grant got is probably a good lesson for Abramovich. The question is how his safe deposit box will endure these expensive whims in the time of global financial crisis.

It is only logical to see Chelsea turn to Hiddink; finally it is a public secret that his contract in Russia is paid by tycoons among which is Abramovich too. That is why the Dutch is expected to accept the role of a fireman at Stamford Bridge.

We are yet to see if Hiddink will give in; after turning Russia into a serious football team, going to London will be a needless risk. He didn’t select the players, the atmosphere inside the squad is not so good, and though the Dutchman is known as an expert in management, he has never faced such a task.
It might sound strange but we are not so sure that Hiddink will be able to handle the pressure of this job. Let us take a look back at his career, the period while he was in charge of Netherlands national squad was marked by racial conflicts, clashes between the manager and the players. He held on for three years, led the team to World Cup semifinals, but it didn’t help him remain on Oranje bench. Then there was the negative episode in Real and perhaps it was a signal that the Dutchman doesn’t work well under high pressure and with vain players. It can not compare to making small miracles with South Corea, Russia, Australia. There he worked with the players who saw him as a grand master and that were hard-working precisely because they were not so famous.

But what awaits in Chelsea?

He will see the locker-room where players want to leave the club, several still can’t get over Mourinho’s departure, Portuguese that certainly didn’t welcome the man with who they worked in the national squad. Stamford Bridge is like United Nations that simply don’t work,. The money, the idea that kept them together is losing its grip, this scenario is already seen in many clubs and many leagues and it is a signal of things falling back into place. The important things in English football are decided between Liverpool, Manchester United and sometimes Arsenal, Chelsea have nothing to do with that.

That is why Hiddink won’t gain much and he will lose a lot if he accepts the role of a rescuer. The title is lost, the future in the Champions League seems vague, as there are many better teams than Blues at the moment, and no one will accept the Cup as a surrogate for another failed season.

Too much is expected from Hiddink; no other coach would even think about fixing things with the players he, himself didn’t choose… All in all, Chelsea are in for a bleak spring.

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