Terry ties could block Hiddink
Guus Hiddink’s ‘personal relationship’ with John Terry could take him out of contention to become Fabio Capello’s successor as England boss.
The Dutchman emerged as the favourite foreign contender for the England manager’s job following the resignation of the Italian boss on Wednesday.
Capello’s departure followed a disagreement with the Football Association over the decision to strip Chelsea‘s John Terry of the England captaincy with the defender awaiting trial on charges of racial abuse.
Despite FA chairman David Bernstein refusing to rule out the prospect of another foreign manager, Hiddink’s agent Cees van Nieuwenhuizen believes the 65-year-old could be hampered by a ‘very strong personal relationship’ with Terry.
Personal
The duo worked closely during the second half of the 2008/09 campaign when Hiddink took charge at Stamford Bridge, leading the Blues to FA Cup success but the manager’s agent expects the pair’s familiarity could prove problematic.
“I don’t, based on previous conversations with England FA board members, imagine that it would work,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“Based on previous conversations with England FA board members I don’t imagine that it would work.”
Cees van Nieuwenhuizen (Agent to Guus Hiddink)Quotes of the week
Cees van Nieuwenhuizen (Agent to Guus Hiddink)Quotes of the week
“Guus also has a very strong personal relationship with John Terry and would be on his side in all this.”
Van Nieuwenhuizen also insisted a short-term role would not interest Hiddink with a preference on a full-time position, if any.
Experienced
“He’s not done that in the past and had always previously also been involved in qualification,” he added.
Hiddink has had plenty of international management experience with spells with Holland, South Korea, Australia, Russia and most recently Turkey.
The former Chelsea boss led his native side to the World Cup semi-finals in 1998 before reaching the same stage with South Korea in 2002 as they co-hosted the tournament.
However, Hiddink’s most recent tenure as Turkey manager came to a halt when he failed to help the side qualify for Euro 2012.
