Can Hiddink Make it?

Hiddink, a veteran soccer coach, will be tested for his ability during the 2002 World Cup games where the Korean team has a first match with the Polish team on the 4th in Busan.

It is undeniable that Hiddink is the world’s best soccer coach who took the Netherlands into the top four finalists in the 1998 French World Cup and led REAL Madrid, the best Spanish team. Against this backdrop, when he was in charge of the World Cup soccer team of Korea, a small country in Asia, early last year, soccer experts worldwide expressed their wonder. The dominant question was about why he was in charge of the Korean team since the team failed to win at least once even though it entered the World Cup final match five times. Another failure could leave a blemish in his career.

Then, one and a half year has passed. The coach with his own philosophy has led the soccer team despite all the difficulties in order to fulfill the national wishes of ‘Joining Top Sixteen Finalists’. Now, he is thought to have improved the team’s performance

However, it should be kept in mind that the World Cup is not that easy game. One of the reasons why soccer fans worldwide as well as international media are paying attention to the match with the Polish team is to check during the World Cup games whether his ‘experiment’ was really successful.

Hiddink, for his part, has much in stake for the match with the Polish team more than ever since the Poland match could change his ‘name value’. In a stark reality of soccer match where only results are important, if the ‘Hiddink Team’ joins the top sixteen finalists, he will surely be considered a ‘best coach’. Then, there will be a flood of call for his recruitment. Of course, the opposite case can also be assumed.

The evaluation that he will receive after the World Cup games has much to do with the future of Korean soccer.

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com