Hiddink: Magician or myth?

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Victory for Russia would be a significant step in the direction of Euro 2008, but Hiddink has a blind spot when it comes to beating English teams.

For a man who has led his native Holland and adopted country South Korea to World Cup semi-finals, the prospect of facing Steve McClaren's side throws up some startling statistics.

In nine attempts with club and country, the fabled Dutch coach has yet to find the winning formula against English opposition.

Edgar Davids had been sent home from Euro 96 in disgrace and the Holland team were in disarray when an England team led by Terry Venables destroyed Hiddink's side 4-1 at Wembley.

South Korea drew 1-1 with England as a precursor to the 2002 World Cup finals and Russia were rumbled in a 3-0 defeat at Wembley last month.

Hiddink led PSV Eindhoven to European Cup glory in 1988 and into the semi-final of the Champions League in 2003, but he failed to outmanoeuvre Arsene Wenger's Arsenal in four attempts.

Even Graeme Souness, who was manager of Newcastle when they played PSV over two legs in the UEFA Cup in 2004, boasts an unbeaten record against Hiddink.

'You know what? — records are there to be beaten,' said the Dutchman yesterday, but his English failings are the one chink in his formidable armoury.

Russia were roughed up at Wembley and Hiddink, who has abandoned the rigid 4-4-2 formation that he relied on in the early part of his career, will play a flexible 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 s y s t e m a t t h e Luzhniki Stadium.

'It will be a vibrant game and there will be 80,000 people there supporting Russia,' said Hiddink. 'We want to make sure we are good opposition for England.

'If you look at the rankings, England are a highly ranked side. It is good for our young team to face them — experienced players against upand- coming players.'

Defeat at Wembley dented Russia's aspirations of qualifying for Euro 2008 but there has been something of a revolution under Hiddink.

'At Wembley, we were not focused on the key moments of the game and England damaged us,' he said. 'I cannot complain about that and the only thing I would say is that we scored a perfectly legal goal, but it was ruled out.

'The difference between the two teams is the high value of the players they put on. If a central defender is not playing, they replace him with a good or a great player. They can do that.'

England's handsome victory last month brought the task of leading Russian football into the 21st century sharply into focus, but Hiddink is undoubtedly the man to do it.

The Russian FA went into meltdown with more than 700,000 requests for tickets ahead of their clash with England and they used the situation to their advantage by moving the Group E clash to the intimidating and controversial surroundings of the old Olympic Stadium.

There is a healthy respect among the players for his innovative methods, but Hiddink was giving nothing away as he circled the perimeter of the plastic pitch during the team's final preparations last night.

Despite the sub-zero temperatures, the tights, beanie hats and occasional interventions from Hiddink, the players responded to his short, sharp drills.

'It was not that cold,' insisted Hiddink, with more than a hint of mischief. 'If you go to the north of England, it is as cold as this.

'If you look at the English squad, they are used to playing in different circumstances and they play in them every week. It is different for us because this is a young team.' He will have plenty of time to work with them.

Funded by Roman Abramovich, he has signed a contract with the Russian Football Federation until 2010.

His record against English teams

OVERALL

Played 9, Won 0, Lost 5, Drawn 4,

Goals For 5, Goals Against 17

WITH HOLLAND

European Ch'ship — Wembley, 18/6/96

England 4 Holland 1

WITH SOUTH KOREA

Friendly — Seogwipo, 21/5/02

South Korea 1 England 1

WITH RUSSIA