After the departure of the "Special One" comes
Chelsea's latest iteration of the "Interim One."
Guus Hiddink has been appointed temporary boss of the
struggling English soccer champion for the
second time following Jose
Mourinho's sacking on Thursday.
"I am excited to return to Stamford Bridge,"
Hiddink was quoted as saying in a statement on Chelsea's website. "Chelsea
is one of the biggest clubs in the world but is not where it should be at the
moment.
"However, I am sure we can all turn this season around."
The veteran Dutchman filled in as manager between February
and June 2009 after the Blues parted company with Luiz Felipe Scolari midway
through another unsatisfactory season.
Hiddink led the London side to a UEFA Champions League
semifinal, losing on away goals to Pep Guardiola's treble-winning Barcelona
team, before securing FA Cup success over Everton in his last match in charge.
He was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti shortly after.
In a trophy-laden managerial career that has stretched over
four decades, the 69-year-old has also won four Dutch titles and the European
Cup (the forerunner to the Champions League) with PSV Eindhoven, and the UEFA
Intercontinental Cup during a short at the helm of Spanish giant Real Madrid.
Hiddink guided his country to the semifinals of the 1998
World Cup in France, and repeated that feat at the 2002 World Cup with
unheralded co-host South Korea.
He has also coached the national teams of Russia, Australia
and Turkey, but his second stint with the Netherlands was cut short in June
2015 after a poor start to the Euro 2016 qualifiers.
The tag of the "Interim One" was first used by
Chelsea fans to pejoratively describe Rafael Benitez during his temporary stint
in charge between November 2012 and June 2013.
However, Hiddink was a far more popular figure during his
time at Stamford Bridge.
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