Eredivisie

Hiddink names glaring omission on France Football's best ever managers list

The veteran Dutch coach is the latest person to offer his opinion on the much talked-about countdown

Former Netherlands, Real Madrid and Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink believes France Football's recent 50 best coaches poll contains a glaring omission.

The list, as detailed by Goal here, has sparked much debate across the continent after it was revealed earlier this week.

Former Ajax, Barcelona and Netherlands boss Rinus Michels came top, ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arrigo Sacchi, Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola.

Hiddink, who won three consecutive Eredivisie titles, three consecutive KNVB Cups and the European Cup with PSV in the 1980s, was 29th on the list.

The 72-year-old, who is currently manager of the China U23 side, says he has no issue with his position. However, he does feel a notable former boss has been excluded.

Speaking after his China U23 side had beaten Laos 5-0 on the opening day of the AFC qualifiers in Malaysia, Hiddink told Goal: "First of all, it's an honour to be in the list of all-time coaches.

I know this list but they missed this one name who has proved to be a very good coach. Maybe the ones deciding on the list were too young to remember him. But he's the old Feyenoord trainer Ernst Happel, who managed five clubs and all the clubs he managed went up to a high level.

"All the coaches in the list like Michels had good players with them like Johan Cryuff. It's nice to be in this ranking but you depend a lot on the quality of players you have.

It's nice but sometimes it's overestimating the coaches who are only as good as the players they have at their disposal."

Happel, a former Austria international defender, won 17 honours during his 30-year managerial career.

He is one of just six managers to win a domestic league championship in four different countries. He is also just one of five coaches to win the European Cup (now the Champions League) with two different clubs, lifting the trophy with Feyenoord in 1970 and Hamburg in 1983.

Happel also led the Netherlands to the final of the 1978 World Cup, where they were beaten 3-1 by hosts Argentina after extra-time.

He ended his managerial career with a short spell in charge of his native Austria before his death at the age of 66 in 1992.

Dit artikel delen