Hiddink attacked after losing to Vietnam
Chinese media was not satisfied with the attitude and management style of coach Guus Hiddink in the 0-2 defeat against U22 Vietnam on the evening of September 8.
"During the 90 minutes, Guus Hiddink barely moved on the coaching bench," the pageSohucommented. "Assistant Sun Jihai is the same. Even when the team continuously lost the ball, Hiddink did not react. Only at the end of the match, when coach Park Hang-seo came to greet him, did Hiddink stand up and shake hands politely. In the past, Park was Hiddink's assistant in the Korean team. But now, Park's Vietnam is above China."
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Hiddink (left) sits next to assistant Sun Jihai. Photo:Sohu. |
Before the match against Vietnam, Hiddink was questioned by the Chinese media about his dedication. The man who helped Korea reach the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup was criticized more in the Netherlands than in China. He was also seen as conservative when he kept the Chinese U22 squad almost the same for many months, even though many players were in poor form.
"Even though they were just friendly matches, Hiddink was overly cautious in calling up new players. A typical example is Li Yang. After returning from Portugal, he was not used by Shanghai Shenhua, and was mainly on the bench in the Super League," the pagePpsportcomment"The players who entered the field on the evening of September 8 were not the strongest force of U22 China, but even when Hiddink changed personnel, what the team could only do were dangerous plays."
At the national team level, China is promoting the use of naturalized players, under the leadership of Marcello Lippi. PageQQused this point to mock Hiddink when writing: "China's goal is to win a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the situation is very difficult at the moment. China also cannot expect anything from naturalized players, due to Olympic regulations."
Hiddinkaccepted to lead the Chinese U22 team in September 2018, two years after leaving the interim coach position at Chelsea. The 72-year-old military commander receives a salary after tax of 4.7 million USD a year, and is responsible for taking the Chinese U23 team to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, the former Chelsea coach's reputation has been severely damaged after the 0-2 loss to Vietnam.
