Turkey will take on Korea Republic in a tough friendly match on Wednesday. Fans will be hoping for the recent reports linking Coach Guus Hiddink with Chelsea not to distract Turkey.
Earlier last month, the former Chelsea boss was rumoured to be on the Blues radar as a replacement for the unimpressive Carlo Ancelotti. But Guus Hiddink, who keeps insisting that a return to Stamford Bridge is impossible, declared:
“I can tell you that I’m fully committed to the Turkish federation. The national side is in a state of transition and we are trying to build a competitive team. That’s all I am focused on and that’s what I’m sticking to.
“I need to make this clear: I know about the whole situation at Chelsea right now. But I'm not going to come to London for a second time.
“We cannot compare this situation with the one from last time. When I was approached before and I did the two jobs (at Chelsea and the Russian national team) at the same time, Roman Abramovich was directly involved at top level in both organisations.
“This time he is not. That's why it is not an issue this time.”
Indeed, the issue is not the same. Recent reports claim that Chelsea are now looking to capture the Turkish coach’s services one more time.
This time, though, it is not for the managerial post, but to fill in Frank Arnesen’s position. The sporting director is expected to leave his post at the end of this season and the Blues are ready to work with Guus Hiddink on a long-term basis.
Will this piece of news distract Guus Hiddink ahead of the Turkey vs Korea Republic friendly fixture? Well, Turkey are looking to reach the finals of Euro 2012. Their chances of completing their mission look balanced as they seat in 3rd position in Group A with 6 points behind the leaders Germany and 1 point behind Austria who have a game in hand.
In this case, it is certainly not needed for Guus Hiddink’s side to be affected by distraction. On the contrary, Wednesday’s Turkey vs Korea Republic friendly is one of the encounters on their agenda which is supposed to help them improve for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers.
“I can tell you that I’m fully committed to the Turkish federation. The national side is in a state of transition and we are trying to build a competitive team. That’s all I am focused on and that’s what I’m sticking to.
“I need to make this clear: I know about the whole situation at Chelsea right now. But I'm not going to come to London for a second time.
“We cannot compare this situation with the one from last time. When I was approached before and I did the two jobs (at Chelsea and the Russian national team) at the same time, Roman Abramovich was directly involved at top level in both organisations.
“This time he is not. That's why it is not an issue this time.”
Indeed, the issue is not the same. Recent reports claim that Chelsea are now looking to capture the Turkish coach’s services one more time.
This time, though, it is not for the managerial post, but to fill in Frank Arnesen’s position. The sporting director is expected to leave his post at the end of this season and the Blues are ready to work with Guus Hiddink on a long-term basis.
Will this piece of news distract Guus Hiddink ahead of the Turkey vs Korea Republic friendly fixture? Well, Turkey are looking to reach the finals of Euro 2012. Their chances of completing their mission look balanced as they seat in 3rd position in Group A with 6 points behind the leaders Germany and 1 point behind Austria who have a game in hand.
In this case, it is certainly not needed for Guus Hiddink’s side to be affected by distraction. On the contrary, Wednesday’s Turkey vs Korea Republic friendly is one of the encounters on their agenda which is supposed to help them improve for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers.
