Guus Hiddink’s second tenure as the interim Chelsea FC boss might be over, but the Dutchman has confirmed that he will stay at the club. He has also said that he will try to bring former players like Didier Drogba and Petr Cech back to the club.
Hiddink had taken up the interim manager role at Chelsea twice in 2009 and in 2015, and managed to steer the club from choppy waters on both occasions. The Dutchman is now a greatly respected figure at Stamford Bridge, and has been given the role of technical advisor.
“Technical advisor is a big word, but I will indeed hold an advisory role,” Hiddink was quoted as saying in Goal.com. “I want to involve former Chelsea players. I spoke with Drogba last week, I have spoken with Cech. These guys are true Chelsea legends and have had such an impact at the club.
“Chelsea are an old club, but they have only been there at the highest level for about 15 years or so. These older guys want the best for Chelsea and can do a lot for the club once they have ended their active careers.”
The Dutchman further went on to say that all of the former stars could team up together to run the show from behind the scenes at Chelsea. He even charted out the different roles on offer for the former players.
“One might go for a commercial career, another might pursue a job as assistant manager and another might be interested in a scouting position,” said Hiddink. “You can make such good use of guys like them. I have the freedom to approach former players for things like that.”
Hiddink will ensure growth of the young players
Although he has not won any major trophies in his two brief seasons at Chelsea (with the sole exception of the FA Cup in 2009), Hiddink has given chances to a number of young players from the club’s youth system.
The likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Bertrand Traore, and Tammy Abraham have all been given more opportunitites in the first team during Hiddink’s second reign as the interim boss.
Keeping the Dutchman as an advisor will ensure that there is someone to look after the interest of the young players who are trying to make the transition from the youth levels to the first team.
