Why is Hiddink leaving for Chelsea?

Any news about Abramovich is news. Any news about Chelsea is news. Any news about Hiddink is news. What can we say if the news is about all three at once!

As recently as Monday morning, there was absolutely nothing to suggest that Hiddink was leaving for Chelsea. No rumors, not the slightest hint. And on Tuesday, the English club got a new coach, and the Russian national team had a coach... no, they have the same coach, but it was still a big sensation. According to all polls, according to all ratings, Guus Hiddink entered the top three best coaches in the world last year. More often he was even called number two. During the time that he worked in Russia, there were many rumors about his transfers to one or another famous team, but these rumors were always “canards”, they were always angrily denied, and even the very possibility of the Dutchman leaving somewhere else was absolutely excluded. Just like the possibility of working part-time for the national team coach was rejected, one might say, ideologically.

And suddenly the RFU surrenders without a fight. The OFFICIAL offer to Hiddink has not yet been received, but our functionaries have already OFFICIALLY said that they are not against it. There wasn't even a personal meeting with Gus. I won’t say that it looked as if the RFU wanted to send the coach to London more than he himself wanted it, but the haste and resignation of the capitulation was no less sensational than the fact of the union between Chelsea and Hiddink. So why did this happen?

To begin with, let us remember that without Abramovich there would be no Hiddink. He found him, he lobbied for his candidacy, and he also paid the Dutchman his salary. Formally, of course, the RFU paid it, but the money was Abramovich’s. He transferred them through the National Academy of Football (NAF), which he himself founded and which carried out a lot of projects in the field of football in the country (it was believed that Abramovich was “begging” for the purchase of Chelsea), effectively becoming the main partner of the football union. And Abramovich’s deputy for football, Mr. Kapkov, received a key post in the RFU.

But last summer something happened up there. Something wasn't shared. And they were offended at each other. And then this anecdote arose about Hiddink’s contract, which had to be renewed, but which still could not be renewed, moving dates over and over again and giving strange explanations for the delays. Then the RFU signed the paper. But paper is paper. You have to pay for the work. But NAF was not going to do this anymore. Former strategic partners stopped even being friends. And for the last six months, Hiddink either received his salary at the wrong time or did not receive it at all. Then, however, the NAF softened a little and allocated a certain amount, which, however, did not completely cover the payments to the coach. It was not possible to attract new sponsors during the crisis. A third of the budget was gobbled up by the crisis.

In short, since the winter, as they say, Gus has not been paid any money. This is where, I believe, lies the answer to everything that is happening. Chelsea have been playing so-so lately. Coach Scolari was hanging by a thread and in the end did not hang. The place has become vacant. And then, I believe, Abramovich simply offered all parties a deal. Hiddink remains in the national team, but also works for Chelsea. And Abramovich does what the RFU is unable to do - that is, he pays the salary in full and on time, and probably also adds something directly for working with the club. The RFU cannot refuse, because this proposal saves the football union from shame. Hiddink receives money and additional interesting work. And Abramovich gets the coach he dreamed of from the very beginning, but could not lure away from the national team, reasonably fearing that he would be cursed at home for stealing a national hero. And so – a compromise that benefits everyone.

But don't believe the assurances that Hiddink is going to Chelsea only until the end of the season. Because there are only a little over three months left until the end of the season. No major club will invite a great coach to become a temporary coach. No great coach would agree to such a “seasonal job.” It's just pointless in every way. So Hiddink will probably remain at Chelsea after the summer.

And a few words directly about sports. For the national team, combining positions as head coach is not fatal. But there is no benefit for the team from this. It is clear that daily work in itself captures and absorbs a person more than a business that only gets to be done a few times a year. And then there’s not just something, but Chelsea. This, as they pompously say, is a challenge! And Chelsea will become a priority for Hiddink, willy-nilly. And he will become a “legionnaire”. In the sense that the vast majority of the team members play in Russia. But the coach will work abroad.

Once upon a time, he was called to Russia not just to command only the national team, but also to build a vertical, helped reform youth football, and helped with attracting specialists to Russia to work with young players. These plans have been embodied before, but now they can be safely thrown away. Hiddink will end up in the best championship in Europe, in one of the best clubs in Europe, in one of the richest and most popular clubs in the world. Chelsea has already become part of folklore. Well, will Hiddink really do it carelessly? This means that the national team, one way or another, will become not only not the only, but also not the main interest of Guus Hiddink, alas.