Hiddink has taken South Korea to the last four (Allsport).

By Chris Roberts, PA Sport

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When Guus Hiddink was considered for the vacant role as Celtic manager two seasons ago many in the east end of Glasgow were anxiously awaiting developments and were relieved when Martin O'Neill was given the keys to Parkhead.

Those concerns were somewhat harsh, but having led South Korea to the semi-final of the World Cup - which is nothing short of miraculous he has proved, if he ever needed to, that he is one of the greatest coaches in the game.

But when the Dutchman took over at the helm of Korea's national team in January 2001, his decision raised a few eyebrows all over the globe.

Hiddink, so much associated with attractive football and handling big-name stars, opted to leave Europe's footballing playground to go back to basics teaching Asian footballers tactical awareness and killer instinct.

It was a daunting task to lead the host nation, who had never even won a game or got through the group stages in the World Cup finals before, into football's greatest tournament and it looked that he was on a hiding to nothing.

His early comment: "I don't know anything about Korea" hardly gave the country grounds for optimism, but they had discovered a man who could single-handedly transform the fortunes of a country.

But nobody should ever have questioned his ability.

Hiddink has shown his coaching acumen in the past, despite an unheralded playing career which began and ended with Dutch club De Graafschap.

He had a yea at PSV Eindhoven and two years in the United States, but coaching was Hiddink's forte and it was in that field where Hiddink went on to make his name.

He struck success as coach at PSV, winning three championships between 1985 and 1990 and the club's only European Cup in 1988.

Hiddink's style lent itself to attractive, open football and he was soon packing his bags and coaching away from the Netherlands, first at Fenerbahce in Turkey and then for a two-year spell from 1991-93 at Valencia in Spain.

It was there that he became good friends with Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, who was coaching at Barcelona at the time, and the two men concurred about the best way to play the game.

He made more admirers in the country after ordering the removal of a racist banner at the Mestalla stadium. It won the immediate respect of the Spanish public and spoke volumes of the man who has forged great friendships all over the world.

After his first stint in Spain, Hiddink took over the Dutch national team, demonstrating his tough personality during Euro 96 in England when he sent star midfielder Edgar Davids home following a player bust-up.

Hiddink's brand of football with out-and-out wingers was once again in evidence at the 1998 World Cup, where only a penalty shoot-out loss to Brazil prevented Holland from gaining a place in the final, ironically crushing Korea 5-0 on the way. But their paths would soon cross again.

Having returned to Spain first with Real Madrid, where he unsuccessfully requested the signing of Davids, and then with Real Betis he decided to return to international coaching with Korea, which shocked many in the game.

With such a pedigree much was expected of him, however his first year was littered with mediocre performances such as the 2-1 loss against the USA in the Gold Cup in January, and some of his decisions also angered the public.

He showed who was boss early on and that he would not be swayed by reputations by axing some of the country's top stars while also drafting in some home-based amateurs.

Many felt he was not taking the job seriously, but without fuss he worked hard to watch university teams and tried to discover some hidden gems.

The Korean public and the world have now seen the results of his efforts with those unearthed stars beating Spain, Italy, Portugal and Poland with wonderful style on their way to a semi-final showdown against Germany and one win from the final.

But their success during the tournament came as little surprise to the Koreans themselves because they fared well in the World Cup build-up games against mainly European opposition.

They crushed an inexperienced Scotland side, held England while going agonisingly close to gaining a result against world and European champions France.

The confidence in the camp was growing and the players responded to the well-liked Dutchman, but their success has exceeded even Hiddink's highest expectations and that of the football-loving people in the country.

Each town and city in South Korea is trying to outdo the others in doing something to honour him, with streets being named after him, a public holiday to be called for the semi-final and a statue of him to be erected in the capital.

But Europe's biggest clubs will soon be knocking on his door and trying to tempt him back into club management, but with Hiddink looking down on his adoring public he will always be the unofficial King of South Korea.