Regardless of what went down, the interaction shows Hiddink’s minute attention to detail in preparing his teams
But can we relive some of it, Cockers? Just a bit? For here, in the W Brisbane hotel, all these years later, former Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink sits across the table and he’s in fine form.
As Australia prepared for their World Cup qualifying matches against Uruguay, Hiddink was stunned when Arnold told him Football Federation Australia wasn’t going to stump up for a charter flight from Montevideo to Sydney after the first leg – especially when the team’s major sponsor was Qantas. “Success has many fathers,” O’Neill says. “But if Guus and Arnie want to join the queue, they are more than welcome.”
“We had to fight so we could fly easily and come back easily, so we can be refreshed again at the home game. It’s expensive. But if you don’t qualify, it’s even more expensive. They [FFA] went along with it, eventually.” The Uruguay team arrived in Sydney, a day later than the Socceroos, having sat in economy, transiting through Santiago and Auckland.Hiddink effectively sat in silence in the dugout for most of the match on Thursday night. As Arnold stalked the coach’s box, bellowing at his players, the Dutchman merely stroked his chin as he ran a discerning eye over what was being played out before him.
But he was reluctant, even embarrassed, and the younger generation of fans didn’t notice him as they jockeyed for position on the fence.Then, as Hiddink walked towards the tunnel, more people noticed him and soon enough a familiar chant echoed across the stadium: “Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuus!”