Lucky Guus

Russia's young side is coached by the brilliant Dutchman Guus Hiddink. Guus is world renowned for his ability to take raw talent and form a cohesive attacking unit wherever he's been.

In 1995 he unified a divided Dutch squad and proceeded to lead them to the semifinals of the 1998 World Cup where they lost to Brazil despite playing some of the most attractive football in the tournament.

In 2002 he met the high expectations of host nation South Korea by leading their national team, not just to their first-ever World Cup victory, but all the way to the semifinals where they lost to Germany. Hiddink's success was so unexpected that the grateful South Korean's made him the first-ever foreigner to be given honorary South Korean citizenship. Banana Island reports that Guus is still beloved in Korea where his career is followed affectionately.

In 2006 he led the Australian national team (the Socceroos) to their first World Cup qualification in 32 years and proceeded to take them out of the Group stage and into the quarterfinals where they lost to the Italians due to one of the most controversial penalties of the tournament, awarded 8 seconds from the end of normal time. Again he was embraced with the Australians chanting "Goooooooooooos!" and creating slogans like "No Guus, No Glory", "Guus For P.M", "In Guus We Trust", and "Guus your Daddy?".

Hiddink continued his run of remarkable success when, after taking over an inexperienced Russian side, they unexpectedly qualified for Euro 2008 -- thanks to their and Croatia's surprise victories over England. Having led them out of the Group stage is already an accomplishment - something the Russians have never done as an independent nation. Now he faces his birth country and the very same tactics he has so adeptly spread around the Eastern hemisphere.

So is Guus simply lucky?

In the words of Louis Pasteur, "Chace favors the prepared mind".