Guus Hiddink is being lined up to take charge of the Ivory Coast during the World Cup in a move that will see him take charge of three National teams in one calendar year. The Dutchman oversaw his last game in charge of Russia last night after the team failed to qualify for the World Cup leaving him free to take up a full-time position as the Turkey National Boss from August. Now it appears that he will take charge of the Ivory Coast on a short-term deal during the World Cup after they sacked their previous Manager Vahid Halihodzic following a poor performance in the African Cup of Nations.

The Ivory Coast have for a long time been tipped to be the top African team at the World Cup but following the draw they face a mammoth task just to qualify for the last 16, they will face Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in the so-called ‘Group of Death’. They will need to be at their very best to qualify for the knock-out stages and they believe that Hiddink’s experience will help them along the way. Hiddink has a great record at the world Cup having Managed the Netherlands, South Korea and Australia to the latter stages of past tournaments, his greatest achievement was perhaps leading the South Koreans to the World Cup Semi-Final back in 2002. He may well feel that if the Ivorians get the rub of the green and with african support at their back then he might be able to achieve a similar feat with the Elephants.

The powers that be at the Ivory Coast FA have made it clear that they would love to have Hiddink on board for the World Cup before making a more permanent appointment following the tournament, they only reached the quarter-finals of the African Cup which was well below their expectations causing them to act quickly before they go to South Africa. They have a talented squad and with Dider Drogba leading the line they have one of the very best strikers in the world in their arsenal, if he can perform to his best then Hiddink will have a good chance of taking the team through the group stages. They will be pin pointing their Portugal match as the one they need to win to put themselves in with a shout of doing well and Hiddink has shown himself to be adept at pulling big results out of the bag.

The Sack Race understands that this is a deal that suits all parties as it will give Guus Hiddink the chance to keep himself busy during the World Cup before heading to Turkey, also the Ivory Coast will perhaps get the most experienced International coach on the market for their strong and ambitious team.

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