Galvanised to fight fire with fire after Australia was subjected to a dirty tricks campaign in Montevideo in their qualification play-off for the 2002 World Cup, the wily Dutch master pulled a few strokes of his own to make sure the Uruguayans arrived for their crucial second leg in 2005 frazzled, jet-lagged and ripe for the picking.In a far-reaching interview to be screened today on The World Game, 1pm on SBS, Hiddink recalled how he chided legendary striker Mark Viduka over his weight to get the best out of him, ended his feud with golden goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and declared his desire to return to the furnace of top level coaching at the age of 68 - after walking away from the Netherlands national team job in June.
Due in Australia next week to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of that pivotal penalty shootout win at ANZ Stadium against Uruguay, the 16 November reunion bash will be Hiddink's his first trip Down Under since that memorable night.
But his memories of moulding a team high on commitment and desire into a tactically and technically adroit outfit capable of mixing it with the best are as lucid as ever.As is his sense of injustice over the 1-0 round of 16 loss to Italy in Germany, the result of a contentious last-gasp spot-kick awarded against Lucas Neill.
Getting to Germany at all was the hard part though, with Hiddink, the man who has won an eternal place in the hearts of Australian football fans, using all means - fair or foul - to make it happen.
“I was informed by staff of what had happened in 2001 against Uruguay and read reports about how chaotic it was for the Australian team in Montevideo and all the provocations ... that’s why I organised a training camp in Buenos Aires and to go into Uruguay at the latest hour," he said.Hiddink also orchestrated a mass block booking of seats on scheduled flights to Sydney to disrupt Uruguay's travel plans for the return leg.
“On the way back we had our private plane and I think Uruguay struggled get into Australia fresh, while we recovered fast after the 1-0 (first leg) loss," he said.
“Uruguay had to travel through Miami, Paris or whatever ... they had to go through regular flights and we also planned to go through regular flights and had some chairs blocked at the latest hour."
Hiddink rates his Socceroos experience as one of the most satisfying of a career that has seen him coach the Netherlands (twice), Real Madrid, Russia, Turkey and Chelsea.“It was beautiful time to work with the people … you have in your career some stepping stones which you put your foot on and this was one of the big ones,” he said.
“We had a mix of young and experienced … they were very committed but the balance between that and the approach to games was not quite right.
“There was a tendency to believe that commitment and fight was okay, but for me it was not enough."
Australia’s exit to Italy, however, still gnaws at him.
“The team deserved to go further but Italy got a gift from the referee," he added.
"I felt robbed because the team had worked so hard to prepare for the World Cup, and had done so well in qualification to beat Uruguay.
"They deserved to get into at least one more round.”
Hiddink insisted that the flame still burns bright for return to coaching, with another spell at Stamford Bridge a distinct possibility.
“The love of football is the main thing … it’s still my passion. I’ve had some possibilities but after leaving the Dutch team I wanted time off to reflect and refresh," he said.
“I don’t know what the future holds. It depends on the club or the country and it's difficult to predict but I must feel the challenge.
“I had beautiful time in London at Chelsea with qualifying for the Champions League and winning the FA Cup."And what of going back?
"That's an if, if question, and I don't answer those.”