Hiddink Is No. 1 on China’s List
Having thanked Bora Milutinovic and sent him on his way, China’s soccer federation has turned its attention to finding a new coach.
The man it wants is Guus Hiddink, the Dutchman who in 18 months transformed South Korea from an also-ran into a legitimate contender on the international level.
China’s official Xinhau news agency Tuesday revealed that a four-person committee had narrowed the list of potential replacements for Milutinovic to three names, with Hiddink being the preferred candidate because of his “profound” understanding of Asian soccer and his reputation as a disciplinarian.
Hiddink, 56, is coaching PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands but maintains close contact with South Korea, which will certainly try to bring him back once qualifying starts for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The other coaches under consideration by the Chinese are French: Aime Jacquet, who led France to the 1998 World Cup, and Philippe Troussier, who coached Japan into the second round of the 2002 World Cup.
Asian Champions League
The Asian Football Confederation launched a new continent-wide club competition called the AFC Champions League, modeled on the hugely popular and lucrative European Champions League.
“After the success of the World Cup in Korea and Japan, everybody wants to invest in Asian football, everybody wants to be part of Asian football,” Peter Velappan, the confederation’s general secretary, said in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “It’s a gold mine.”
The AFC Champions League will feature 51 teams from 29 countries and a total of $3 million in prize money, with the winner getting $500,000.
J-League Scraps Overtime
Japanese soccer officials confirmed that the J-League will do away with sudden-death overtime starting in the 2003 season and will allow games that are tied after 90 minutes to end that way.
Rodriguez Heads for Germany
Defender Dario Rodriguez, who scored one of the finest goals of the World Cup--for Uruguay against Denmark--is set to leave Penarol, his Uruguayan club for the past three years, and sign for Schalke 04 of the German Bundesliga.
The 27-year-old left back, who once played for Toluca in Mexico, has played two dozen games for Uruguay since making his international debut two years ago.
Alpay Demands Transfer
Defender Alpay Ozalan, one of the key players for Turkey as it earned third place at Korea/Japan ‘02, has demanded to be released from his four-year contract with Aston Villa of the English Premier League.
The club said that Alpay, who has been with Villa for two years, wanted a 50% raise despite already being one of its highest-paid players. The club has refused that request.
