PSV Eindhoven coach Guus Hiddink has been named as Australia’s coach.
Hiddink, who led the Holland (1998) and South Korea (2002) to the World Cup semi-finals, will remain in charge of his Dutch club while he prepares the Australia’s final qualifiers against the Solomon Islands in September.
The winner of that play-off will meet the fifth-placed South American team in another home and away play-off in November for a place in next year’s finals.
“Coming here now, with my past, it is not a guarantee for success,” Hiddink said.
“The only thing I can contribute, with all my efforts, is some knowledge and experience. In the end the players have to do it.
“I think this is a good challenge, in a very short time, to try and make the impossible, possible. And that’s qualifying for Germany 2006.
“Hopefully, when we have reached that big goal (of qualifying), of course we will talk about that (the future) going into the World Cup,” he said.
“We didn’t talk about (not qualifying), that means that we want to go well.
“That’s a different situation, let’s judge it at that moment.”
