Russia coach and the new Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink revealed that the main reason for his arrival at Stamford Bridge was his
friendship with the club owner Roman Abramovich.
Hiddink will take over the team on Monday, but he attended the Thursday
practice of the troubled London team to gain a first hand insight
of their abilities.
Until the end of the season, the Dutchman will coach both Russia
and Chelsea and will earn 2.5 million euros for a mere three months
in charge of the Premiership club.
"When Roman asked me to work at the club until the end of the season, I could not say no," said Hiddink during his presentation.
"Chelsea are active on several fronts, the Champions League,
the FA Cup and of course the championship. Although we trail Manchester United by 10 points (in fact seven, with United having a game in
hand), the race for the title is not over. There have been turnarounds
in this league and in other championships," added Luiz Felipe Scolari's successor.
Two men have come from Russia to the Premiership in the last ten
days. Andrei Arshavin joined Arsenal from Zenit and Guus Hiddink
came to Chelsea's salvation.
The pair have collaborated well to make Russia an important feature
on the European soccer scene, but Arshavin believes that his national team will be hurt by Hiddink's sharing of duties.
"It's good that Hiddink remains Russia's manager, but I distinctly
dislike the whole idea," said the new Gunner.
"If Hiddink does well, and he has been successful wherever
he coached, I am afraid both parties will decide to extend the cooperation.
I am convinced Russia are only half as good without him. Frankly,
we are so much accustomed to him that we would be completely disoriented
should he leave. He is irreplaceable."
Another motive for Arshavin's concern is Chelsea's reinforcement.
"However much I like him, I'm not pleased he is so close to
me again."
Benfica of Lisbon are the most loved club in the world, taking
in to account the number of members, while Manchester United are
third, according to the Brazilian newspaper Exame.
No less than 200,000 people hold Benfica's membership card, 30,000
more than United. Barcelona are between the two, in second place,
with 180,000 paying members.
Other clubs above 100,000 members are Bayern, Real Madrid, Sporting
Lisbon and Porto, proof of how well the Portuguese work with their
fans.
Across the Atlantic, the best loved team are Boca Juniors from Buenos
Aires, counting 150,000 card holders. The membership does not guarantee
access to Bombonera Stadium, whose capacity is a mere 60,000 seats.
The right to a seat is determined by seniority so fathers sign their
sons up for membership as soon as they are born so that they could
attend the games when they grow up.
In South America, just behind Boca are Internacional of Porto Alegre
with 83,000 and River Plate of Buenos Aires with 82,000 members.
Last week FC Barcelona became the first Spanish club with with
an officially endorsed fan club exclusive to homosexuals.
The penya (fan club) called the "Blue-crimson association for
gay and lesbian fans" is modeled after similar groups in Germany.
The chairman Pep Ribes claims he encountered support rather than
prejudices when he approached the Catalan giants.
"We are not a usual association, not like most of the fan clubs.
Our motive is twofold: support the club and fight against homophobia
and sexual discrimination. We would like Barcelona to pioneer the
struggle against sexual discrimination, as they have always done
on the issues of solidarity and humanism," said Ribes.
In Germany, the clubs that have fan clubs for homosexuals include
Bayern, Bayer Leverkusen, Hertha, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and St. Pauli.
The French Paris SG is also noted for a sexually specialized fan
group.
The Welsh wizard Ryan Giggs extended his contract with Manchester United until June 2010, the club announced on Thursday.
A couple of days earlier, Giggs gave United three points with a
marvellous goal away to West Ham. The goal means this is the 19th
season in a row in which Giggs has scored at least one goal in the
English championship, since he netted his first in 1990/91. This
is the longest scoring run in English soccer among active players.
Alex Ferguson praised Giggs for his "super professional attitude"
and his healthy lifestyle.
"He is a real inspiration for all kids who want to become successful
football players," said Sir Alex.
In last season's Champions League finals Giggs broke Bobby Charlton's
record of 758 caps for the Red Devils. In his career he won two
Champions Leagues, ten League titles, four FA Cups and a number
of other honours including League Cups, European Supercups and the
World Club Cups.
Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager since 1986, has become the longest-running soccer manager in the United Kingdom.
During his tenure at Old Trafford as many as 923 managers have been
replaced in all four top flights, including 18 at Carlisle, the club with the highest fluctuation of coaches in England.
Taking into account only the current members of the Premier League,
the most managers have been utilized by Portsmouth. The recently
sacked, former Gunner, Tony Adams has been the 14th coach replaced at Fratton Park.
On the other hand, Arsenal have used the fewest coaches since 1986,
as Arsene Wenger is only the third coach at Highbury in Ferguson's
era.
Rafael Benítez is the fifth Liverpool's coach to challenge
Sir Alex's United, while Guus Hiddink is the 12th coach at Chelsea.
