Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both clubs and countries from across the globe to achieve various titles and feats. With PSV Eindhoven he won the European Champions Cup, the predecessor of the UEFA Champions League. Playing career Hiddink was born in Varsseveld and started his career as a player in the youth side of amateur club SC Varsseveld. He turned professional after signing on for Dutch club De Graafschap in 1967. Hiddink played at the Doetinchem club under manager Piet de Visser. In 1973, Hiddink and manager de Visser earned promotion to the Eredivisie, the top league in Dutch football. Ever since, the careers of the two Dutchmen have intersected: De Visser scouted numerous South American players, such as PSV players Ronaldo, Romário (who played under Hiddink at PSV from 1988 until 1990) and former Chelsea defender Alex, for Hiddink's PSV. Also, De Visser, in his role as personal advisor to Roman Abramovich, was influential in bringing Hiddink to the Russia national team and more recently to Chelsea as caretaker manager following the dismissal of Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari. He spent most of his playing career at De Graafschap, including three years under de Visser, and remains a fan of the club. He joined PSV in 1970, but after failing to win a permanent position in the team, he rejoined De Graafschap after just one year and remained there until 1977. In 1981, he rejoined De Graafschap and retired a year later. He generally played as a midfielder during his playing days. Managerial career Early club career Having honed his coaching skills as an assistant manager, Hiddink took over the managerial role at PSV Eindhoven in March 1987 after also holding the assistant manager position for the club from 1983 to March 1987. Hiddink took over in March 1987, whilst the team was trailing by three points behind Ajax with ten matches remaining in the league. PSV, however, managed to win the championship six points ahead of Ajax. It was at PSV where he led the team to its first ever European Cup triumph in 1988 (and The Treble), affirming the Eindhoven club's ranking as one of the three giants of Dutch football, alongside rivals Ajax