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National team coach Guus Hiddink, who has become a hero to Korea following a successful World Cup, has refused to answer reporters' questions about his future, saying only that the competition isn't over yet, and he wants to take a two month vacation when it is. Hiddink's contract with the Korea Football Association is finished on June 30 and so many are expecting some form of announcement before then.
At the moment, the chances of him remaining in Korea are slim and although KFA head Chung Mong-joon has proposed he remain on at least until the Busan Asian Games in September, he has yet to receive a reply. Many world famous clubs have called on him to manage their teams, according to one of Hiddink's aides; especially from the Netherlands and Spain, where he has coached before.
The KFA and Korean soccer fans wish Hiddink will stay, but since he has accomplished the huge task of making the national team a World class one, and loves challenges, he seems to have hinted that he is more likely to leave.
Whether he stays or leaves, his legacy will remain, with the government considering making him an honorary citizen, and even though he may no longer be in charge of the team, he may take a role as an outside adviser. To Koreans, Hiddink is no longer a foreigner.
(Kang Ho-chul, jdean@chosun.com )
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