Flying Dutchmen Hiddink and Van Basten lock horns

By Theo Ruizenaar

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - For Guus Hiddink and Marco van Basten 1988 figures prominently as the year when the two men, whose teams meet in Saturday's Euro 2008 quarter-finals, were in the full glare of the media spotlight.

Hiddink, 61, has steered unfancied Russia into the last eight after they recovered from a thrashing by Spain while the 43-year-old Van Basten's exciting Dutch side overwhelmed Italy and France to clinch a place in the quarters.

The pair, whose paths have rarely crossed over the years, will come face-to-face as coaches for the second time at the St Jakob Park stadium in Basel, with a place among the best four teams in Europe at stake.

The only other time Hiddink and Van Basten have been in opposite dugouts was for a warm-up match in Rotterdam ahead of the 2006 World Cup when the elder statesman was Australia coach and his team recovered to draw 1-1 with the Dutch.

Back in 1988 Hiddink had coached PSV Eindhoven to a domestic double before they completed a treble by winning the European Cup with a penalty shootout victory over Benfica in Stuttgart.

SUPERB VOLLEY

Nearly a month later in Munich, Netherlands striker Van Basten superbly volleyed a cross from Arnold Muhren over Soviet Union keeper Rinat Dasayev to seal a 2-0 win that captured the European Championship -- their first and only major trophy.

For Hiddink, PSV's success was the start of an impressive career as a coach that took him to clubs such as Fenerbahce, Valencia and Real Madrid before he accepted his first invitation to become a national manager with Netherlands in 1995.