Hiddink gets unlikely results with style and wit

By Sonia Oxley

VIENNA (Reuters) - Coach Guus Hiddink has made a habit out of turning pipe dreams into reality.

The Dutchman has taken an inexperienced Russia side to a Euro 2008 semi-final meeting with Spain, the latest in a string of unlikely feats with unfancied teams.

Not only that but he has done it in style.

As Russia's first foreign coach, the 61-year-old has transformed a drab and defensive team into an exciting and attack-minded side that outclassed Netherlands in the quarter-finals with a better brand of Dutch-style football.

He has instilled in his teams the importance of playing entertaining football, while also keeping their wits about them.

Hiddink's resume speaks for itself.

A World Cup semi-final with South Korea in 2002, taking Australia to the knockout stages in the 2006 edition and winning a treble including the European Cup with PSV Eindhoven in 1988.

A modest and down-to-earth man, he says there is no magic ingredient behind his ability to turn average players into a group of championship contenders.