Moscow: Dutch coach Guus Hiddink said in an interview published on Monday that he has not ruled out extending his time at Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala -- despite saying that he would quit at the end of the season.
“Yes, I’ve said indeed that I was set to quit my career at the end of this season, it’s true,” he was quoted as saying by the Sport Express daily. “But if Anzhi stay ambitious in their aspirations for the future, everything is possible.”
The 66-year-old said that at the beginning of his work in Makhachkala the project of transforming the team from the capital of Russia’s Caucasian republic of Dagestan into a serious football club looked uncertain.
But he added: “Now after around a year at the helm, I can say that Anzhi have got the image of a serious club with significant ambitions, not only in Russia but in Europe also.
“People now take us seriously because we’ve got a serious attitude about what we’re doing. And that’s what I enjoy most of all in my work with Anzhi”
Hiddink said the club had ambitions to be among Russia’s best, alongside the four Moscow clubs and reigning champions Zenit St Petersburg, while the goal for the second half of the season is European success.
Hiddink said that the club had become more professional, while improvements to facilities, including a new stadium in Makhachkala and the creation of a youth academy had also helped. AFP
