• Abramovich proud of performance against Barcelona
Guus Hiddink now comprehends what it is to be a Chelsea manager. His reign has stretched to a little over 11 weeks, with three weeks and an FA Cup final to come, yet that brief period has become a microcosm of life at Stamford Bridge in recent seasons: a game of catch-up in the Premier League that does not quite yield the title, heart-wrenching elimination from the Champions League just as a first European Cup was looming large, and equal doses of controversy, fury, intrigue and ignominy surrounding some of his squad's most high-profile players.
Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant suffered similarly. Luiz Felipe Scolari might have, too, had he been offered an extended chance, and the postscript to the familiar scenario is normally the sack. Yet, while this club wallows in regret with only the showpiece at Wembley on the horizon to brighten the mood, Hiddink's primary disappointment is that all this will soon be left behind. "It'll be tough to leave it all, that's true," he conceded. "I love to work with this club. I'm not defending where they crossed the line but the way the boys reacted against Barcelona shows that there is such a very strong desire and personality in this team. They like to fight for their chances. I've worked with them with a lot of joy."
Few interim managers hired from afar can have settled as smoothly as the Dutchman. Hiddink, the firefighter lured on a part-time basis back in February, had always stressed his stay in west London would prove temporary. He had been recruited to secure Champions League qualification at a time when the campaign appeared to be unravelling as faith in Scolari waned. Such has been the revival he has overseen that victory at Arsenal on Sunday would now secure third place and automatic entry into next season's Champions League. Mission accomplished.
Yet, aside from their resurgent league form – which, had it not been for defeat at Spurs and a weary draw at home to Everton, might even have troubled Manchester United at the pinnacle – their progress in the cup competitions has transformed the season and whetted Hiddink's appetite. The FA Cup, the last trophy this club won back in 2007, still offers the Dutchman the chance of silverware, though the real hope had been in Europe. Andrés Iniesta's late equaliser, and Tom Henning Ovrebo's eccentric refereeing display, wrecked those dreams. Hiddink had hoped to go out on the ultimate high. Now, when he returns to the Russian national federation, those he leaves behind will still be contemplating what might have been.
"Chelsea have been very close last year, and in previous years, and now also this year," he said. "We were that close. The Champions League is very attractive to play, that's true. But our first aim, set back in February, was to qualify for the Champions League again, and we are close to achieving that. Then, when things are going well, you can't just be satisfied with aiming for third place at a big club like this, so we extended our targets. In February people would have raised their eyebrows if we said we'd get to a final. Now we are all the more determined to win it. I want to leave having won something.
"I've enjoyed working with this team. The players here aren't just enjoying a good life, putting their feet up in luxury. They want to perform at a big club. That makes it very enjoyable and difficult to leave. I feel as if I've been intrinsically involved with this club. I could have come here and just gone through the motions, done a daily routine, for three months. But that's not the way I like to work. OK, sure, you don't feel as if you're a part of things on day one but I had that after a week here. In the end, though, we part. That's just how it is. Let's not be too dramatic. That's life."
Hiddink may not have been the man to secure Chelsea's first European Cup after all but theirs will, at least, be an amicable divorce. He spoke with Roman Abramovich on Thursday, friends enduring intense disappointment at elimination together. "He said we'd put in a very good performance and we should be proud of the way we played against the best team in the world," said the Dutchman.
"We were all feeling a sense of injustice. We can partly be proud of what we achieved in the two legs against Barcelona. We can also be ultra-critical of our performance as to why we aren't in the final. But we have to go on." His brief stint at Stamford Bridge had hinted at glory. Now, well as he has done, he will depart at the end of the month having come close but not close enough.
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