Chelsea boss went over the top during playing days
Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink has revealed how he broke an opponent's leg during a moment of madness in his playing days.
The Stamford Bridge club have come under the spotlight for the ugly behaviour of several stars, most notably Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack, in the wake of their controversial UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Barcelona.
The Blues had four penalty appeals turned down by Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo and crashed out of the competition at the semi-final stage on away goals after Andres Iniesta's last-gasp leveller.
Hiddink defended his players in the wake of their unseemly antics, and has now revealed that his own emotions got the better off him when he was still a player, with serious consequences.
The Dutchman, who was playing for NEC Nijmegen, broke Robbie Bol's leg in a game against Fortuna Vlaardingen, an incident he has regretted ever since.
Awful
He said: "When I played I was an attacking midfielder player and was being personally marked.
"I felt the nails in my back and I was being kicked so I got very frustrated. Then I made a vicious tackle. I hit the man and, to be honest, he had a rather serious injury.
"After that I went and visited him in hospital with a box of chocolates. It is something I have had to live with and regret very much."
In his autobiography, This Is My World, Hiddink goes into more detail, writing: "Robbie was irritating me so much and he was such a pest on the pitch that I deliberately went for a flying tackle with my leg right up in the air.
"I can still hear the sound of the breaking of the bones in his leg.
"It was awful, it really was. I have never regretted something as a player as much."
Injustice
Hiddink is now keen for his players to move on from Wednesday night's ugly scenes and focus on their remaining Premier League fixtures and forthcoming FA Cup final against Everton.
He added: "I talked to the players about the emotion of the other night and injustice we experienced.
"But we can't keep focusing on that because there is still a lot at stake in the league and the FA Cup."
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