Soccer

Guus Hiddink says Chelsea players needed a bit ‘more rugby’

Dutchman claims side were too much of a soft touch when he took over after Mourinho

Interim Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink: “I don’t say you must be a wrestler on the pitch, but you have this physical contact.” Photograph: Tony O’Brien/Reuters
Interim Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink: “I don’t say you must be a wrestler on the pitch, but you have this physical contact.” Photograph: Tony O’Brien/Reuters
Tue Mar 01 2016 - 01:00

Chelsea interim boss Guus Hiddink likes to see his players on the edge and says the club "needed a bit more rugby" after replacing José Mourinho in December.

Hiddink was lauding the effect training in other sports can have on a squad after the former judo yellow-belt saw fellow Dutchman and judo enthusiast Louis van Gaal go to ground during Manchester United’s win over Arsenal on Sunday.

The United boss hit the deck with a dive as he remonstrated with fourth official Mike Dean over an on-field decision – and Hiddink said his compatriot's history in judo would have helped him land unhurt.

“I saw it, you could see he had been educated also by his physical teacher, he is practising judo also by the way he fell down,” Hiddink said.

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“It wasn’t very fluently the way he went down. I also had some judo so I’m able to do so as well.”

While Hiddink said he could have executed a similar fall, he said he would never follow his managerial rival in doing so. He did praise the effect judo training can have on a footballer, revealing he felt his Chelsea side were too much of a soft touch on his return as interim manager.

Asked if he still did any judo, the 69-year-old said: “No, but boxing with my partner! She wins. I’m not joking. You know at the end women are strong. I make a combination of handball and rugby, for warming up [his players]. Because in rugby – I love to see rugby also – you are entitled, when one has the ball, to grab and make a wrestling move.

“Not punching them. It’s also mental part. If they are going into a fight, within the rules, transferred to football, you can gain a lot from other sports including rugby.”

Wrestling

When he asked about the strength of his Chelsea squad, he said: “It needed a bit more rugby. We installed it at my team with PSV as well, with the youngsters’ education in the academy. We encouraged, we installed and we organised wrestling, because you need it when you are on the pitch.

“I don’t say you must be a wrestler on the pitch, but you have this physical contact. And if you do those exercises, you get very well the feeling of balance, how you can fight in duels. That is very important.”

Hiddink will be sending out his "fighters" at out-of-form Norwich this evening, though he will be without the injured John Terry and Pedro.