Guus Hiddink, the Netherlands' 1998 World Cup team manager, has been hired by South Korea in an attempt to end its winless drought at the tournament and get through the first round for the first time in soccer's quadrennial tournament.

Given only 18 months to get things ready since his arrival in January 2001, Hiddink's job with the World Cup cohost has turned out to be one continuous fight against time limits. However, the Dutchman remains optimistic, both short term as regards the World Cup and long term for the future of Korean soccer.

Speaking to The Japan Times, Hiddink noted that his players have, so far, made good progress ahead of the World Cup.