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Hiddink: 'I'm thinking about it'
AAP
The first-choice for the Socceroos coaching job, Guus Hiddink, says he is considering the offer and is expected to make a final decision within days.
Hiddink has arrived in South Korea with his Dutch club PSV Eindhoven for the Peace Cup pre-season tournament - returning to the nation he guided to the 2002 World Cup semi-finals.
"I'm thinking about it," Hiddink told reporters about the Socceroos job.
"I know that Australia have some very good players and they took the Confederations Cup seriously and tried hard.
"I'm very satisfied with the job I'm doing here, but what will happen in the near future, you will see.
"I am happy with my current job at PSV Eindhoven, but since the World Cup is the crown in the world of football, it makes coaching a national team a very exciting challenge."
Football Federation Australia wants 58-year-old Hiddink to take on the role - initially until November when the Socceroos play against the fifth-placed South American side for a spot at the 2006 World Cup finals.
He tops a three-man shortlist, which includes fellow Dutchman Dick Advocaat and a South American candidate.
Hiddink has admitted to a Dutch sports magazine he has been offered coaching jobs in four countries, but is keenest on the challenge of guiding Australia to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1974.
If the FFA gets its man, Hiddink could be brought to Australia as soon as PSV completes its Peace Cup commitments on July 24 to be paraded as the Socceroos' new coach.
The sticking point could be the time he can devote to the role while keeping his current job with PSV.
As well as defending its Dutch championship title, PSV is also involved in the Champions League and the club will be loath to have its season interrupted by the Socceroos' push towards the World Cup finals.
But it is believed Hiddink has a clause in his contract allowing him to coach a national team for World Cup purposes.
As well as his heroics with South Korea, Hiddink also led Holland to the 1998 World Cup semi-finals and has coached Spanish giants Real Madrid, Valencia and Real Betis.
Hiddink will guide PSV in the second Peace Cup starting on Friday - an eight-team competition which pits it against some of the world's best club sides including Argentina's Boca Juniors and England's Tottenham Hotspur.