3. Guus Hiddink
Another manager in the frame for the Tottenham job, and also a return to England, is Gus Hiddink. Like Di Matteo, Hiddink is a free agent after walking out on Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala earlier this year, and the veteran boss could be tempted by the chance to give the Premier League another go before retirement. The Dutchman has coached some of the biggest teams on the continent - Valencia, Real Madrid, PSV Eindhoven and Chelsea, and could return to London if a vacancy opens at White Hart Lane. Hiddink's time with Chelsea was all to brief - but almost perfect. He guided the Blues to the Champions League semi-finals as interim manager during the 2008-09 season, and lost just one league game in charge, before going on to win the FA Cup with the club at the end of his tenure. Fans wanted him to stay, but he had commitments with the Russian national team, and walked away, becoming the only manager under the Roman Abramovich era not to be sacked. Other achievements include winning the European treble (Eredivisie, Dutch Cup and European Cup) with Eindhoven; taking both the Netherlands and South Korea to a fourth place finish in the 1998 World Cup and 2002 World Cup respectively; leading Australia to their best ever finish in the 2006 World Cup and leading Russia to the semi-finals of Euro 2008. Regarded as one of the finest managers of his generation, Tottenham fans could probably look past the fact he managed bitter rivals Chelsea were he to be installed as Villas-Boas' successor one day.
Joseph Dempsey
Contributor
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
See more from
Joseph