According to Reuters, Russian press reports link Guus Hiddink and Dick Advocaat as the possible successors of Yuri Syomin as Russia's national football team Coach.

Russian newspapers have linked Australia's Coach Guus Hiddink and South Korea's Coach Dick Advocaat as the possible successors of Yuri Syomin, who had retired from Russia's national team for the failure of his team to qualify for the World Cup.

Russia's football chief Vitaly Mutko told reporters that he is in talks with foreign managers. "I had talks with three top foreign coaches and two of them have agreed to coach Russia," Mutko said, referring the Russian Football Federation's efforts to find someone who can guarantee the return to success for the Russian team.

"The problem is that most top coaches have contracts at least until the World Cup, so we may have to wait a bit to make an official announcement." Mutko also said that the Russian Federation is willing to pay between 2 and 5 million dollars a year for this contract.

Russia did not manage to qualify for the World Cup 2006 tournament, to be held in Germany in June, finishing third in Group 3, behind finalists Portugal and Slovakia. Russia's last qualifying game was a goalless draw against Slovakia, which gave the latter the chance to qualify in the two-leg playoff.

Russian daily newspaper Sovietsky Sport favours Guus Hiddink with 70% chances of becoming the next Coach for Russia.

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