South Korea will get back on track: Hiddink

South Korea are going through a rough patch but will regain the edge they displayed to reach the soccer World Cup semi-finals a year ago, their former coach Guus Hiddink said on Thursday.

Now PSV Eindhoven's coach, Hiddink was in town for a club tournament, the Peace Cup, and to help promote Dutch trade.

South Korea have won just once since beating Spain on penalties in the World Cup quarter-finals. Under Humberto Coelho, their only win has been a 1-0 victory over 2002 World Cup co-hosts Japan.

Hiddink told a news conference he had lunch with long-time acquaintance Coelho but they hardly talked about the team. He said South Korea's soccer federation had asked him who to hire.

"I advised to sign Mr Coelho because I knew first of all what is very important in our rough world of football is a very good person," he said of the ex-Portugal coach.

"He knows that he has to change a little bit after the success of last year," said Hiddink, who still has near-cult status in South Korea.

"I think it is rather noble because there is a high expectation at this moment, not a realistic expectation, that the Korean team must win, win, win every match," he said.

"Of course that's the intention. But there is now the time of transition so that they can focus on the qualifying games in 2004, 2005 and the World Cup in 2006."

He said South Korea were no longer an unknown quantity.

"Every opponent now, whether it is Argentina or all the big countries, they take it very seriously to play Korea," he said.

He said it was a good experience for the new players.

"I think they will need time and I think they will be competitive, as they were last year," said Hiddink.

Hiddink said it was vital for Seoul to have a professional team if its K-League was to be taken seriously. Seoul has at least two big stadiums -- including the venue used for the World Cup opening ceremony -- but no professional side. Most K-League clubs are owned by big conglomerates and are based in provincial cities.

"This is such a huge capital I think we can have two professional teams," he said. "I'm strongly in favour."

Hiddink said he had set up a foundation to help the underprivileged, mainly in South Korea. He said it would focus on sports, for example for the handicapped, but do other work, too.