Mr. Hiddink, A Job Offer, If You're Interested

According to Soccernet, Guus Hiddink remains tight-lipped about his future. Now that Russia has been surprisingly eliminated from World Cup contention, chances are he'll be released from his contract by the Russian football federation to pursue coaching opportunities elsewhere.

Having enjoyed success at Chelsea last year under some very difficult circumstance, Hiddink may be inclined to return to club management, especially in the Premier League. Even a return to Real Madrid, should Manuel Pellegrini fail to mesh a cohesive and winning side, is a strong possibility for Hiddink.

Guus Hiddink is a man who loves a challenge. I mean, why else would he risk his reputation nine years ago by assuming the management role of the South Korea national team, a squad known for precious little?

Or, years later, agree to coach the Australian national team, knowing he'd have to not just put together a competitive team, but fight against the popularity of Australian Rules rugby, in a nation that had a low soccer profile?

In both cases, Hiddink rose to the occasion and turned in stellar performances; both South Korea, in 2002, and Australia in 2006 played far better than expected, further solidifying Hiddink's reputation as something of a miracle worker. A stretch of a superlative, yes, but he's earned that rep.

For a man who loves a challenge, moving back into club management may be a bit of a step back. For a manager of his profile, Hiddink's club options may be minimal. As for the EPL, he may have two offers: Liverpool and Manchester City—if Rafa Bentez does get sacked at Liverpool, should the Reds' below-par play continue, Hiddink may be Candidate No. 1 for Liverpool's ownership.

Mark Hughes at City is under similar scrutiny; the Citizens are playing well, but with expectations coming after a massive cash influx of talent being ridiculously high (and some injury issues that may come back to haunt City), Hughes is expected to win and win now. Same goes for Real Madrid, if Los Galacticos continue to merely win, and not obliterate their opponents.

Italy's Serie A may be a better option, but unless Jose Mourinho suddenly goes into a tailspin at Inter—and with AC Milan's recent better play removing the red-hot spotlight from Leonardo—chances are his options at Serie A will be limited; Hiddink is clearly too high-profile a coach and personality for the likes of mid-tier squads like Genoa.

But, again, Hiddink loves a challenge, so one never knows where his mindset is at this point.

So, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, Mr. Hiddink, and although this may seem a long shot, may I offer you the opportunity to coach the United States national team?

Are you reading this, Sunil Gulati? Here's you chance to make some real change for the USMNT.

Yes, Bob Bradley is current the head coach of the USMNT, and, despite a lot of the flack he's taking, Bradley's done a good job with this team.Bradley's in possession of the best talent the US Soccer Federation has ever developed, but, clearly, the USMNT needs to make a giant leap forward.

Sure, their surprising run during the Confederations Cup, but there's this inclination that qualifying for the World Cup is good enough, even if Sunil Gulati and Charlie Davies thinks this current side is good enough to win the whole thing. Ah, one can dream, can't they?

The truth is, the USMNT is only as good as their coach, and Bradley's shown a distressing trend towards being grossly outcoached. Case in point: the Gold Cup final against Mexico; Bradley failed to recognize Mexico's second-half dominance of the match, and his substitutions, once the US was down 4-0, were too little too late.

Of course, replacing a head coach once he's guided his team past the WC qualifiers is pretty uncommon, but the opportunity to bring Hiddink on board, were he available, is, in my opinion, too great to pass up.

With Hiddink as the side's manager, he'll bring that soccer know-how, that European style of fast and physical soccer that the USMNT is sorely lacking. It's not enough just to qualify for the World Cup; the USMNT must be consistent mainstays in the knockout stages.

If they're going to enjoy their relatively high FIFA-ranking, then they better earn it. They're not going to earn it with Bob Bradley as their manager. But they will with Guus Hiddink. Sunil Gulati talks about the USMNT achieving global recognition; he, like every US soccer fan (myself included) wants more than just condescending praise from the likes of Spain and Brazil's coaches; we want them to be very afraid of taking the USMNT lightly.

So here's your chance, Mr. Gulati. Seize upon it, for the sake of the US Soccer Federation, for your reputation, and for Sam's Army.

(Besides, I'm not the only one who thinks Hiddink will someday end up coaching the USMNT; Simon Kuper, author of Soccer Against the Enemy and the more recent Soccernomics —a terrific book I will be writing about here soon—believes Hiddink taking over the coaching reins in the US is all but inevitable)

Again, I know this is a long shot, but if Hiddink is and will be available, Sunil Gulati owes it to the US Soccer Federation to at least make Hiddink a job proposal. He'll probably turn it down, but it doesn't hurt to ask.