Van Zweden's ‘maestro’ Hiddink named SPO ambassador

For conductor Jaap van Zweden, football manager Guus Hiddink is his "maestro," the artistic director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra said during a press conference at Seoul City Hall on Monday.

On the same day, Hiddink, the first person ever to be given honorary South Korean citizenship, became the SPO’s first ambassador. In this honorary position, Hiddink will accompany the orchestra on its international tours, promote both the city and the orchestra, and participate in other activities.

Both Dutch-born, van Zweden and Hiddink have been friends for years, ever since Hiddink reached out to the conductor after watching a documentary and discovering many similarities in their seemingly different occupations as a football coach and a conductor.

"(In the documentary) I saw similarities of what we tried to do to get the best out of the individual player and to melt it to a team performance," Hiddink said.

Van Zweden said that to form a great team, each player must be well-prepared and listen carefully to others.

"When they listen to each other and when you realize what somebody else is doing that, your own work becomes better if you understand what the others are doing," van Zweden said, adding that anticipating the timing of other players is very important in both football games and orchestral performances.

Praising van Zweden's leadership and his team-building skills, Hiddink jokingly said that he would recommend the conductor to the Korea Football Association as a national football team coach.