Soccer:Guus Hiddink has announced he will leave his post as Russia coach when his contract expires in the summer.
The 63-year-old Dutchman, who has been linked with a number of club and national team jobs in recent months, has been at the helm of the Russia team since 2006.
Hiddink steered them to the Euro 2008 semi-finals, having beaten England to a place in the tournament, but Russia then failed to qualify for this summer's World Cup.
The former South Korea and Australia boss confirmed today that, following a meeting with new Russian federation president Sergei Fursenko, they had decided to part ways.
"After a very pleasant conversation with the new federal president it was decided that after my contract expires on June 30th we will part ways," Hiddink wrote in his column in Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
"We decided this now in order to give the federation sufficient time to find a successor."
Hiddink, who managed Chelsea for a spell last season, was linked in newspaper reports with Juventus and Liverpool last month while Nigeria, China and Turkey are also said to have made enquiries.
-PA