Hiddink unbowed by Nou Camp cauldron

HOWEVER daunting Chelsea’s plunge into the Nou Camp cauldron tomorrow night, Guus Hiddink can take consolation in reflecting that it is hardly a leap into the unknown.

The majority of his squad have tasted the frenzy of European nights in Catalonia before, with varying degrees of success, while the Dutchman himself has been a regular visitor, thanks to his spells in charge of Valencia, Real Betis and, most memorably, Real Madrid, when his team were humbled in El Clasico.

Chelsea’s collective experience should bulwark their confidence as they seek to contain what is, by common consent, European football’s most sublime collection of attacking talents, and Hiddink is exuding the air of a man quietly confident of delivering a major shock.