Former national soccer coach Guus Hiddink will take over Russia after the World Cup in Germany.

News reports on Thursday quoted Russian Football Union President Vitaly Mutko as saying the Dutchman coach has signed a two-year deal worth 2.43 million dollars a year to take effect after he leads Australia to this year' tournament.

Leading his native Netherlands to the 1998 World Cup semifinals and repeating the feat with South Korea in 2002, Hiddink will hold a news conference Friday to formally announce his appointment.

The contract is good through the end of the European Championships in 2008, and could run as long as the 2010 World Cup in South Africa depending on his performance.

Hiddink is also the first foreign coach of the Russian team after Moscow rejoined soccer's world governing body FIFA in 1992 after the breakup of the Soviet Union.