| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 3 September 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Varsseveld, Netherlands | ||
| Position | Central defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| SC Varsseveld | |||
| 1972–1975 | De Graafschap | ||
| 1975–1976 | Groningen | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976-1985 | Groningen | 286 | (7) |
| 1985–1986 | Veendam | 34 | (1) |
| 1986–1988 | De Graafschap | 64 | (2) |
| Total | 384 | (10) | |
| International career | |||
| 1971–1972 | Netherlands U16 | 6 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1988-1991 | De Graafschap (assistant) | ||
| 1992-1995 | HSC '21 | ||
| 1995-1997 | SV Rheden | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Karel Hiddink (born 3 September 1956) is a Dutch retired football player who played as a central defender.
Born in Varsseveld, Hiddink had a lenghty spell at Groningen, with whom he clinched promotion to the Eredivisie in 1980. He was voted player of the year in the Eerste Divisie that year. He played in the 1983–84 UEFA Cup with them, famously beating Spanish giants Atlético Madrid in the first round and narrowly losing out to Italian powerhouse Inter Milan in the second. Hiddink captained the team at the time.
With Veendam he later also won promotion to the top tier.
In 2022 he was honoured by Groningen before a match agianst RKC as one of the club's all-time heroes.
Hiddink played 6 games for the Netherlands national under-16 football team.
Hiddink worked as an assistant to managers Ben Zweers and Simon Kistemaker at De Graafschap and was head coach of amateur side SV Rheden.
Karel is a younger brother of Guus Hiddink.