"He was and is still [one of the best]," Hiddink insisted. "These kind of goalies are so determined, so ambitious, so detailed in their work. I experienced that with him [during his first caretaker spell in 2009] when we were looking on the computer about how players' feet were standing when they took a shot to guess whether the ball will curve to the left or the right.
"He is doing his job and goalies like this can go on as long as they maintain their fitness, even now at 33. He's a very good example of professionalism. I think he has proven in recent years that he is one of the best in the world.
"In a season even when you are at the top, you are not always good in 38 games. You have a certain period -- mostly in October and November when the leaves start falling a bit -- that the team might drop, and the good goalies in that period make points for your team. He is doing it."
Asked if Chelsea made a mistake in selling Cech to Arsenal, Hiddink replied: "It's difficult to give a judgement when you're not there at the moment the decision was taken. They had also a strong goalie with Courtois and at certain moments you have to make a decision.
"They made a decision because this upcoming young man had to play as well. It's easy to make a judgement when you are now more than a year [removed] from the decision. But I must say Petr has reacted very well."
"I was here when Petr showed up," Hiddink revealed. "It was nice to see him. We had a chat. Almost everyone was gone. We tried to hide them, also we tried to make them slippery but he discovered that. They were sent here and we gave them back. That's the story."
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