Southeast Asia Indonesia

Dutch Legend Patrick Kluivert Appointed as Indonesia NT Boss

The Football Federation of Indonesia (PSSI) has appointed legendary Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert as the new head coach of the Indonesia national team.

Kluivert, who had a successful career as a player with the likes of Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Newcastle United, was appointed to a two-year contract with the option to extend for two more years.

His coaching staff will include Alex Pastoor – who took Almere City to the Eredivisie for the first time in their history back in 2022/23 and former Wigan Athletic player Denny Landzaat, with more to be announced in due time.

As the new boss of the Indonesia national team, Kluivert will face three massive challenges that would define his tenure there.

Firstly, was to build upon the foundations set upon by predecessor Shin Tae-yong and push Indonesia towards the 2026 FIFA World Cup, either through direct qualification by finishing in the top two spots of their third round qualifier group, or through the fourth round of qualification and beyond. The Timnas Garuda will have two matches at home that are manageable on paper, against Bahrain on March 25th and China on June 5th, although Indonesia will also face two tough away trips to Australia on March 20th and runaway group leaders Japan on June 10th.

Secondly, Kluivert must win over the legions of Indonesian supporters who are still loyal towards the departed Tae-yong. The South Korean has proven to be an immensely popular figure within the Indonesia support thanks to how he had turned the national team’s fortunes around, and once again turned them into a competitive side within Southeast Asia after several years of stagnation, as well as turning Indonesia into a rising force within Asian football, albeit Tae-yong has yet to win any major honors with Indonesia throughout his time there.

With several sections of the fanbase already calling for his sacking before his appointment, Kluivert will have massive boots to fill and would have his work cut out for him to sway the massive and loyal Indonesia fanbase to his side.

Last but not least, Kluivert will have the opportunity to use the Indonesia job to prove himself that he’s not only a capable player, but also a capable head coach.

Having studied under the likes of Ange Postecoglou and Louis van Gaal, Kluivert’s only senior head coach jobs were two unremarkable spells at Curacao from 2015 to 2016 as well as in 2021 and a brief stint at Turkish Super Lig side Adana Demirspor in 2023.

And while Curacao fans are warning their Indonesian counterparts that Kluivert had been an underwhelming head coach at the Caribbeans, to Kluivert’s defense, his time at Adana Demirspor, while brief, was an improvement, as they missed out on the UEFA Conference League group stages on penalties at the hands of Belgian heavy favorites Genk, and by the time Kluivert departed Adana Demirspor the club were fifth in the Super Lig table.

Kluivert also oversaw the growth of his son Justin at the Ajax academy, with the player now blossoming into a formidable Premier League player at Bournemouth, as well as handling the likes of Nani, Benjamin Stambouli, Younes Belhanda, and Mario Balotelli at Adana Demirspor, which shows that he is able to handle the characters within the Indonesia dressing room.

Should Kluivert is able to handle these challenges, he would not only prove the many who doubted him wrong, but the gamble that the PSSI took by sacking the revered Tae-yong would be proven to be a masterstroke. But only time would tell and Kluivert’s baptism of fire would be a tough one – away at the Sydney Football Stadium against Australia in the World Cup qualifiers on March.