Patrick Kluivert should not experience any culture shock as he begins his tenure as Indonesia’s head coach. Most players on the men’s national team were born or raised in the Netherlands, the country where Kluivert established himself as a prolific striker.
The rapid naturalization of foreign players who can represent Indonesia through their parents or grandparents is the main reason why the former FC Barcelona and Ajax star was appointed by the Indonesian Football Federation.
Indonesia and the Netherlands share historical ties dating back centuries, with Indonesia declaring independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945.
Kluivert, 48, was confirmed as the new manager on Wednesday, replacing Shin Tae-yong, the South Korean coach who was fired due to tensions two days earlier.
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Since Shin’s arrival in Jakarta in 2020, Indonesia has achieved unprecedented results and is on track to qualify for the 2026 World Cup for the first time since 1938, when it participated as Dutch Indies.
With four matches remaining in the third round of the Asian qualifiers, Indonesia ranks third in its six-team group, just one point behind second-place Australia.
The top two teams from each group automatically qualify for the 2026 tournament, while the teams finishing in third and fourth place respectively will advance to the next round in Asia. This progress, which also included a first place finish in the knockout stages of the Asian Cup last January, made Shin popular in Indonesia.
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Joko Widodo served as Indonesia’s president for most of Shin’s term.
“I know coach Shin very well, and in my opinion, he has a charming personality and a great ability to interact with people,” Widodo said Tuesday, before leaving office in October. “If you ask me if I like Shin, of course I do. But as it should be, the decision was made by the federation.”
Shin’s son, Shin Jae-won, is a professional footballer in South Korea and criticized the federation’s decision.
“In the last five years, Indonesia has climbed 50 places in the FIFA rankings and is third in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, and yet they part ways with the coach?” Shin wrote on social media.
Results have improved, but the character and identity of the team has changed. In November, a celebrated 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in World Cup qualifying was marked by the fact that eight of the starting eleven were naturalized players.
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Plans are underway to naturalize more Dutch-born players in the coming months. Football Association president Erick Thohir believes Kluivert will be a more natural fit for this team and will be able to communicate his message more effectively than his Korean-speaking predecessor.
“We see the need for a leader who can better implement the strategies agreed by the players and who has better communication skills,” Thohir said.
Ultimately, the success of this decision will be judged by the results on the ground. Kluivert’s journey begins with a crucial playoff match against Australia in Sydney on March 20.
Five days later, Indonesia will host Bahrain in Jakarta. The third round concludes in June with matches against China and group leaders Japan.
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“We’re in a different league compared to Japan, but winning against Saudi Arabia was a very good result,” said former national striker Greg Nwokolo. “I hope it’s the right decision. If the new coach succeeds, the federation will be praised, but if he fails, it means our dreams will be shattered.”
Kluivert had a distinguished playing career, winning the Champions League with Ajax, and has previous experience as national coach with Curaçao.
The former AC Milan and Newcastle striker was also assistant coach to Louis van Gaal with the Netherlands and Clarence Seedorf with Cameroon. Kluivert is due to arrive in Jakarta this Saturday before his official presentation on Sunday.
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The federation announced in a press release that Kluivert was hired for the period 2025-2027, with an option to extend the contract.
This article was translated from Spanish by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
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