Netherlands icon Patrick Kluivert named as supervisor of worldwide minnows
Patrick Kluivert – one of the greatest Dutch football players of all time – has become the manager of a national side placed 127th in FIFA’s rankings
Netherlands and Barcelona legend Patrick Kluivert has taken up the job as manager of the Indonesia National Football Team.
Kluivert’s main task with Indonesia is to take them to their first World Cup since their independence from the Netherlands.
The 48-year-old has signed a two-year contract, taking his stay in Indonesia to 2027. There is an option for extension which will undoubtedly be influenced by whether Indonesia reach the 2026 World Cup or not
Kluivert was heavily linked with the national side job after Indonesia sacked South Korean Shin Tae-yong on Monday (January 6). The sacking came as a surprise after Shin took the country into the crucial third round of Asian qualifying for the World Cup in North America.
In fact, Kluivert’s appointment hasn’t gone down well with fans at all as many were still behind Shin. But an official for the Indonesian FA said: “Shine had communication problems with the European players. That’s why the replacement is a Netherlands coach.”
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Most players within the Southeast Asian side were actually born in the Netherlands but chose to represent Indonesia. Some players who may familiar to British fans are Swansea’s Nathan Tjoe-A-On and Oxford United’s Marselino Ferdinan.
Indonesia are currently third in their World Cup qualifying group. Australia and Japan top the table as expected.
The last time Indonesia qualified for the World Cup was in 1938, when they were under Dutch rule.
Kluivert began coaching in 2008 when he was an assistant at AZ Alkmaar. Now more than a decade into his managerial career, one that hasn’t shone like he did as a player, he has been handed arguably his biggest task with Indonesia.
