JAKARTA: Netherlands and Barcelona great Patrick Kluivert on Sunday said he aims to take football-mad Indonesia to their first World Cup since independence, as he was officially unveiled as their new coach.
The 48-year-old former striker inherits a side featuring mostly players born in the Netherlands and naturalised to represent the Southeast Asian nation.
“Everybody knows we will be playing four games, four finals, and we want to achieve what we want to achieve,“ Kluivert told a press conference in Jakarta.
“The most important thing is to have results, and impact.”
Kluivert has signed a two-year contract from 2025 to 2027 with a two-year extension option, according to Indonesia’s football association (PSSI).
He arrived in Indonesia late Saturday with former Dutch midfielder Denny Landzaat who will serve as one of his assistant coaches.
The Dutchman had been widely linked with the role after Indonesia controversially sacked South Korean coach Shin Tae-yong on Monday.
Shin took Indonesia, who are 127th in the FIFA rankings, into the decisive third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Indonesia have only been to the World Cup once, in 1938, when they were under Dutch colonial rule.
Indonesia are sitting third in their qualifying group after one win and three draws in six games.
The top two go straight to North America, with the third and fourth going into another qualifying round.
Indonesia’s next qualifier is a crunch trip in March to Australia, who are second in Asian qualifying Group C but just a point ahead.
“Everybody needs the will to achieve this goal, and we need to do this together. Everybody needs to stand behind the team,“ Kluivert added.
A PSSI source previously told AFP Kluivert was chosen because he would be able to communicate with the naturalised players who mostly speak Dutch.
Amsterdam-born Kluivert retired as a player in 2008 after a stellar career that started at Ajax, where he won the Champions League, before moving to AC Milan and then Barcelona.
Kluivert’s managerial career has not been nearly as spectacular. His last coaching role was in charge of Adana Demirspor in Turkey for five months in 2023.
Before that, he was caretaker manager of Curacao in 2021.
