Profile Of Patrick Kluivert, Candidate To Replace Shin Tae-yong In The Indonesian National Team

Patrick Kluivert is predicted to have officially become the new coach of the Indonesian national team (Instagram/@patrickkluiver).

JAKARTA The former Dutch National Team striker, Patrick Kluivert, is said to be occupying the position of coach of the Indonesian national team. He filled the vacant chair left by Shin Tae-yong (STY).

The All Football Association (PSSI) officially announced a farewell to STY at a press conference that took place at Danareksa Tower, Central Jakarta, on Monday, January 6, 2025.

After Shin Tae-yong's dismissal, the name Kluivert as the new coach candidate for the Indonesian national team strengthened. Journalist and world football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, even confirmed it to his 23 million followers on social media X.

In the tweet, Fabrizio said that Kluivert had reached an agreement to handle the Garuda Squad. He will be contracted for two years with the option of an extension of two more years.

Patrick Kluivert is scheduled to be introduced as a new coach on Sunday, January 12, 2025. He bears a big target of bringing the Indonesian national team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

The emergence of the name Kluivert has drawn many pros and cons among Indonesian supporters. The former Barcelona player and AC Milan are considered to have not had a striking coaching resume so they are doubtful.

What did Patrick Kluiver like as a player and coach do? Here's the full profile.

Former Top Player, But Doubted As Coach

Kluivert whose full name is Patrick Stephan Kluivert is one of the Dutch football legends who played as a striker. He was born on July 1, 1976 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The former Dutch National Team player is known as one of the deadly strikers. He is not far from football after retiring by deciding to become a coach at several clubs and countries.

Kluivert was born to the couple Kenneth Kluivert, a former professional footballer from Suriname, and Lidwina Kluivert who came from Curacao. The beginning of Kluivert's career began with Ajax Amsterdam when he was seven years old.

He then grew rapidly and made his debut with the first team on August 21, 1994 when he was 18 years old. In 25 matches at the Eredivisie during his debut season with the Dutch giant, Kluiver managed to score 18 goals.

One of the most iconic moments of Kluiver's career occurred in the Champions League final in 1995 against AC Milan which took place at Ernst-Happel-State, Viena.

At that time he scored the only winning goal in a normal game with only five minutes remaining. The goal made Kluivert set the record for the youngest player to score in the Champions League final at the age of 18 years, 10 months, and 23 days.

Kluivert then moved to AC Milan in 1997, but his career in Italy did not go smoothly. He was only a season at the San Siro and was immediately brought to Barcelona by former Ajax coach Louis van Gaal.

At Barcelona, Kluivert again found sharpness after joining Brazilian attacking midfielder Rivaldo. He spent six years at Camp Nou scoring a total of 124 goals in 249 games in all competitions.

In the summer of 2004, Kluivert moved to England and joined Newcastle United. He scored 13 goals in his debut season, including key goals in the FA Cup and UEFA Cup, but his career there only lasted one season.

The next clubs that Kluivert aims for in a row are Valencia, PSV, and Lille between 2005 and 2008. At these three clubs, Kluiver's sharpness has decreased drastically along with the injury that haunts him.

At the international level with the Netherlands, Kluivert recorded 79 appearances and scored 40 goals from 1994 to 2004. He was the Netherlands' all-time top scorer until 2013 before Robin van Persie broke his record.

Kluivert appeared in three editions of Euro (1996, 2000, and 2004) as well as the 1998 World Cup. At Euro 2000, he scored five goals and became the tournament's top scorer with Serbian player Savo Milosevi.

After retiring, Kluivert entered the world of coaching. He started his career as assistant coach at AZ Alkmaar and NEC Nijmegen, before coaching the Twente youth team and led Jong Twente to win the Beloften Eredivisie in the 2011/2012.

He then became Louis van Gaal's assistant to the Dutch National Team in 2014. The cooperation between the two names succeeded in bringing De Oranje to third place in the 2014 FIFA World Cup which took place in Brazil.

After that, he also coached the Curacao National Team and became Director of Sports at Paris Saint-Germain as well as Barcelona's academy. Adana Demirspor, a team from Turkey, was the last club she handled.