Indonesia National Team is Lucky to Get John Herdman, Here's the Reason

"John Herdman has an approach that can make the team solid (doc. MLS).

JAKARTA - John Herdman officially became the coach of the Indonesian National Team (Timnas). Previously, he had managed the Canadian National Team which was brought to success.

Jason deVos, who once worked with Herdman, also revealed how the coach was able to end Canada's 36-year wait to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

DeVos, who was the Director of Development for the Canadian National Team during Herdman's tenure, attributed the success to an approach rooted in long-term character development.

"John Herdman's support for the principle of long-term player development, including the use of training activities and game formats that are age-appropriate and in line with the players' stages of development, confirms the path to the elite level in football starts from the grassroots," said DeVos, who is also Herdman's assistant coach at Toronto FC, quoted from Canada Soccer on Tuesday, January 6, 2026.

PSSI introduced Herdman as the new coach of the Indonesian National Team on Saturday, January 3, 2026. The 50-year-old coach comes with a reputation not only as a tactical designer, but as a builder of team culture, especially through the 'brotherhood' approach in the locker room.

Herdman's track record in Canada, both when managing the men's and women's teams, shows that the changes he made did not start on the tactical board, but rather on the mental, ego, and locker room dynamics.

Under his leadership, Canada is known to have strong relations, a sense of mutual trust, and a solid collective identity including strengthening at the grassroots level.

"This approach is in line with its principle of focusing on teaching the basics of the game to young players. So, it gives them the best chance to reach the elite level of football," said DeVos.

The concept of brotherhood that Herdman built is reflected in the emotional discipline and sense of responsibility between players.

Junior Hoilett, who was part of the Canadian national team at the 2022 World Cup, also described it as a culture of brotherhood without personal egos.

"What John Herdman has built here is a real brotherhood culture, without personal agendas. Everyone is on the same page and knows why they are here for the national team," Hoilett said.

Herdman's impact was even felt on a personal level. Rhian Wilkinson, a former member of the Canadian Women's National Team, said Herdman's influence did not only happen on the field.

"John Herdman has impacted us all in a really big way and only a small part of that is actually directly related to football."

"It may sound excessive, but he may have changed me as a person. In fact, I only knew him when I was 29 years old," said Wilkinson.

For Diana Matheson, a former member of the Canadian Women's National Team, Herdman's success is not measured solely by the results of the game, but by the way the team achieves its goals together.

"In the team, John Herdman is important not only the end result, but how we choose to achieve it. The style of play is important, who we do it with is also important, but more importantly we are good Canadians in the national squad," said Diana, who is currently 41 years old.

Herdman emphasized that the success of a team comes from a strong culture and system foundation.

"When we rebuilt the Canadian Women's National Team program, it was all from scratch. Starting with building a high-performance system, talent development, and bringing in the right people," said Herdman.