Who is Patrick Kluivert? How can his tactics transform the Indonesia National Team?

Earlier today, top football reporter and journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed that the legendary former Dutch player turned manager Patrick Kluivert will be taking up the role of Indonesia national team’s head coach, following the announcement made by their football federation, PSSI that former coach Shin Tae-Yong had been relieved of his duties. 

That said, Patrick Kluivert is said to be the man to replace the South Korean manager and is set to be unveiled during a press conference on January 12, 2025. Having agreed to a two-year deal with the option of a further two years, the target for the former FC Barcelona and AC Milan man will be to secure World Cup qualification for the Indonesian side, which currently sits 127th in the FIFA rankings. 

Naturally, there had been a lot of talk regarding the next Indonesia manager and there were rumors of the new appointee being of European origin. Thus, many will still be surprised by the nature of the news, seeing how Kluivert has been on the sidelines and away from any managerial duties since December 2023 when he parted ways with Turkish club, Adana Demirspor by way of mutual agreement. 

Interestingly, the 48-year-old has a fair bit of experience in management and could utilize that to help Indonesia secure World Cup qualification. That said, it will be a truly uphill task considering that they are still third out of six teams in Group C of the Asian qualifications behind Australia and Japan, set to face the former in a qualifier matchup in March. 

In this article, we are going to focus exclusively on Patrick Kluivert who will be leading Indonesia as their new head coach, understanding his style of play and tactics, his successes as a manager, what he can bring to the Indonesian national team, and what would be the possible formation or lineup they would adopt under his regime, set to commence from this month.

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Patrick Kluivert Style of Play and Tactics

Patrick Kluivert has maintained consistency in his style of play and tactics during his time in management. He mostly emphasises on usage of a free-flowing 4-2-3-1 formation adapting a high-intensity, attack-centered playstyle that is built out from the back and supplemented by a supporting cast adept at maintaining possession of the ball and building up the play by swift and precise passing through the lines. 

By and large, a lot of Kluivert’s main focus is on the attacking part of the pitch. Having been a prolific goalscorer during his playing days, his ability to influence attackers and help them improve their game remains one of his key abilities and it is for this very reason that he was brought in for his expertise by  Eredivisie club AZ Alkmaar, Australian A-League side Brisbane Roar, NEC Nijmegen, and the Netherlands national team under Louis van Gaal. 

In addition to this, a lot of his philosophy during games stems from the systems he played in during his time at FC Barcelona and AC Milan, which were composed of elite ball progresses and clinical attacking talents alongside himself, tasked with dispatching the opponent team with ruthless efficiency.

That said, there is a very limited sample size of Kluivert’s implementation of the same and it has yielded mixed results from time to time. While he was able to lead the FC Twente youth side to the national title in the Beloften Eredivisie, his stints at Curacao and Turkish side Adana Demirspor have left more to be desired. Most notably, Kluivert’s second stint at the island nation was particularly difficult, seeing as he only managed 1 win in 6 games during his time as the interim manager. 

Seeing that it was a role entrusted to him with the same aspirations as the Indonesia national team, there will be a lot of refining needed from the Dutch manager. To make matters even more serious, Indonesia has managed only 1 win in their last 4 games. That said, a saving grace could be found in the fact that their last win came against Myanmar against who the Pasuka Garuda implemented a slightly more attacking 3-4-3 formation, which is what Kluivert will be looking to build on.

Patrick Kluivert Trophies and Achievements as A Manager

By all means, it has been 15 years since Patrick Kluivert officially began his managerial career. That said, his work has yet to yield the desired results and trophies, primarily owing to the nature of the job at hand. During his time managing the FC Twente youth side, Kluivert displayed solid management of the team over the course of the season.

As for his time at Curacao, it was far more fragmented and took a lot away from the league-style management that he had made progress with. That said, there is an expectation that the Dutch manager has since learned a lot from his previous experiences and having been put in a similar position before will look to bring out better results.

Is Patrick Kluivert the right fit for Indonesia?

Patrick Kluivert could make a great addition to the Indonesia national team if given enough time to implement his system and work with the players for a sustained period of time. There are already other clubs and managers who are doing well with similar tactical approaches and Kluivert’s management style and FC Barcelona DNA have the potential to work wonders in Indonesia’s upcoming qualification matches. Additionally, the 48-year-old manager has a reputation for working with younger players and academy prospects and developing them into players that can kick on for the senior side, something he has done at FC Twente over the years and should continue to do so with the Indonesian national team as well.

How could Indonesia line up under Patrick Kluivert?

With Patrick Kluivert’s 4-3-2-1 formation and efficient attacking style, here’s how Indonesia could line up in their upcoming World Cup qualifier matches. Cahya Supriadi is expected to start as their goalkeeper. The four-man backline is expected to consist of the right-back captain Muhammad Ferarri, along with Kadek Arel and Dony Tri Pamungkas as the center halves and Pratama Arhan at left-back.

This can be supplemented with Arkhan Fikri and Zanadin Fariz at the base of midfield with possibly Victor Dethan or Thom Haye playing ahead of them as the attacking midfielder. Up top, Hokky Caraka, Marselino Ferdinan, and Rafael Struick can lead the line and provide a lot of pace and power.

With a whole host of young talents at his disposal, Patrick Kluivert will be expected to work his magic and hopefully make a strong case for Indonesia to compete with the likes of Japan and Australia to qualify for the World Cup next year.

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