The Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) PSSI officially introduced Patrick Kluivert to the public as the head coach of the Indonesian national team on Sunday at Hotel Mulia Senayan in Jakarta.

The 48-year-old Kluivert was confirmed as the new head coach on Wednesday (January 8) to replace Shin Tae-yong, the South Korean coach who was contentiously dismissed two days earlier.

Since Shin started in Jakarta in 2020, Indonesia has achieved unprecedented results and is in the running to reach the 2026 World Cup for the first time since 1938 — when it appeared as Dutch East Indies.

With four games remaining in the third round of Asian qualification, Indonesia is third in its six-team group, just one point behind second-place Australia. The top two in each group qualify automatically for the 2026 tournament, while third- and fourth-place teams advance to the next stage in Asia.

Such progress, which also included a first ever place in the knockout stages of the Asian Cup last January, made Shin a popular figure in Indonesia.

Results may have improved but the character and identity of the team changed. In November, a 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia in World Cup qualification was widely celebrated across Indonesia, despite eight of the starting 11 being naturalized players. There are plans to naturalize more Dutch-born players in the coming months.

PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir believes Kluivert will be a more natural coach for such a team and be able to get his message across much more easily than his Korean-speaking predecessor.

Kluivert kicks off with a crucial qualifier against Australia in Sydney on March 20 and then Indonesia hosts Bahrain in Jakarta five days later. The third round ends in June with games against China and the group’s runaway leader, Japan.

Kluivert had a stellar playing career, winning the Champions League with Ajax, and has prior international coaching experience in charge of Curacao.

The former AC Milan and Newcastle striker was also assistant coach to Louis van Gaal with the Netherlands and Clarence Seedorf with Cameroon. Kluivert is set to arrive in Jakarta on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s official unveiling.

PSSI said in a statement he’d been contracted for 2025-27, with an option to extend for another two years.