Shin Tae-yong’s dismissal as the coach of the Indonesian National Team by PSSI on Monday (6/1/2025) has sparked heated discussions among local football fans. The public is now eagerly awaiting who will replace the South Korean coach. Patrick Kluivert, former striker of the Dutch national team, has emerged as a strong candidate. This information first surfaced after renowned Italian football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano mentioned on his social media account that the 48-year-old man has the potential to handle the Garuda team.
However, even before proving himself as the coach of the Indonesian National Team, Indonesian football fans have expressed their opposition. The campaign #PatrickKluivertOut is trending on social media. This arises because Kluivert’s coaching record has raised doubts. His coaching career is considered to have not shown significant achievements, far from his glorious days as a player. After last coaching Adana Demirspor, a club from Turkey, in December 2023, his contract was terminated prematurely.
Turkish media, including En Son Haber, reported that during his coaching tenure at the club, Kluivert only achieved eight wins out of a total of 20 matches, while six games ended in draws and six in losses. In addition, Kluivert’s off-field track record has also come under scrutiny. Indonesian netizens have unearthed old reports linking him to gambling problems. A report from the Spanish media, Marca, in 2017, stated that when he served as the director of football at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Kluivert was accused of having a large debt to a criminal organization due to gambling habits.
Despite denying involvement in illegal activities, Kluivert was questioned by the police as a witness. Documents found by Dutch authorities, as reported by De Volkskrant, also indicated his connection to the criminal group. The debts were claimed to have occurred between 2011 and 2012 when Kluivert coached Twente’s reserve team. At that time, local law did not prohibit individuals from betting on matches involving their own team.
On the other hand, Kluivert was also known to have been a brand ambassador for the gambling company Johnnybet from October 2022 to October 2023. However, his contract with the company ended over a year ago. The public is also scrutinizing PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir’s statements regarding the candidates for the coach of the Indonesian National Team. According to Erick Thohir, he intentionally conducted interview sessions on Christmas Day to test the commitment of the new coach.
“I even offered it on December 25, 2024, on Christmas Day, not out of disrespect for the holiday, but to test commitment,” Erick Thohir continued. “Out of the three coaches, one came. That’s the one I see with more points because even after the interview, he went back to his country. I don’t want to waste time either, so 2 to 2.5 hours is enough,” said Erick Thohir. Public attention is also drawn to Erick Thohir’s procedures and indicators for selecting a new coach.
