Soccer Indonesia name Cruyff as technical adviser in national team revamp
JAKARTA, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Indonesia appointed former Barcelona sporting director Jordi Cruyff as the national team's technical adviser, the soccer federation said on Tuesday, in a revamp that has already seen former Netherlands forward Patrick Kluivert named coach.
A passionate soccer country, Indonesian fans are hoping the expanded 48-team World Cup will give them a chance to make the finals for the second time, where they would hope to do better than in 1938 when they travelled to France as the then-Dutch East Indies in the days before group stages, lost 6-0 to Hungary, and went home.
Indonesia are third in their group after six of 10 matches, one point behind Australia in the battle for the second automatic qualification spot. If they finish third or fourth, they could still reach the 2026 finals through further rounds of qualifying and an intercontinental playoff.
Indonesia's soccer federation chief Erick Thohir said Cruyff, who was Barcelona's sporting director from 2021 to 2023, would come in March.
"I'm very excited," Cruyff said in a statement on the federation's website. "I can't wait to share my experience and knowledge to further the level of Indonesian soccer."
Erick said Cruyff, the 51-year-old son of Barca great Johan Cruyff, embodied Barcelona's philosophy of play.
"What are Jordi's most important tasks? Giving technical input and also developing our soccer philosophy, including by finding us a technical director," Erick said, adding Cruyff had signed the agreement with Indonesia earlier on Tuesday.
Cruyff is the latest hire after Kluivert and his assistant coaches, Dutchmen Alex Pastoor and Denny Landzaat.
Kluivert had replaced South Korean coach Shin Tae-yong as Indonesia said it needed stronger leadership.
Shin had benefited from a federation policy of enticing members of the Indonesian diaspora, mostly born in the Netherlands, to play for the national team.
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