Indonesia appointed former Barcelona sporting director Jordi Cruyff as the national team's technical adviser, PSSI -- the nation's football governing body -- said on Tuesday, in a revamp that has already seen former Netherlands forward Patrick Kluivert named coach.
A passionate football country, Indonesian fans are hoping the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup will give them a chance to qualify for the tournament 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 days before the group stage, lost 6-0 to Hungary, and went home.
Indonesia are third in their group after six of ten matches in the third round of the Asian qualifiers, one point behind Australia in the battle for the second automatic spot. If they finish third or fourth, they could still reach the 2026 tournament through further rounds of qualifying and an intercontinental playoff.
PSSI chief Erick Thohir said Cruyff, who was Barcelona's sporting director from 2021 to 2023, would arrive 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."
Thohir said Cruyff, the 51-year-old son of Barcelona great Johan Cruyff, embodied the Spanish giants' philosophy of play.
"What are Jordi's most important tasks? Giving technical input and also developing our football philosophy, including by finding us a technical director," Thohir 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.