On Thursday, less than a week after their dream to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup came to an end, Indonesia's football governing body PSSI announced a parting of ways with coach Patrick Kluivert by mutual agreement.
An official statement by PSSI cited the decision was "taking into account internal dynamics and the strategic direction of the national team's future development".
On paper, a parting of ways following a milestone event -- like the end of a major qualifying campaign, especially in failure -- is hardly out of the ordinary.
Especially in international football, two or four-year cycles -- in line with occurrence of the World Cup and the respective continental tournaments -- are often used as intervals for review. Even club managers, when taking on new jobs, have often looked at their reigns in three-year periods.
Nonetheless, what makes Kluivert's departure from the Indonesia role is the sheer fact that he had only taken it on in January.
For a variety of reasons, it is an intriguing move by PSSI -- perhaps only surpassed in perplexity by his appointment in the very first place.
The Indonesia job became vacant at the start of the year when Indonesia abruptly dismissed Kluivert's predecessor Shin Tae-Yong.
It sparked an outcry among the Indonesian faithful given Shin had led Timnas out of some dark times, taking over when they were ranked a lowly 173rd in the FIFA world rankings and making them just one of 18 teams to reach the third round of Asian qualifiers for next year's World Cup.
At the time of the South Korea's departure, Indonesia were hardly floundering in their qualifying quest. In fact, they were very much in the running for the top-four finish that they would duly achieve under Kluivert -- which would see them advance to the next stage where they were ultimately eliminated in last Saturday.
Instead, especially once it was heavily rumoured that Kluivert would be taking over, it was widely acknowledged that the appointment of the Netherlands legend was influenced by the sizeable and ever-growing number of Dutch-born naturalised heritage players in the squad.
Even in the wake of Shin's departure, PSSI chairman Erick Thohir had identified "a [need for] leadership that implements strategies as agreed with the players, communicates better, and implements better programs for the national team".
The word 'strategy' usually has some form of long-term connotation it. So in came Kluivert on a two-year contract with an option for an extension. At the very least, he would be around until the end of 2027 -- not a huge amount of time but enough to "implement" some meaningful change and improvement that was supposedly lacking under Shin.
The fact that it has now been agreed that this partnership will not progress any further -- after just ten months -- suggests a lack of any strategy.
It certainly does not help that PSSI basically cited the same issues in announcing the end of the Kluivert era. "Internal dynamics" and "strategic direction".
Firstly, the question that has to be asked is: did PSSI genuinely feel that World Cup qualification was a probable target? Possible surely, especially given how Indonesia have recently shown they can largely match it with some of the continent's traditional powerhouses.
But, on paper, the other teams in the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers like the two they faced in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, as well as those in the other group like Qatar and United Arab Emirates, are arguably still significantly stronger.
Indonesia deserve plenty of credit for punching well above their weight considering their world ranking of 119th is significantly below the next lowest team that contested the latest stage of the Asian qualifiers in the 78th-placed Oman. Iraq and Saudi Arabia, at 58th and 59th respectively, are almost figuratively out of sight.
Even purely in a continental context, nine Asian nations sit between Oman and Indonesia -- all of whom, including strong sides like Bahrain, Syria and Lebanon, had not gotten as far as the Southeast Asian side.
If qualifying for the World Cup was a realistic dream but not a be-all and end-all target, then surely failure would not solely be sufficient reason to part ways with a coach appointed just ten months earlier.
On the flipside, if that truly was the only test that Kluivert was to be graded on, then why was he given a two-year deal in the first place? Coaches have been parachuted into do-or-die assignments for far-shorter stints. Many have literally been appointed just for a World Cup.
Under Shin, Indonesia brought through a whole generation of talent which fuelled their rise. He constantly introduced new prospects with a view to long-term development.
There is also nothing wrong with the influx of heritage imports who are perhaps what is needed at this current point in order for Indonesia to go from good to great, or at least a World Cup team.
The fact, however, that PSSI did away with a coach who instigated the former for one who supposedly was to cater for the latter, only to then part ways with him seems very reactionary.
Of course, there is the possibility that Kluivert instigated the separation. Or the very simple fact that PSSI have since realised he is not the right man for the job. Either is a valid reason for the parting of ways.
Nonetheless, in due course, there needs to be some form of accountability -- because what has transpired in 2025 is far from normalcy. If anyone deserves an explanation, it is Indonesia's long-suffering fans -- who have endured so much in their journey to being able to dream again, only for it to threaten to unravel away from the pitch.
Indonesia's potential is limitless. It is the world's fourth most populous country. The majority of its 283.5 million inhabitants live and breathe football.
They have always produced promising talent of their own and now, through heritage, they even boast players plying their trade in top competitions like Serie A and the Bundesliga.
Indonesia must surely look at the most-recent World Cup qualifying campaign as an achievement, and encouragement that they can actually go all the way for 2030.
For that to happen, there needs to be what appears to be PSSI's current buzzword: strategy.
That does not entail a knee-jerk change in coach just because of a shifting composition in squad make-up. Nor a parting of ways with his predecessor less than halfway through what was supposed to be the next chapter of Indonesia's longer-term path.
Right now, for all the good that Indonesia are promising to achieve on the field, it all feels very curious of it.