Over the past two weeks, Indonesia has been in the global news spotlight for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the countrys democracy is under real threat after the government passed a controversial law that could strengthen the role of the military, sparking protests across the country.
Meanwhile, they are also in the football spotlight as this international break marks the debut of their national team coach, Patrick Kluivert.
Yes, that one.
Kluivert is famous as a player, having achieved legendary status with the Netherlands national team and various clubs, including Ajax and Barcelona.
However, his record as a manager is far from impressive—he failed with the Curacao national team and in Turkey with Adana Demirspor.
So when the Indonesian Football Association offered him the job in December last year, Kluivert was automatically given another chance to prove he could be a decent manager.
Managing Indonesia is no easy task, however, and it never has been.
Firstly, he had to replace the famous Shin Tae-yong, who had led the team for the last five years and successfully qualified them for the Asian Cup for the first time in more than a decade.
They have also qualified for the third round of World Cup qualifying, where they still have a chance of qualifying for the finals for the first time since becoming an independent nation.
Second, because the expectations are high, the federation chose Kluivert because they seem to believe that he can bring a style of football that will suit the team.
He is also familiar with the Dutch, as most of the players speak Dutch.
In this context, it is important to understand that the Indonesian National Team now contains many “Diaspora Players“—players who have Indonesian blood from their relatives even though they were not born or grew up in the country.
Only two players from their last starting XI, for example, didn‘t start their football careers through the club or academy in the Netherlands.
There are expectations that Kluivert can bring the possession-based, attacking, and attractive football that can be seen as the Dutch identity to the Indonesian National Team.
The last international break finally revealed what he can bring to the team.
Indonesia Vs Australia: Front-Foot Approach Turned Into A Nightmare
Kluivert was determined to make an instant impact on his debut.
Whereas under Tae-yong, Indonesia tended to play a more back-foot game, he tried to get them going from the word go.
In the away game against Australia, he had his team press the Australians high and intensely with man-to-man marking all over the pitch.
This is unusual for Indonesia, which is more used to playing deep in a mid or low block.
Indonesia really tried to disrupt Australias build-up, or more specifically, to force Australias build-up to the right side, as Kluivert mentioned in his post-match press conference.
They tried to prevent Australia from attacking from the left and also seemed to be hoping that Australia would play the long ball, making it easier for them to lose possession.
Reality didnt work out as planned, however.
Australia were able
