An unbelievable record in Patrick Kluivert’s coaching career

Patrick Kluivert continues to extend an incredible record in his coaching career, having never stayed long at any club despite being a Dutch football legend.

The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) officially announced the early termination of head coach Patrick Kluivert’s contract on October 16, ending the Dutch strategist’s tenure after just 281 days as the national team’s leader. Although expected to bring a fresh perspective to Indonesian football, disappointing results in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers forced PSSI to make an earlier-than-planned decision to part ways.

According to the original contract, Kluivert was appointed until 2027. However, after 9 months, the Indonesian team under his leadership averaged only 1.25 points per match, a performance deemed insufficient to convince both the management and the passionate fans of the archipelago. Beyond the results, the lack of cohesion in play and the decline in form of key players also led to the 49-year-old coach gradually losing trust.

This separation from Indonesia further highlights Kluivert’s ongoing struggles in his coaching career. Once a Dutch football legend, he has rarely stayed long at any club in a managerial role. Previously, he spent only 5 months at Turkish club Adana Demirspor in 2023, achieving a rate of 1.5 points per game before departing.

The former star also managed the Curaçao national team in two periods: from March 2015 to June 2016, and briefly in 2021. Although he left some tactical marks, the average results of 1.38 and 0.83 points per game respectively reflect the familiar instability in his coaching style.

Kluivert’s most lasting and memorable impact in his coaching career was at FC Twente U21 between 2011 and 2013, where he achieved his best record of 1.8 points per match. However, since then, he has never been able to replicate such stability at higher levels.

With PSSI’s decision to end the contract early, Indonesian football faces a new crossroads. The big question is who will succeed him — a local coach familiar with the team or another foreign strategist capable of reviving Indonesia after a series of poor results. Meanwhile, for Patrick Kluivert, this failure adds to the list of brief stints, showing that his coaching career still cannot escape the “curse” of early exits despite once being a major European football star.