PSSI Appoints Jordi Cruyff as Technical Advisor

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Chairman of PSSI, Erick Thohir, has appointed former Barcelona Sporting Director, Jordi Cruyff, as a technical advisor. Cruyff's extensive experience in coaching and technical work at several European clubs is expected to help design the national team program and develop a national football philosophy.

The signing of the contract for Cruyff as the technical advisor for the Indonesian national team was carried out on Tuesday (25/2/2025) early morning Western Indonesia Time (WIB). Prior to granting the position, Erick had first conducted an interview with Cruyff.

"Jordi's (Cruyff's) job is to help provide technical input for the team under the National Team Agency (BTN). Then, he will improve the grassroots coaching system to rebuild the philosophy of Indonesian football," said Erick in a press conference in Jakarta, Tuesday (25/2/2025).

Jordi Cruyff is the son of former Dutch national team player and coach, Johan Cruyff. Cruyff is scheduled to come to Jakarta with his new position with Indonesian Coach Patrick Kluivert, next week.

Before arriving in Jakarta, Erick revealed that Cruyff and Kluivert had met in the Netherlands to discuss the development plans for the "Garuda" team ahead of facing two games in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers this March, against Australia and Bahrain.

Jordi will be part of PSSI and BTN to supervise and provide advice on the national team framework. It is also possible that he will correct what we have done so far, including the philosophy of Indonesian football (Filanesia).

"Jordi will talk to all members of the PSSI and BTN executive committees to discuss the grand design for Indonesian football. He will help review the national team coaching program," said Erick, who is also the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises.

"Jordi will be part of PSSI and BTN to supervise and provide advice on the national team framework. It is also possible that he will correct what we have done so far, including the philosophy of Indonesian football (Filanesia)," added Erick.

Filanesia was launched by PSSI in 2017, which was the result of the work of the Technical Director Danurwindo team. Although it had encouraged socialization throughout the country, Filanesia has proven to fail to provide a major impact on the game of Indonesian clubs and the national team to this day.

Cruyff is the PSSI technical advisor appointed by Erick. Previously, Erick contracted a German figure, Frank Wormuth, to help prepare the Indonesian U-17 team for the 2023 U-17 World Cup. Wormuth's task is completed after the end of the 2023 U-17 World Cup, December 2023.

Furthermore, Erick hopes for Cruyff's knowledge and experience while at Barcelona. Before becoming Barca's Sports Director for the 2022-2023 period, Cruyff was also appointed as Barca's strategic advisor by Barca President Joan Laporta. He carried out the task from August 2021 to June 2022.

Although born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and has played for the “Oranje” nine times, Cruyff has a stronger Spanish and Barcelona feel. During his professional career, he played for Barcelona and three other Spanish clubs, namely Celta Vigo, Alaves, and Espanyol. Cruyff even made nine appearances with the Catalan team.

"One of our considerations in signing Jordi is his experience in Barcelona as one of the clubs that has a consistent playing philosophy until today. Barcelona also produced great football stars," said Erick.

In his management experience, Cruyff is no stranger to behind-the-scenes roles. Before taking on a key role at Barca, he also served as Sporting Director for AEK Larnaca (Cyprus) and Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel).

The figure born on February 9, 1974, served at AEK Larnaca from 2010 to 2012. Then, he held the position of Maccabi Sports Director for five years, from July 2012 to June 2017.

Jordi will also have another important role. He is expected to help PSSI find a technical director (dirtek). The dirtek position is focused on a European figure with management and coaching experience who has experienced a lot of ups and downs at the international level.

Erick said Indonesia's current position, which is still considered small in the world football competition, makes it difficult for PSSI to woo big names to hold the technical directorate job. With Jordi's presence, Erick hopes that the technical advisor can convince a number of technical directorate candidates who are already on PSSI's wish list.

"In recruiting big-name directors, I have to be careful not to let it be counterproductive because we are not ready. This caution is to ensure that the individuals who join understand our culture and can continue the work components that have been done so far," said the former Inter Milan President.

Kluivert welcomed Jordi as part of PSSI. He is optimistic that Jordi can accelerate PSSI's acceleration which is ambitious to bring the Indonesian national team to the 2026 World Cup.

"The presence of a quality figure like Jordi in the federation will drive the development of Indonesian football rapidly. I look forward to working with him to strengthen Indonesian football and improve the performance of Indonesian players to a better level," Kluivert said in a PSSI statement.