Netherlands and Barcelona great Patrick Kluivert was named Indonesia coach on Jan 8, tasked with taking the country to their first World Cup since independence.

The 48-year-old former striker inherits a side featuring mostly players born in the Netherlands and naturalised to represent the Southeast Asian nation.

“The Dutch football legend has signed a two-year contract from 2025 to 2027 with an option for an extension,” Indonesia’s football association said in a statement.

Kluivert, whose managerial career has not matched his sparkling playing days, is scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on Jan 11 and will be introduced to the public the following day.

The Dutchman had been widely linked with the role after Indonesia controversially sacked the South Korean Shin Tae-yong on Jan 6.

Shin took Indonesia, who are 127th in the Fifa rankings, into the decisive third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Indonesia have been to the World Cup only once, in 1938, when they were under Dutch colonial rule. The country gained independence in 1945.

They are firmly in the hunt for 2026, sitting third in their qualifying group after one win and three draws in six games. The top two go straight to North America, with third and fourth going into another round of qualifying.

Indonesia’s next qualifier is a crunch trip in March to Australia, who are second in Asian qualifying Group C but just a point ahead. Japan are the runaway leaders of the group

An Indonesian football association official admitted to AFP that Kluivert’s appointment was not popular with fans, who were still behind Shin.

But the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Shin had communication problems with the European players. That’s why the replacement is a Netherlands coach.”

Amsterdam-born Kluivert retired as a player in 2008 after a stellar career that started at Ajax, where he won the Champions League, before moves to AC Milan and then Barcelona.

He was one of Europe’s most feared forwards of his era, scoring 122 goals in six seasons for the Spanish giants. He also scored 40 times in 79 games for his country.

Kluivert’s managerial career has not been nearly as spectacular.

His last coaching role was in charge of Adana Demirspor in Turkey for five months in 2023. Before that, he was caretaker manager of Curacao in 2021.

Much of his coaching experience has been as an assistant, notably to fellow former Ajax and Netherlands player Clarence Seedorf with Cameroon in 2018-2019. He was also No. 2 to Louis van Gaal with the Dutch national side in 2012-2014.

-AFP

Moroccan defender Zakaria El Ouahdi has definitively ended speculation about his international future, affirming his unwavering commitment to the Atlas Lions despite interest from Belgium. 

The 22-year-old right-back, currently plying his trade with Belgian side Genk, has reassured Moroccan supporters of his loyalty after his recent comments were widely seen as his openness to representing the Belgian national team.

However, in an interview with in the Belgian media, El Ouahdi clarified his stance, emphasizing his determination to represent Morocco at the senior level. 

“Even if I am told that I am 100% sure of being a regular for the Red Devils and that in Morocco this chance is only 10%, I would have a hard time changing. I made this choice with my heart,” he said.

El Ouahdi, who won bronze with Morocco at the Paris 2024 Olympics and the CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023, added that he wears the Moroccan jersey with pride.

The defender’s father, Mohamed, echoed these sentiments, stating, “His heart and blood are Moroccan.”

El Ouahdi’s commitment comes as a relief to Moroccan fans, especially with the team gearing up for the crucial  2025 Africa Cup of Nations which will be hosted by his country later this year. 

The Antwerp-born player, who was called up to the senior squad last August but did not feature, reiterated his ambition to solidify his place in the Atlas Lions’ set-up.

-CAF

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For more than a decade, Robert Eziakor has been with Hougang United as a player, general coordinator, youth coach, assistant coach and head of youth development.

On Dec 24, the 38-year-old Nigerian landed the biggest assignment of his professional coaching career when he was named interim coach for the Cheetahs, replacing Marko Kraljevic, who has been redesignated as the Singapore Premier League (SPL) side’s head of youth development.

Eziakor told Singapore’s The Straits Times: “I’m excited, having been involved in different roles at the club, and in terms of my personal development, it’s like climbing a ladder all the way to the top.

“I’m thankful I have had the opportunity to learn from the different roles rather than staying put in one position. This makes things very interesting for me and it made sense for me to continue with Hougang.

“It’s easier for me to step up as coach knowing the players and how things are run but at the same time it is a big challenge and there are big shoes to fill.”

In his new role, Eziakor has hit the ground running, signing 1.92m Montenegrin centre-back Jovan Mugosa to shore up the defence of seventh-placed Hougang, who have conceded 49 goals in 20 matches, the fourth worst in the nine-team league.

He has also released underperforming imports – forward Petar Banovic, and defenders Faris Hasic and Ensar Bruncevic. In addition, club hero Kristijan Krajcek, who will be remembered for his 2022 Singapore Cup final hat-trick, has returned to Croatia for ankle surgery as his professional playing days could be over.

Eziakor said: “Defence is primarily where we have a problem. We need to improve in this area so we have made the necessary changes to concede less as we try to create more positive results when the league restarts on Jan 19 for us (against Balestier Khalsa).

“We are able to score goals (Hougang’s 37 goals have come in all but one league games this season), but we are not able to defend properly. We want to tighten our defence and scoring will come naturally for us.”

Bigger things were expected of perennial underdogs Hougang after winning the 2022 Singapore Cup for their first major silverware, but their displays since have been underwhelming.

In 2023, another run to the Singapore Cup final masked a disappointing sixth-placed finish in the SPL. In 2024, they failed to register a single win in the first round of eight league matches before they rebounded with three wins and three draws in the second round.

In the first three games of the third round, two narrow losses to top-half sides Albirex Niigata and Geylang International sandwiched a 6-0 win over bottom club Tanjong Pagar United before the Cheetahs decided on the coaching switch with 12 games remaining.

Eziakor arrived in Singapore in 2006 to join African side Sporting Afrique, but never got to play in the then S.League before the team were dissolved. The forward then went on to play in the National Football League (NFL) with Katong FC, Singapore Recreation Club and Tiong Bahru before he signed for Hougang in 2013.

After scoring once in eight games, he retired and joined the Cheetahs’ backroom staff. From 2015 to 2024, he was also coach of Tiong Bahru and led them to the NFL Division 1 titles in 2018 and 2019.

He also took up permanent residency in the Republic, where his son Uchenna plays for the Singapore Under-15s.

He said: “Singapore means everything to me because my son and I are all about football and this country has given us all our opportunities. Our football journeys are rooted here.”

In his 18 years in Singapore, Eziakor has scored in the professional league, won titles at the amateur level, and seen his son represent the country. Now, he hopes to mark his professional coaching career with another milestone.

He said: “We believe it is possible for us to finish in the top half and go on another good run in the Singapore Cup. I just want us all to put in the work and performances we can look back on and be proud of at the end of the season.”

-The Strait Times

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