In 1938 Indonesia, with their bespectacled captain, Achmad Nawir, went to the World Cup as the Dutch East Indies and “Dutch” should perhaps be put back in the title somewhere given all that has happened with their men’s football team this century. Patrick Kluivert’s appointment as the head coach on Wednesday has not come out of nowhere. After all, it has been said, a Dutch team needs a Dutch coach.
Of the starting XI who defeated Saudi Arabia in a November World Cup qualifier in Jakarta, eight were born in the Netherlands and more are coming. The PSSI, Indonesia’s federation, has embarked on a rapid naturalisation of European players eligible to represent Team Garuda through a parent or grandparent, a legacy of colonial rule from the Netherlands that ended in 1945.
