Patrick Kluivert's installation as Indonesia coach may have provided an unexpected twist in the build-up to their FIFA World Cup qualifier with Australia, but Socceroos boss Tony Popovic is confident his side will be able to adjust and prepare for what the Dutchman brings to Tim Garuda come March.
PSSI, Indonesian football's governing body, raised eyebrows when they sacked coach Shin Tae-Yong in early January, with chairman Erick Thohir stating: "We see the need for a leader who is better able to implement the strategies agreed upon by the players, and who has better communication."
This was despite the South Korean elevating Indonesia to a debut appearance in the knockout stages of the AFC Asian Cup at the start of 2024 and a first appearance in the third stage of the Asian World Cup qualifiers since taking over in 2019, as well as securing a historic 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia as recently as November.
Kluivert was named as his successor two days later, signing a two-year deal with an option for an extension and installing former Eredivisie stalwart Denny Landzaat and ex-Sparta Rotterdam boss Alex Pastoor as assistants.
On a playing level, Popovic has a history with Kluivert -- the Dutchman netting against the former's Crystal Palace while playing for Newcastle United during the 2004-05 Premier League season. Kluivert also spent some of his formative coaching years in Australia, serving as an assistant to current Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou at Brisbane Roar in 2010.
Outside of two relatively successful stints in charge of Curaçao and a 20-game spell with Turkish club Adana Demirspor, however, the new Indonesia boss has mostly worked as an assistant and in academies -- giving Popovic scant material for analysis ahead of March.
"We'll have a look at his coaching history," the Socceroos boss said. "[Kluivert] hasn't had a long [head coaching] history but we've seen the structure he's played.
"He was in Turkey, he was at Curaçao, and we saw that he played a back five [with Curaçao] and in Turkey he played a back four. [Shin] was playing a back five in Indonesia. [Kluivert's] assistant coach [Alex Pastoor] has always played a back three at clubs that he was coaching.
"Whatever it is, we'll analyse it -- we've got to respect the opponent. We have to be prepared for either way of playing; how they want to build up and how they want to defend.
"And to focus on our game being better, we will have to reinforce some of our principles and foundations that we're trying to lay in October and November because there's been a four-month gap.
"But I'm sure the players will be looking forward to coming to camp and playing a vital window in these two games and I'm sure they're excited like we are, as a staff."
Contributing to the shock nature of Shin's axing, Indonesia will head to Sydney in March just a point behind the second-placed Socceroos in Group C and, with home games vs. Bahrain and China to come, they are well-placed to push for a third- or fourth-place finish that would see them move to the next stage of qualification.
With Popovic's eyes firmly set upon the earliest ticket to the World Cup that comes with a top-two finish, six points from Australia's coming fixtures against Indonesia and then away to China will be crucial for the Socceroos as -- for the second cycle in a row -- tough assignments at home to Japan and then away to Saudi Arabia await them in the final slate of qualifiers in June.
"Are they vital games? Yes, every game is a vital game for the Socceroos," Popovic said.
"My first game against China was a vital game. These two games coming up now, Indonesia, firstly, are vital, because our goal is to come to the top two. To do that, we need to get positive results.
"We are in a good position and it's up to us to stay there. We need to have that elite focus, elite mentality, and elite performance.
"The dreams that we have about qualifying automatically, we can make that possible.
"But it's one game at a time. I know it's an old cliché but you have to respect the opponent. Indonesia has shown thus far how good they are on their day.
"But we have to believe, playing in front of our fans, that if we can produce the quality that I know that we can, we have to really aim and work hard for those three points."