Legendary Striker Set to Join Indonesia National Team Coaching Staff

Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto’s name has recently been widely discussed as a potential assistant coach for the Indonesia national football team, under the management of Patrick Kluivert. While the team already has two assistant coaches, Alex Pastoor and Dany Landzaat, the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) is interested in adding two local coaches to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from the Dutch coach to Indonesia’s rising football talents.

However, PSSI has yet to officially announce the new coaching staff members. Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto has emerged as a strong candidate for the role. He shared that, as of now, there has been no formal communication with him regarding the position, but expressed his readiness to serve the national team if called upon, whether for the senior team or any of Indonesia's youth squads.

Kurniawan is no stranger to Indonesian football, having been one of the nation's top strikers. He played for the national team between 1995 and 2005, scoring 33 goals in 59 appearances. His career also took him overseas, where he played for clubs such as Sampdoria Primavera in Italy, FC Luzern in Switzerland, and Sarawak FC in Malaysia.

Domestically, he represented prominent clubs like PSM Makassar, PSPS Pekanbaru, Persebaya Surabaya, Persija Jakarta, and Persela Lamongan. One of his most notable achievements was leading Persebaya to win the 2004 Indonesia League.

After retiring from playing, Kurniawan transitioned to coaching, serving as an assistant coach for the Indonesia national team in 2018 and for the U23 team in 2019. He later took the helm of Malaysian Super League club Sabah FC, and also worked as an assistant at Como 1907 in Italy, a club owned by the Djarum Group.

Currently, Kurniawan continues to build his coaching career, actively pursuing further development of his coaching credentials. He holds an AFC Pro License, which he earned in 2019 in Malaysia.