January 10, 2026 | 10:09 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia national football team head coach John Herdman arrived in Jakarta on Saturday, January 10, 2026. The British coach landed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang at around 01:00 PM local time (WIB).
Tempo observations at the airport showed a police-escorted motorbike leaving the VIP area shortly after Herdman’s reported arrival. Journalists who had been waiting at Gate 1 of the international arrivals terminal did not see Herdman, as he exited through the VIP gate instead.
A man wearing a jacket bearing the Garuda emblem was spotted near the VIP exit.
“He’s turned back, he’s already left,” the man said briefly when approached by reporters at the airport on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Tempo had confirmed Herdman’s travel plans with Ahmad Riyadh, a member of the Executive Committee of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI). However, Riyadh said he did not have a confirmed arrival schedule.
“I don’t know whether he’s arriving today or tomorrow,” he said when contacted on Saturday morning.
A similar account was provided by a man wearing a camouflage shirt near the VIP exit driveway. He said Herdman arrived at around 01:20 PM local time, although airport authorities had not received official notification regarding the passenger’s identity.
“We also don’t know that the person who arrived was the national team coach,” he told reporters at a post near the exit gate.
Tempo also attempted to confirm Herdman’s arrival with Sumardji, head of the PSSI’s National Team Body (BTN). As of publication, Sumardji had not responded to calls or messages.
The PSSI officially appointed John Herdman as head coach of the Indonesian national team on January 3, 2026, replacing Patrick Kluivert.
The association cited Herdman’s experience and long-term development approach as key qualifications for leading Indonesia’s future national team project.
Herdman is known for a career built gradually rather than through rapid success. He began coaching while working part-time as a teacher and later moved to New Zealand in 2001 with his wife, Clare.
Family support, including their two children, Lilly and Jay, has been widely described as a significant factor in his coaching journey.
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