Every year Papua and West Papua always donates their bearded sons every year to bring the Indonesian name to the international scene in the soccer sport.
The Papuan son is known for being very tough and agile in playing soccer. The great distance from Papua Island to the Indonesian capital does not preclude the spirit of the Papuan Son to scent the Indonesians. This made the Indonesian soccer coach interested in the talents of the Papua son.
Here are 5 soccer players from Papua who boast Indonesia on the international scene:
1. Boaz Solossa
One of the most popular names in the ears of the Indonesian people if asked by players from Papua the answer is Boaz Solossa. He is not only a legend for the Squad of Indonesia, but also for Persipura Jayapura, a Papua football club.
Boaz was first glanced at by Squad of Indonesia when he managed to perform brilliantly with the Papua Team at PON XVI Palembang. His debut with the Garuda squad was during the 2004 AFF Cup. From then on, Boaz incarnated as one of the often crazy players on the field if he held the ball. He managed to collect 48 caps with Garuda’s squad with a record of 14 goals.
2. Titus Bonai
Secondly, there is the figure of Titus Bonai, one of the senior players from Papua who was recorded as having defended The Squad of Indonesia in 2009-2011 at the age level. After that, in 2012 Titus Bonai made his debut in the senior team by fighting the Philippines.
Regarding his neat play, Titus Bonai was nominated for the five best scorers in the 2018 AFC Cup and became the 18th best draw of League 1 last 2019.
3. Oktovianus Maniani
Third, there is Octovianus Maniani who won the status of the best young player of the 2008/2009 season. Okto then debuted with senior Indonesian Squad while still in the care of Alfred Riedl in 2010 while fighting Uruguay in a friendly match.
Not until just that, Okto was also one of the Garuda age group squad players from 2005 to 2013. During a career with The Squad of Indonesia, Okto managed to carve out his best performance.
4. Osvaldo Haay
Next come from Osvaldo Haay. He is known to have defended The Squad of Indonesia U-22 and managed to make the people of Papua proud thanks to his neat play at the 2019 SEA Games. He even managed to bring Indonesia to win the 2019 AFF U-22 Cup championship after defeating Thailand.
5. Ricky Kambuaya
Finally, there is the figure of Ricky Kambuaya who was once an important pillar of the Garuda squad under the care of Shin Tae-yong. His performance was considered brilliant by coaches and Indonesians, even in the Group B preliminary round against Cambodia and the second leg of the 2020 AFF Cup final he won Man of the Match.
His game performance continued to improve until he remained trusted to defend the Squad of Indonesia.
The players from Papua can no longer doubt his talent. It has been proven by the loss of their game while on the green field and bringing the champions of the Indonesian National Team onto the International scene.
