Boaz Solossa


Boaz Theofilus Erwin Solossa is an Indonesian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga 2 club Persipura Jayapura. He is considered to be one of the greatest Indonesian players of all time.

Club career

Early career

Boaz began his junior career by playing at amateur club PS Putra Yohan in 1999 to 2000. He then spent a year at Perseru Serui from 2000 to 2001.
A 17-year old Boaz was called up to the Papua PON Team to be play in the 16th National Sports Week. His talent was finally recognized by national team coach Peter Withe, who selected him for the 2004 Tiger Cup when he was 18 years old.

Persipura Jayapura

Boaz signed his first professional contract with Persipura Jayapura in 2005. Since then, he emerged as a highly influential player at the club and even served as captain of the team after the departure of Eduard Ivakdalam. He is seen as a club legend by Persipura fans.
He is Persipura Jayapura's all time record goalscorer and has helped them to win the top division of Indonesia's professional football league four times in the 2005, 2009, 2011 and 2013 seasons.
Despite having played for other Papua-based clubs, Boaz holds Persipura as his second home as well as his extended family. But when Indonesia's professional football competition was halted due to FIFA sanctions from 2015 to 2016, he accepted an offer from Borneo FC to play in a non-official tournament because Persipura had decided to temporarily disband. At the beginning of the 2018 season, he returned to play for Borneo FC only for the 2018 Presidential Cup pre-season tournament.
In July 2021, Boaz and teammate Yustinus Pae were released by Persipura, due to disciplinary issues. He would return to Persipura in 2024 after stints at other Indonesian-Papuan clubs. Till date, Boaz has made 359 appearances and scored 225 goals in all competitions for Persipura.

Carsae

In 2016, Boaz was loaned by Persipura for the first time in his career to play for Carsae in East Timor after the conditions of Indonesian football at that time were being vacuumed due to FIFA sanctions, joining fellow Indonesians Imanuel Wanggai and Oktovianus Maniani. However, in April 2016 having only made four appearances Boaz along with Wanggai left the club by mutual consent to rejoin Persipura.

Borneo

After spending 16 years with Persipura, On 17 July 2021 Boaz joined Borneo on a 2-season deal. On 10 September 2021, Boaz made his debut for Borneo on a league game against Persik Kediri coming on as a substitute in the 70th-minute, as his team lose 1–0. On 8 January 2022, Boaz scored his first goal for Borneo against Persik Kediri at the Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar.

International career

The first time he appeared was dubbed the "prodigy", when he was brought by Peter Withe and performed a stunning performance in Ho Chi Minh City, when he performed with the Indonesian National Team in the 2004 Tiger Cup. Boaz's international debut was against Turkmenistan on 30 March 2004 for the 2006 World Cup qualification where Indonesia won 3–1 and Boaz made two assists for his teammate Ilham Jaya Kesuma. Boaz was considered to be a bright prospect in Indonesian football after performing brilliantly in the 2004 Tiger Cup, where Indonesia was defeated by Singapore in a home and away match, which resulted in an aggregate score of 5–2 to Singapore. In the group phase, Boaz managed to score 4 goals and along with Ilham Jayakesuma, who scored 7 goals, both led the top scorers chart.
He was injured after a tough tackle in a friendly match against Hong Kong, forcing him to miss the Asian Cup 2007 and disappear from football for 10 months.
After another failure for the Indonesian national team to become a champion in the 2016 AFF Championship, Boaz announce his retirement from the national squad to give chance to other young players as well admitting he was "tired to see Indonesia without any trophy in the tournament". He congratulate Thailand for their fifth trophy and acknowledged that "Thai players and their performances are much better and still far from us to reach". However, Boaz still disclosed his intention to retire, saying he wanted to discuss the matter with his family first while celebrating Christmas in his hometown of Sorong.

Personal life

Boaz was born into a well-known family in Western New Guinea. His uncle, Jaap Solossa, was the governor of the greater Papua province before he died in 2005. Football also runs in the blood of the Solossa clan as well, with Boaz being the youngest of five children who all went on to become professionals, like his brothers Ortizan and Nehemia. Boaz obtained a Bachelor of Economics at Cenderawasih University in 2013. He also works as civil servant.

Career statistics

Club

International

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
19 December 2004Thong Nhat Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam31–06–02004 Tiger Cup
211 December 2004Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam52–03–02004 Tiger Cup
33 January 2005Bukit Jalil Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia74–14–12004 Tiger Cup
46 January 2010Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia171–11–22011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
58 October 2010Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia181–01–7Friendly
623 March 2013Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia241–01–22015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
715 October 2013Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia271–11–12015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
86 September 2016Manahan Stadium, Surakarta, Indonesia371–03–0Friendly
96 September 2016Manahan Stadium, Surakarta, Indonesia373–03–0Friendly
108 November 2016Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam401–02–3Friendly
1119 November 2016Philippine Sports Stadium, Bocaue, Philippines411–22–42016 AFF Championship
1221 November 2016Philippine Sports Stadium, Bocaue, Philippines422–12–22016 AFF Championship
133 December 2016Pakansari Stadium, Bogor, Indonesia442–12–12016 AFF Championship

Honours

Persipura Jayapura
  • Domestic League Top Tier Division : 2005, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2013, 2016
  • Indonesian Community Shield: 2009
  • Indonesian Inter Island Cup: 2011
Indonesia
  • Indonesian Independence Cup: 2008
  • AFF Championship runner-up: 2004, 2016
Individual
  • Domestic League Top Tier Division Top Scorer : 2008–09, 2010–11, 2013
  • Domestic League Top Tier Division Best Player : 2008–09, 2010–11, 2013, 2016
  • Domestic League Top Tier Division Best XI: 2016
  • AFF Championship Best XI : 2016
  • ASEAN Football Federation Best XI: 2017
  • Favourite Athlete : Anugerah Olahraga Indonesia XXIX: 2017
  • AFC Cup Best XI:
Record
  • First Indonesian in list of FourFourTwo 50 Best Asian Football Player