Commins Menapi facts for kids

Commins Menapi (born September 18, 1977 – died November 18, 2017) was a famous football player from the Solomon Islands. He was known as a striker, which means he played in an attacking position and scored many goals. Later in his career, he became the manager of Western United. He led them to win their first and only Telekom S-League title in the 2014/2015 season.

Playing for Clubs

Commins Menapi played for several football clubs during his career. He played for YoungHeart Manawatu in New Zealand. He also played for Sydney United in Australia's old National Soccer League. He also spent time playing for Marist FC, a club from his home country, the Solomon Islands.

During the 2006–2007 season, something unusual happened. Commins was the first player to be sent off (meaning he had to leave the game) in a New Zealand Football Championship Grand Final. This happened after a strong tackle on an opposing player from Auckland City. Even though he was sent off, he was not suspended for the OFC Champions League final. This was because the OFC and New Zealand Football were separate organizations. After playing for a while without a club, Commins returned to play for the Solomon Islands team Marist FC.

Playing for His Country

Commins Menapi played for the Solomon Islands national football team many times, more than 30 occasions. He scored a record 34 goals for his country. This makes him one of the most famous footballers from the Solomon Islands.

One of his most memorable moments was in the Oceania Nations Cup in 2004. He scored two goals against Australia in a thrilling 2–2 draw. This result was very important because it was the only game Australia didn't win in that competition. It also helped the Solomon Islands move forward in the tournament, while New Zealand was eliminated. In that tournament, Commins scored four goals in six games. After Australia left the Oceania Football Confederation, Commins Menapi became the player with the most goals scored in the OFC.

International Goals

Here is a list of the goals Commins Menapi scored for the Solomon Islands national team. The "Score" column shows the score after each of his goals.

List of international goals scored by Commins Menapi

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	21 June 2000	Stade Pater, Papeete, Tahiti	Cook Islands	2–0	5–1	2000 OFC Nations Cup
2	28 June 2000		Vanuatu	1–1	2–1
3	4 June 2001	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand	Cook Islands	2–1	9–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
4				5–1
5				6–1
6	8 June 2001		Vanuatu	2–1	7–2
7				6–2
8	7 July 2002		Tahiti	2–1	2–3	2002 OFC Nations Cup
9	14 June 2003	Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea	Papua New Guinea	5–3	5–3	Friendly
10				5–3
11	1 July 2003	ANZ National Stadium, Suva, Fiji	Vanuatu	1–2	2–2	2003 South Pacific Games
12				2–2
13	3 July 2003		Kiribati	2–0	7–0
14				3–0
15				4–0
16				5–0
17				6–0
18	5 July 2003	Ratu Cakobau Park, Nausori, Fiji	Tuvalu	2–0	4–0
19				4–0
20	7 July 2003	Churchill Park, Lautoka, Fiji	Fiji	1–2	1–2
21	3 April 2004	Korman Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu	Vanuatu	1–1	2–1	Friendly
22				2–1
23	6 April 2004			2–1	2–1
24	2 June 2004	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia	Tahiti	2–0	4–0	2004 OFC Nations Cup
25				4–0
26	6 June 2004		Australia	1–0	2–2
27				2–2
28	25 August 2007	National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa	American Samoa	3–0	12–1	2007 South Pacific Games
29				4–0
30				8–1
31				9–1
32	27 August 2007		Tonga	1–0	4–0
33				2–0
34	5 September 2007		New Caledonia	2–1	2–3

His Passing

Commins Menapi passed away in Honiara in November 2017. He was 40 years old. The cause of his death was not publicly shared.

See also

In Spanish: Commins Menapi para niños