Raymond Gunemba: a story of a national idol

Football can tell us many stories; some sad, others full of joy, but most of them contain various emotions, feelings that surely can embrace a village, a city, a province of even a nation. The young footballers dream to defend the colours of their countries internationally – to see their idols in the pitches doing exactly what they hope to do in the future just make their dreams even bigger.

We can name various football idols worldwide that inspired the new generations in their respective nations. When we think about Papua New Guinea, one of the first name that comes to mind is Raymond Gunemba. The 33-year old forward made the best days of his club football career in his local team Lae City FC. The community says a lot about what Raymond is, coming from a family that has a rich history in football: “My small brother Troy and small sister Megan, all our family are football so it is in the blood!“, says the forward that already scored ten times for his country.

Raymond is also coached by his father Peter in Lae City FC: “I treat him as my coach and respect him when I am at the field. I feel open to express my comments to him openly about the game“, explains Raymond Gunemba.

Despite of making most of his career in Papua New Guinea, Gunemba also had short stints of football in Australia and New Zealand. The player agrees there are big differences of the football played in his home nation in comparison with the game played overseas: “I learnt a lot of new things like: timing and how they conduct the trainings. I see big differences from Papua New Guinea especialy in the managing side of the team – they have better equipments“.

Gunemba side, Lae City, took part in the last edition of OFC Champions League – competition where they were beaten by Auckland City in New Zealand and eliminated from the tournament. “It was a good tournament. I think the boys have enough experience now so we will do better the next one”, says Gunemba. The next one that the Papua New Guinean international says will be the next edition in 2020; Lae City was once again national champions beating in the penalty shootout Hekari United – match that Raymond has clear memories: “It was a very tough game, but I think we should score within the normal time. The players discipline that causes us to go into penalty shootout. I think our team was too conservative“, says the 33-year old player.

Raymond expects a better performance for his side in the upcoming continental tournament and hopes his partnership with Nigel Dabinyaba keeps working: “It is being a good partnership, but lately he has been off track a little bit, so need to work with him or otherwise we got some good players to work with in the squad“.

It was in 2016 that Gunemba and some of his teammates of Lae City reached the peak of their career, when they played New Zealand at Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby in the grand final of OFC Nations Cup. The Papua New Guineans won Solomon Islands in the semifinals to reach their first ever final of the most important competition in the region. That time the things did not go well for the home side, they were very close to secure a historical title, but lost in the penalty shootout for the All Whites. “It was a first time experience and the game was very strong and we really appreciate the result despite not ending with the trophy“, says Gunemba. The player believes that his national team needs mental toughness to be prepared to face New Zealand once in the upcoming tournaments. “PNG has the talent to beat New Zealand, but the problem is the lack of discipline and attitude for the Papua New Guinean players“, adds Gunemba.

“It was the biggest achievement of my football career”, says Gunemba when remembers the Golden Boot award he won in the 2016 OFC Nations Cup. Gunemba was the best scorer of the entire competition with five goals.

The Kapuls were under guidance of the Danish coach Flemming Serristlev and we can check in the words of Gunemba the importance the coach had in the success of the national team: “He was the key figure in our success. I believe if he was still here in PNG, we would do much better in the Oceania region“, the player also adds that “Most of the current national team players we really want Flemming back“.

Gunemba still has time to leave his criticism of the current managent of Papua New Guinea Football Association: “It is necessary to have fairness in football, there are still differences between the rebel association and PNGFA. We are one now but the differences are still there“. The PNGFA had a serious problem in the recent years, where two national federations claimed to be the representative of the football in the country, despite only one being considered by FIFA and OFC. The differences between the two football bodies come to an end in the last year with the new president John Kappi Nato, but accordingly to Gunemba there are still questions to be solved between the two parties. “We need to stop all the differences and just focus on how to develop football in the country. There are lots of young talents but lack of coaching and managent can not lead us to another level”, adds Gunemba.

A 33-year national idol, still has a lot to give to his nation. Gunemba is active in the country motivating the young footballers to keep pursuing their dreams and improve their game. The differences between the members of the management of football in the country can not really disturb the dreams of the people that see in their role models the path they want for their futures. A story of success as Gunemba has keeps the flame alive for the youth that wants to have a life from their footballing careers.