Brilio.net - The roar of the stadium over the victory of Indonesia VS Philippines still brings joy to Indonesian football fans. This victory gave Indonesia the right to advance to the third round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in the Asian Zone. The national team is now in the public spotlight, not only because of the games on the field, but also the players' activities after the match. One of the highlights is naturalized player Ragnar Oratmangoen.
Currently the football league is on an international break at the end of the season. Players whose countries are not currently competing can enjoy a long holiday until the league resumes. Instead of going to tourist attractions, Ragnar Oratmangoen used this opportunity to visit his father's hometown in Maluku.
photo: Instagram/@0ratmangoen
Ragnar is an Indonesian diaspora player who last season defended the Fortuna Sittard Club on loan. Fortuna Sittard is a football club that plays in the Dutch Top League. Last season, Ragnar and his friends managed to finish in 10th place with 38 points. After that, he defended Indonesia in the last two matches.
Ragnar can defend the national team because he has Indonesian ancestry. The 26 year old player has Maluku blood. His father's grandfather was a man born in Ambon.
photo: Instagram/@0ratmangoen
Even though he was born in the Netherlands, this player born in 1998 also has an Indonesian name. The name Oratmangoen attached to it is a clan or fam from Maluku Province. It is known that this clan comes from the Tanimbar Islands.
Because of this, a few days after the match he actually preferred to return to his hometown. He posted this directly via his personal Instagram account. It was seen that many residents were enthusiastic about welcoming the arrival of one of the mainstay players of the National Team.
They all waved while cheering "Oratmangoen, Oratmangoen" as Ragnar made a video. This also makes many netizens strengthen the opinion that Ragnar cannot be called an outsider, but rather a child of his own nation.
Ragnar's visit to his village answers the confusion and pros and cons regarding naturalization. This seems to confirm that Ragnar is a native Indonesian player and has the right to defend the national team. So, netizens hope that there will be no more confusion between local and naturalized players.
photo: Instagram/@0ratmangoen
" It's cool, he's Indonesian, he doesn't have tin cans, " said the account @yurinal,
" There are still people who say he is not Indonesian, " said the account @dimas_aryo.
It is known that Ragnar Oratmangoen officially held an Indonesian passport on March 18 2024. He took the oath at the DKI Jakarta Regional Office (Kanwil) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham).
After officially becoming an Indonesian citizen, Ragnar has played for the national team 3 times. 2 of them were against Vietnam and the other was against the Philippines. From this performance, Ragnar has contributed one goal for Indonesia against Vietnam.
(brl/wen)
