Papua is one of the regions in the Republic of Indonesia that never stops producing talented footballers. The assumption circulating in society then says that basically Papuans definitely have the ability to play football above average. The existing talent is considered a natural talent and it is continuously passed down to the next generation. One real proof is a talented footballer from Papua named Reno Salampessy. Football lovers in Indonesia must be familiar with the name Salampessy. The reason is because the name Salampessy is the family name of one of the Indonesian football legends from Papua, namely Ricardo Salampessy.
Reno Salampessy is the son of Ricardo Salampessy who is struggling to pursue a career as a professional footballer. Tall and thin, Reno Salampessy has a physical resemblance that is very similar to his father, Ricardo Salampessy. However, Reno has a different position from Ricardo. When he was still active as a professional footballer, Ricardo was a footballer who played as a center back or wing back who was famous for his tenacity in helping the defense line. Ricardo’s abilities made him the champion of the Indonesian League with the pride of the Papuan people, Persipura Jayapura. His achievements succeeded in getting Ricardo called up to defend the Indonesian National Team.
The similarities between Reno Salampessy and his father are not only physical but also tenacity. However, Reno plays as an attacking player and more often as a winger who is persistent in dribbling the ball from the edge of the field and sending passes to the front players or dribbling the ball himself to score goals. Reno’s football talent was further honed when he joined the Football School. Some of the Football Schools that Reno has played for include the Batik Football School, the PLN Volta Jayapura Football School and the Heijnes Football School. Reno was also called up by the Papua provincial team to compete in the 16-year-old Provincial Sports Week in 2022.
Reno’s talent caught the attention of the Indonesian National Team management when he managed to perform well with the Heijnes Football School. Competing in the Garuda International Cup tournament, Reno became one of the strikers with the most goals scored so that he received an invitation to join the Garuda United training camp, which is a training camp for players who will be projected to become the Indonesian National Team in the 17-year-old age group. Reno Salampessy is still continuously trying to improve his abilities. In addition to playing football at the national level, he also attended several training camps at the international level such as in Barcelona and Thailand. Reno Salampessy’s hope is of course to have a professional career like his father and even surpass him.