View source for Commins Menapi

{{Short description|Solomon Island footballer (1977–2017)}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Commins Menapi
| image = 
| full_name = 
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1977|09|18}}
| birth_place = [[Lata, Solomon Islands|Lata]], [[Temotu Province]], Solomon Islands<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10403971|title= Soccer: Wisdom of Solomon to help with scoring goals|date=2 October 2006|work=The New Zealand Herald|accessdate=18 November 2017}}</ref>
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2017|11|18|1977|09|18}}
| death_place = [[Honiara]], Solomon Islands
| height = 1.85 m
| position = [[Forward (association football)|Striker]]
| youthyears1 = 
| youthclubs1 = 
| years1 = 1998–1999
| years2 = 1999–2000
| years3 = 2000–2003
| years4 = 2003
| years5 = 2004–2006
| years6 = 2006–2007
| years7 = 2007–2008
| years8 = 2008–2010
| years9 = 2011
| years10 = 2012–2013
| years11 = 2013
| clubs1 = [[Marist FC|Marist]]
| clubs2 = [[Nelson Suburbs]]
| clubs3 = [[Sydney United FC|Sydney United]]
| clubs4 = [[Marist FC|Marist]]
| clubs5 = [[Makuru FC|JP Su'uria]]
| clubs6 = [[YoungHeart Manawatu]]
| clubs7 = [[Waitakere United]]
| clubs8 = [[Marist FC|Marist]]
| clubs9 = [[Bundaberg Spirit]]
| clubs10 = [[Marist FC|Marist]]
| clubs11 = [[Western United FC (Solomon Islands)|Western United]]
| caps1 = 8
| caps2 = 3
| caps3 = 66
| caps4 = 0
| caps5 = 0
| caps6 = 21
| caps7 = 39
| goals1 = 15
| goals2 = 0
| goals3 = 19
| goals4 = 0
| goals5 = 0
| goals6 = 12
| goals7 = 21
| nationalyears1 = 2000–2009
| nationalteam1 = [[Solomon Islands national football team|Solomon Islands]]
| nationalcaps1 = 37
| nationalgoals1 = 34
}}

'''Commins Menapi''' (18 September 1977 – 18 November 2017) was a [[Solomon Islands]] [[association football|football]] player and manager who played as a [[forward (association football)|striker]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/344239/sport-solomons-football-legend-menapi-remembered|title=Solomons football legend Menapi remembered|publisher=rnz.co.nz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/pacificbeat/tributes-flow-across-the-pacific-for-solomon/9168178|title=Tributes flow across the Pacific for Solomon Islands legend Commins Menapi|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/the-life-and-death-of-commins-menapi-solomon-islands-greatest-goalscorer|title=The life and death of Commins Menapi – Solomon Islands' greatest goalscorer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/sport/662948/Menapi-hunted?rm=m|title=Menapi hunted|publisher=stuff.co.nz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/domestic/99031775/exwaitkere-united-striker-commins-menapi-dead-at-40|title=Commins Menapi dead at 40|publisher=stuff.co.nz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/soccer-solomons-greets-heroes/F5GOYDYKBNY64N2ZNSRHYYWFZM/|title=Commins Menapi – NZ Herald article}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/139251/Soccer-boys-go-from-rags-to-riches|title=Soccer boys go from rags to riches|publisher=stuff.co.nz}}</ref> As manager of [[Western United FC (Solomon Islands)|Western United]], he guided the club to their first and only Telekom S league title in the 2014–15 season.

==Club career==
Menapi played for [[YoungHeart Manawatu]] in New Zealand, [[Sydney United FC|Sydney United]] of the old [[National Soccer League]] in Australia and for [[Marist FC]], a club from the [[Honiara FA League|Solomon Islands]].

In the 2006–2007 season, he became the first player to be sent off in a [[New Zealand Football Championship]] Grand Final with a nasty studs up kick on [[Auckland City FC|Auckland City]] defender [[Riki van Steeden]]. Van Steeden's leg was broken in the incident and [[Waitakere United]] lost the final 3–2 however, he would not be suspended for the [[OFC Champions League]] final against [[Ba F.C.]] because of the [[Oceania Football Confederation|OFC]] and [[New Zealand Football]] being two separate organisations.
Commins rejoined Solomon Islands team [[Marist FC]]<ref>[http://www.oleole.com/blogs/a-simple-game Article about Solomon Islands football] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605011632/http://www.oleole.com/blogs/a-simple-game |date=5 June 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://vanuafoot.blogspot.com/2010/03/menapi-said-marist-will-play-their-game_05.html|title=Menapi Said Marist Will Play Their Game|date=5 March 2010}}</ref> after a period spent as a [[free agent]].

==International career==
Menapi represented the [[Solomon Islands national football team|Solomon Islands national team]] on 37 occasions, scoring a record 34 goals (including 7 against non-FIFA members). Menapi was arguably the most famous Solomon Islands footballer, after scoring twice for his country against [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]] in a sensational 2–2 draw in the [[2004 OFC Nations Cup|Oceania Nations Cup]] group match in 2004. The result was the only game in the competition that Australia did not win, and the result also ensured Solomon Islands' progression to the next phase at the expense of [[New Zealand national football team|New Zealand]]. In that tournament, Menapi scored four goals in six games.<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/menapi-intlg.html Commins Menapi – International Goals] – RSSSF</ref> Since Australia's exit from the [[Oceania Football Confederation]] in 2006 to join [[Asian Football Confederation]], he became the all-time leading goal scorer for the OFC until [[Chris Wood (footballer, born 1991)|Chris Wood]] of [[New Zealand national football team|New Zealand]] reached his record of 34 goals on the 13 October 2023 and until [[Roy Krishna]] of [[Fiji national football team|Fiji]] surpassed both of them to break the record on the 18 November 2023.<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/menapi-intlg.html Commins Menapi – International Goals] – RSSSF</ref>

==Death==
Menapi died in Honiara in November 2017 at the age of 40, in the early hours of the day, of undisclosed cause.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oceaniafootball.com/vale-commins-menapi/|title=Vale Commins Menapi|date=17 November 2017}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
:''Scores and results list Solomon Islands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Menapi goal.''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Commins Menapi<ref>{{cite web |title=Commins Menapi |url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/6068/Commins_Menapi.html |website=National Football Teams}}</ref>
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
|style="text-align:center"|1
|{{dts|21 June 2000}}
|[[Stade Pater]], [[Papeete]], Tahiti
|{{fb|COK}}
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|style="text-align:center"|5–1
|[[2000 OFC Nations Cup]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"|2
|{{dts|28 June 2000}}
|Stade Pater, Papeete, Tahiti
|{{fb|VAN}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–1
|style="text-align:center"|2–1
|2000 OFC Nations Cup
|-
|style="text-align:center"|3
|rowspan=3|{{dts|4 June 2001}}
|rowspan=3|North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
|rowspan=3|{{fb|COK}}
|style="text-align:center"|2–1
| align="center" rowspan=3|9–1
|rowspan=3|[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"|4
|style="text-align:center"|5–1
|-
|style="text-align:center"|5
|style="text-align:center"|6–1
|-
|style="text-align:center"|6
|rowspan="2"|{{dts|8 June 2001}}
|rowspan="2"|North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
|rowspan="2"|{{fb|VAN}}
|style="text-align:center"|2–1
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|7–2
|rowspan="2"|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|style="text-align:center"|7
|style="text-align:center"|6–2
|-
|style="text-align:center"|8
|{{dts|7 July 2002}}
|North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
|{{fb|TAH}}
|style="text-align:center"|2–1
|style="text-align:center"|2–3
|[[2002 OFC Nations Cup]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"|9
|rowspan="2"|{{dts|14 June 2003}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Sir John Guise Stadium]], [[Port Moresby]], Papua New Guinea
|rowspan="2"|{{fb|PNG}}
|style="text-align:center"|5–3
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|5–3
|rowspan="2"|Friendly
|-
|style="text-align:center"|10
|style="text-align:center"|5–3
|-
|style="text-align:center"|11
|rowspan="2"|{{dts|1 July 2003}}
|rowspan="2"|[[ANZ National Stadium]], [[Suva]], Fiji
|rowspan="2"|{{fb|VAN}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–2
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|2–2
|rowspan="2"|[[Football at the 2003 South Pacific Games – Men's tournament|2003 South Pacific Games]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"|12
|style="text-align:center"|2–2
|-
|style="text-align:center"|13
|rowspan="5"|{{dts|3 July 2003}}
|rowspan="5"|ANZ National Stadium, Suva, Fiji
|rowspan="5"|{{fb|KIR}}
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|rowspan="5" style="text-align:center"|7–0
|rowspan="5"|2003 South Pacific Games
|-
|style="text-align:center"|14
|style="text-align:center"|3–0
|-
|style="text-align:center"|15
|style="text-align:center"|4–0
|-
|style="text-align:center"|16
|style="text-align:center"|5–0
|-
|style="text-align:center"|17
|style="text-align:center"|6–0
|-
|style="text-align:center"|18
|rowspan="2"|{{dts|5 July 2003}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Ratu Cakobau Park]], [[Nausori]], Fiji
|rowspan="2"|{{fb|TUV}}
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|4–0
|rowspan="2"|2003 South Pacific Games
|-
|style="text-align:center"|19
|style="text-align:center"|4–0
|-
|style="text-align:center"|20
|{{dts|7 July 2003}}
|[[Churchill Park (Lautoka)|Churchill Park]], [[Lautoka]], Fiji
|{{fb|FIJ}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–2
|style="text-align:center"|1–2
|2003 South Pacific Games
|-
|style="text-align:center"|21
|rowspan="2"|{{dts|3 April 2004}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Korman Stadium]], [[Port Vila]], Vanuatu
|rowspan="2"|{{fb|VAN}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–1
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|2–1
|rowspan="2"|Friendly
|-
|style="text-align:center"|22
|style="text-align:center"|2–1
|-
|style="text-align:center"|23
|{{dts|6 April 2004}}
|Korman Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu
|{{fb|VAN}}
|style="text-align:center"|2–1
|style="text-align:center"|2–1
|Friendly
|-
|style="text-align:center"|24
|rowspan="2"|{{dts|2 June 2004}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Hindmarsh Stadium]], [[Adelaide]], Australia
|rowspan="2"|{{fb|TAH}}
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|4–0
|rowspan="2"|[[2004 OFC Nations Cup]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"|25
|style="text-align:center"|4–0
|-
|style="text-align:center"|26
|rowspan="2"|{{dts|6 June 2004}}
|rowspan="2"|Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia
|rowspan="2"|{{fb|AUS}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|2–2
|rowspan="2"|2004 OFC Nations Cup
|-
|style="text-align:center"|27
|style="text-align:center"|2–2
|-
|style="text-align:center"|28
|rowspan="4"|{{dts|25 August 2007}}
|rowspan="4"|[[National Soccer Stadium (Samoa)|National Soccer Stadium]], [[Apia]], Samoa
|rowspan="4"|{{fb|ASA}}
|style="text-align:center"|3–0
|rowspan="4" style="text-align:center"|12–1
|rowspan="4"|[[Football at the 2007 South Pacific Games – Men's tournament|2007 South Pacific Games]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"|29
|style="text-align:center"|4–0
|-
|style="text-align:center"|30
|style="text-align:center"|8–1
|-
|style="text-align:center"|31
|style="text-align:center"|9–1
|-
|style="text-align:center"|32
|rowspan="2"|{{dts|27 August 2007}}
|rowspan="2"|National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa
|rowspan="2"|{{fb|TGA}}
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|4–0
|rowspan="2"|2007 South Pacific Games
|-
|style="text-align:center"|33
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|-
|style="text-align:center"|34
|{{dts|5 September 2007}}
|National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa
|{{fb|NCL}}
|style="text-align:center"|2–1
|style="text-align:center"|2–3
|2007 South Pacific Games
|}

==External links==
* {{NFT player|6068}}
* [http://www.waitakereunited.co.nz/football/07profile/menapi.html Player profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109011629/http://www.waitakereunited.co.nz/football/07profile/menapi.html |date=9 January 2008 }} – Waitakere club website

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Navboxes
| title = Solomon Islands squads
| bg        = #215B33
| fg        = #FCD116
| bordercolor = #0051BA
| list =
{{Solomon Islands squad 2000 OFC Nations Cup}}
{{Solomon Islands squad 2002 OFC Nations Cup}}
{{Solomon Islands squad 2004 OFC Nations Cup}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menapi, Commins}}
[[Category:1977 births]]
[[Category:2017 deaths]]
[[Category:Solomon Islands men's footballers]]
[[Category:Solomon Islands men's international footballers]]
[[Category:People from Temotu Province]]
[[Category:National Soccer League (Australia) players]]
[[Category:Sydney United 58 FC players]]
[[Category:Waitakere United players]]
[[Category:Manawatu United players]]
[[Category:Nelson Suburbs FC players]]
[[Category:Marist F.C. players]]
[[Category:2000 OFC Nations Cup players]]
[[Category:2002 OFC Nations Cup players]]
[[Category:2004 OFC Nations Cup players]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Fiji]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Solomon Islands expatriate sportspeople in Australia]]
[[Category:Solomon Islands expatriate sportspeople in Fiji]]
[[Category:Solomon Islands expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:New Zealand Football Championship players]]