goodmorningpapua.com – For Papuan football, a figure of Eduard Ivakdalam is a legend. The man who was born in Merauke was recorded as having defended three teams from Bumi Cendrawasih, namely Persipura Jayapura, Persidafon Dafonsoro, and Persiwa Wamena.
Persipura has been the club that has in the longest time defended by Edu’s brother, Eduard Ivak was such fondly called, when he was active in playing football. At the club nicknamed the Black Pearl, Eduard spent 16 years with a total of 218 appearances.
During his career on the gridiron, Eduard Ivakdalam was known as an elegant midfielder who became the motor of his team’s attack. For more than a decade in Persipura uniform, Eduard was able to bring Mutiara Hitam to win the Indonesian League twice, namely in the 2005 and 2008-2009 seasons.
In addition to two league titles, Eduard also helped Persipura win the Community Shield trophy in 2009. At the international level, Eduard Ivak played for the Indonesian national team from 1996 to 2004 by scoring three goals from 11 caps. He was part of the Indonesian national team which won a silver medal at the 1997 SEA Games. Eduard Ivak in hanging his boots in 2014 with the last club he played for was Persiwa Wamena.
Eduard took the AFC C License coaching course in 2016. After completing the coaching course, he immediately took charge of Persewar Waropen, who was then playing in Liga 3. A year later, Eduard was entrusted with coaching another Papuan team, Persemi Mimika who also competed in Liga 3.
Since 2019, Eduard Ivakdalam together with his former teammate at Persipura, Gerald Pangkal, who acts as an assistant coach have been appointed to manage the football team for PON Paua. In addition to being a soccer coach, Eduard is now also listed as a State Civil Apparatus (ASN) at the Papuan Ministry of Communication and Informatics. To fill his spare time, he builds and trains SSB Putra Pacific.