Justin Hoobner has not played a single game since joining the Premier League. Nevertheless, he is being treated as a superstar in his home country of Indonesia.
Born in 2003, defender Hoobner is the only Premier Leaguer for the Indonesian national team. Having grown up after joining Wolverhampton Youth in 2020, Hoobner was called up to the first team in the 2023-24 season and was included in the replacement list in the 14th round against Arsenal, which received fans’ expectations.
However, he is realizing the high level of PL. In the 2023-24 season, he left for Cerezo Osaka in the J-League to gain experience in real games, but returned to the team lonesomely by wandering around in the bench, and has yet to seize the opportunity this season as well, mostly staying in the reserve team (second division).
Hoobner is still very popular in Indonesia, his mother country, even though he is in his fifth year of joining the club. According to the British media Sports Bible, Hoobner said in an interview with The Athletic, “You can’t leave a hotel in Indonesia. Because people are always waiting for me and running to me. If I stop by a store, about 100 people will be waiting for me. Because I’m their idol.” 먹튀검증
He added, “Even my teammates at Wolverhampton jokingly ask me, ‘Can I change the national team to Indonesia?’ When I come back to Europe, I feel like I live my life without stress. There is no privacy in Indonesia, and wherever I go, someone is recording me.”