PAPEETE – The waiting ended for thousands of football fans in French Polynesia as stars of the 1998 FIFA World Cup winning French national team arrived in Papeete to celebrate the career of Tahitian-born French international Pascal Vahirua.
Christian Karembeu, Laurent Blanc, Robert Pires and Sabri Lamouchi were amongst a galaxy of international football stars that touched down on the tarmac greeted by hundreds of fans eager to see the legends of French football in the flesh.
The France ’98 team will play a Jubilee match marking the career of one of Oceania’s most successful international football exports – Pascal Vahirua. Vahirua played alongside such greats as Jean Pierre Papin and Eric Cantona in a glittering international career that saw the Tahitian grace some of the most exotic football stadiums in Europe.
Antoine Kambouare – a former defender with Aberdeen born in New Caledonia – was also amongst the contingent as Vahirua’s peers and colleagues gathered together to celebrate his illustrious career.
The France ’98 group was accompanied by Aime Jacquet and Henri Emile – the coaching duo that helped guide France to its epic 3-0 win over Brazil at the Stade de France in Saint Denis almost ten years ago.
Accomodated by Christian Karembeu and Pascal Vahirua, the champions then lent themselves to the plays of the traditional meetings photographs and interviews with the public and awaiting media before being whisked away to their hotel resort near Pirae.
Federation Tahitienne de Football (FTF) U-20 coach and Technical Director Lionel Charbonnier will also line up alongside his FIFA World Cup winning team-mates after moving to French Polynesia late last year.
13,000 tickets have been sold for the match at Stade Pater with the match sold out within weeks of tickets being made available.
MATCH DETAILS
Pascal Vahirua XI vs. France ’98 XI
Stade Pater
Tahiti
Monday 26 May 2008/Tuesday (NZT)
Kick-off: 20H00 (Tahitian time)/19H00 (NZT)