The excitement is building on Tahiti’s beautiful Island of Moorea as the 2009 Tahiti Nui Beach Soccer Championship is poised to kick off tomorrow.
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) will bring you a series of profiles throughout the week to help you familiarise yourself with some of key players in each of the four competing national squads.
Our second profiled player is the most experienced member amongst this year’s OFC Beach Soccer newcomers, Fijian lynchpin Valerio Nawatu.
Age: 24
Home town: Latouka
Favorite type of music, or musician?
“I love reggae, but I don’t have a favorite musician.”
Favorite type of food?
“Fish – all the fish dishes from home.”
What Beach Soccer club do you play for in Fiji?
“Navua.”
What is your favorite/most satisfying Beach Soccer memory or moment?
“Winning the Fiji Open Beach Soccer tournament twice.. and beating the (Fiji Beach Soccer coach Intiaz Khan) coach’s team in the final!”
Do you have a team you like competing against the most?
“I think all the teams at the Championship this year will be very hard to beat, we will treat all the games the same. Obviously the Solomon Islands will be very tough with their World Cup experience. If we can qualify for the World Cup I would love to play against Italy, they are one of my favorite teams.”
Who is your favorite football player?
Zidane!
What is it that you specifically like about Beach Soccer as opposed to eleven aside football?
I find Beach Soccer more relaxed than eleven aside football. There is less emphasis on running and more on really skillful passing and taking lots of shots on goal. I like that there are always a lot of goals scored.
What are your expectations for your team this year?
I am aiming to help my team qualify, we expect to qualify, and we really want to represent Fiji in Dubai.