Now, having hit the self-described pinnacle of his playing career, 33-year-old Marama Vahirua is hanging up his boots and returning to Tahiti.
The Confederations Cup marked the Toa Aito’s first appearance in a senior FIFA tournament, and was also Vahirua’s first time pulling on the national team shirt.
After leaving Tahiti at the age of 17, Vahirua joined the youth academy at Nantes, winning several honours including a Ligue 1 championship when he moved into the senior team. One of his career highlights was scoring a goal in the UEFA Champions League when Nantes played PSV Eindhoven during the 2001/02 season.
Vahirua then spent two seasons with Nice before joining fellow Ligue 1 club Lorient. His career trajectory saw him sign with Nancy in 2010 from where he was then loaned to Ligue 2 side Monaco then Greek side Panthrakikos – for whom Vahirua made his final appearance for ahead of the Confederations Cup.
Vahirua says the past year he hasn’t felt the same motivation to play as he experienced earlier on in his career which is a factor in his decision to retire from the professional game.
“I spoke with my spouse and said that maybe it’s time for us to return to Tahiti. As well as that there was the opportunity to attend the finals of the Confederations Cup which for me, was a chance to end on a good note,” Vahirua says.
As for the future nothing is certain, though Vahirua is certain he wants to continue to work in sport, and in specific football.
“I would love to send as many Tahitian players as possible to France, and start a number of different things for Tahitian sport and especially for youth,” he says.
Vahirua says that when he left Tahiti at 17 years old he always said he would be returning to his country of birth, and more specifically to his former stomping ground Pirae FC, and he says his return is him keeping his word.
“These last few years Pirae wasn’t really where it should be for me and I have some ideas to bring Pirae back on the right track which hopefully will work. I have my coaching certificates, and I don’t really like the term player-coach, but in any case I can provide some advice to the coach, certainly.”
For more on Tahiti football go to www.ftf.pf

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