Photo Credit: OFC Media via Phototek
Remember the name Tiahiti Colombani. The Tahiti U-16 Men’s captain has lit up the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship in Papeete with some brilliant individual performances.
Technically gifted Colombani, whose grandfather Roland is a former Tahiti international, is one of the brightest young talents in Oceania. And he’s has just joined French Ligue 1 side AJ Auxerre after spending last season at Ligue 2 side ASM Belfort.
Colombani first rose to international prominence playing for Tahiti in last year’s OFC U-16 Men’s Championship in Fiji, and he subsequently secured a six-week trial with Belfort.
That turned into a full-time contract, but the process to register him took time and he only debuted for their U-16 side last December after attending the Raoul Follereau high school in Belfort where he focussed on football and studies.
For Colombani, returning to Tahiti after more than a year playing football in a professional set up like ASM Balfort, the difference is stark.
“The difference between here and there is that it’s cooler here, the players play to enjoy it and are not mentally prepared for combat. But in France you have to fight for your place in the team, and it’s more important the football, than here,” Colombani said.
So how did the then 15-year-old adjust to moving France with his parents and playing football in such an intense, cut-throat environment?
“In France, you go into a development centre. So it’s football morning, noon, night. You eat football, you sleep football. When you want it, it’s easy to adapt,” Colombani explained.
“And if the players see that you’re up to the task, it’s sure to go well. They’ll come to you. They’ll ask you questions at the start.
“They’ll know where you play. And also, they think about their place. When they see a good player, they panic too,” he added.
There’s another important aspect to Colombani’s football development to consider.
“The fact that I’ve played in France for a year, it has changed my mentality. I’ve become more… not mature, but more football-oriented.
“Coming back here we know all the players, they’re our friends. Sometimes we laugh with them when we’re on the pitch, but over there, we don’t laugh, it’s war, we want to win.”
Colombani has tried to help instil that winning mindset among his teammates in the Tahiti U-16 team as they strive to secure one of three spots at the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup™ in Qatar next year.
Tahiti plays Fiji in tomorrow’s semi-finals and a win would secure qualification for the FIFA showpiece event.
“Of course, we’re forced not to show our mental weaknesses. We mustn’t give up. Even here, when I came back, I had to show them that it has changed in my head. That here, it’s small, football-wise.
“I have had to change the minds of the players to tell them we have to adapt here. We play for our national team, and we go on the pitch and stay focussed.”
So how did the move to AJ Auxerre come about for Colombani?
“My team was playing the Auxerre U-16 team (in December) and we lost 1-0 but after the game there were players from Auxerre who sent me messages saying ‘the coach thinks you’re good he’s interested’ and that’s how the exchanges started. It started there. Then in May, because there was no follow-up, I said to myself, let’s go home [to Tahiti].”
It was that this point that someone who had contacts with Auxerre called his parents to ask about Tiahiti and that the Auxerre coach was interested in him. He will now move to the Burgundy based club when he returns from this tournament.
The French club already has a plan in place for Colombani, who will join their U-18 squad in France.
Coincidently one of the AJ Auxerre coaches and recruiters has a daughter who lives in Tahiti, and he visited Colombani last month and discussed his contract and showed him the programme for the upcoming season.
“The most important thing he said was not to get injured in this tournament before going back to France!” Colombani laughed.
Colombani has a powerful left foot shot, silky footwork and great positional sense on the pitch but acknowledges there are weaknesses he needs to focus on.
“I need to work on the intensity of the runs. I need to run more. Because over there, it’s just that. It’s running for 90 minutes. Movement, that’s all. The coach says I have the technique, the moves and everything, but have to work on my intensity.”
“I want to make it as a professional player, it’s my passion. I have been training for this since I was a kid. Sometimes, like everyone else, we say to ourselves, it’s hard right now. Should I stop or not? But you can’t give up. You have to keep going, as far as you can.
“I want to show that even coming from a small country in Polynesia, you can play in a big country like France.”