Tahiti 2018 Home (#19- VAHIRUA) Jersey/Shirt

This is a Nike Tahiti national team 2018 home jersey featuring the number of legendary midfield Marama Vahirua.

Marama Vahirua is arguably the greatest player in the history of Tahitian footballer and one of the most prolific footballers to have come from the Pacific region. Vahirua had a successful career predominantly playing in the French Ligue 1, firstly with Nantes and later having spells at Nice, Lorient, Nancy and AS Monaco, before ending his European club career in Greece with Panthrakikos F.C. He then returned to his birthplace of Tahiti, where he represented the national team and played for a range of clubs in the local league. He international career with Tahiti began in 2013, where he was the only full-time footballer in the national team squad for their historic appearance at the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil. He eventually retired from professional football at the end of the tournament, however made a return in 2018, playing in a series of friendlies against New Caledonia.

Tahiti is traditionally one of the stronger footballing nations of the Pacific Islands, having the second-best record at the football section of the South Pacific Games, with five victories. Their greatest achievement however was winning the 2012 OFC Nations Cup title, becoming the first team other than Australia and New Zealand to win the competition. After finishing on top of their group, Tahiti defeated hosts Solomon Islands in the semi-final before a 1-0 victory against New Caledonia in the final, with star striker Steevy Chong Hue scoring the winning goal. This famous victory secured qualification for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, where they would face some of the world’s strongest teams. Despite being well beaten in all three group matches by Nigeria, Spain and Uruguay, Tahiti still greatly exceeded expectations and performed admirably throughout the tournament.