梦想照进现实:塔希提的联合会杯之旅
文 / Aidan Williams
彼时的塔希提世界排名第138位,排在他们身前身后的分别是苏丹和卢旺达。凭借着自身的努力,塔希提成功跻身2013年联合会杯,从而得以与各路世界强队同场竞技。三场小组赛在贝洛奥里藏特、里约热内卢和累西腓举行,对手则依次是非洲冠军、欧洲冠军(同时也是当时的世界冠军)和南美洲冠军。
塔希提岛上共有25万人口,其中有注册球员11000人。作为南太平洋诸岛中首支入围国际足联旗下成年队大赛的代表队,塔希提甚至都不是一个主权国家,它是法属波利尼西亚群岛中最大的岛屿,因此也是法国的一部分。很显然,足球在这座岛上注定只能成为人们的一项业余爱好。
“世界上有99%的业余球员和1%的职业球员,”埃塔埃塔说道,“我们的球队获得了代表业余足球迎战世界强队的机会。虽然只是业余球员,我们也必须做好准备,像职业球员一样去战斗。”
与巴西的光鲜舞台相比,位于所罗门群岛首都霍尼亚拉的劳森-塔玛体育场显得简陋得多。2012年6月,塔希提队在这里收获了大洋洲国家杯的冠军,不仅成为了澳新之外的首支夺冠队伍,还拿到了联合会杯的入场券。
可以料想的是,塔希提人将在巴西吃到几场结结实实的大败;而在大洋洲国家杯的征程中,他们也以相同的方式重创了本大洲的鱼腩部队。首战面对萨摩亚,塔希提以10-1狂胜对手。值得一提的是,10个进球中有9个都来自于泰奥(Tehau)家族:双胞胎兄弟洛伦佐和埃尔文分别上演了大四喜和梅开二度,他们的哥哥若纳唐同样独中两元,表弟泰奥努伊也有一球入账。
此后塔希提队再接再厉,先后以4-3和4-1击败了新喀里多尼亚和瓦努阿图。赢得小组头名的他们成功地在半决赛中避开了强大的新西兰,与所罗门群岛狭路相逢。面对东道主,若纳唐-泰奥攻入全场唯一进球,帮助球队晋级。这也意味着塔希提至少能够追平自己的历史最佳战绩,此前他们曾在1996年的赛事中收获亚军。
塔希提预想中的决赛对手显然是新西兰队,“全白军团”在两年前的南非世界杯上表现出色,球队坐拥克里斯-伍德等球星,司职前锋的伍德刚刚在英冠踢出了一个很棒的赛季。假如遇上这样一个对手,那塔希提显然将处于下风。然而另外一场半决赛的结果却大大地出人意料,新喀里多尼亚以2-0爆冷淘汰新西兰,决赛成为了在地球另一端上演的法国内战(新喀也是法国的海外属地)。
Having already edged past New Caledonia in the group stage, confidence was high in the Tahitian camp; far higher than it would have been had New Zealand been the opposition. It was a justified confidence too as an early strike from Steevy Chong Hue sealed another narrow victory and earned Tahiti’s first piece of major silverware.
More than that, it gave the opportunity to travel to Brazil for the Confederations Cup to face the “big boys” as Etaeta had described it. It may have been Tahiti’s first ever appearance at a senior level FIFA competition, but many of the squad travelling to Brazil – Tahiti’s golden generation if you will – had taken part in the 2009 under-20 World Cup in Egypt where, as they would in Brazil, they had faced Nigeria and Spain. It was a chastening experience as Tahiti lost all three group games, conceding twenty-one goals in the process, and scoring none.
Shortly after their Oceanian success, Tahiti’s political status as part of France meant they took part in the biennial Coupe de l’Outre-Mer in Paris, a French FA tournament for France’s overseas territories. Far from providing a boost to morale ahead of the challenge that lay ahead, Tahiti lost their opening game to the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte. They did recover to win their next two games but it wasn’t enough to even reach the semi-finals. A confidence booster it was not.
The trip to France did yield a significant reward, however. The only Tahitian player to play professionally was a 33-year-old named Marama Vahirua. At the time, he was on the books of French top flight club Nancy, although they loaned him out to Greek club Panthrakikos. A former French under-21 international, he had played at the highest level with more than 300 appearances in Ligue 1, as well as playing for Nantes in the Champions League.
He had left Tahiti and his hometown of Papeete some 15 years earlier to join the Nantes youth setup, but his professional success had come at a price. He’d been unable to represent his country in what his European employers would have considered to be meaningless, lowly tournaments such as the Pacific Games or the OFC Nations Cup. Qualification for the Confederations Cup, however, meant that Vahirua’s dream of playing for Tahiti could finally, belatedly come true.
While Tahiti’s trip to Brazil was seen in some quarters as a heart-warming tale of against-the-odds success, their lowly status and amateur squad – Vahirua aside – meant that their very presence in Brazil was questioned by some. Lambs to the slaughter they may have been, but they had earned the right to be there. The fear of course was that in their first ever official senior matches against teams from outside Oceania they would embarrass themselves, and therefore by extension embarrass the tournament.
The African champions, Nigeria, were the first test lying in wait for Tahiti in a match played in the Mineirao in Belo Horizonte. It was a match that would end with a five goal defeat but would provide the most iconic scene of the whole competition. What would be remembered most about this match wasn’t that Nigeria scored within five minutes of the start, after a farcical stroke of luck when the ball rebounded to goal scorer Uwa Echiejile from the referee. Nor would it be that a second was added soon after, or that Tahiti shot themselves in the foot by scoring an own goal.
Rather, the moment that the world would remember, and the image that illustrated most match reports the following day, came early in the second half. Already three goals down, Tahiti’s Jonathan Tehau, a delivery driver when he’s not competing in global football events, headed home at the far post from a deep corner triggering rapturous and raucous celebrations from the Tahitians on the pitch and the Brazilians in the crowd.
The image beamed around the world was of Tehau and his teammates celebrating by going down on one knee and pretending to paddle canoes in honour of Tahiti’s national sport of Va’a canoe racing.
The energy and effervescence of the Tahitians had been the most notable aspect of the match, as they strung together several series of passes and neat moves, retaining possession quite well at times. They may have been facing an opposition of far higher standing, but they were trying to play the game their way, without fear, attacking when the opportunities arose. That their spirit and bravery had been rewarded with a goal was a moment to cherish for football lovers the world over.
For a spell after scoring, they visibly grew in confidence, frustrating their more illustrious opponents, before the amateurs eventually ran out of steam and succumbed to a late Nigerian flurry. It was Tehau himself who netted the own goal which cancelled out his historic strike at the other end, but nothing could dampen his spirits on a night he would never forget.
“I am so proud to score,” he told reporters afterwards. “I saw the gap and went for it. We showed we could play some football, and yes we lost, but we deserved at least a goal and we got it.” When subsequently asked about his own-goal shortly after his moment of glory, Tehau laughed and said: “Well, that’s just football.”
It had been a moving experience, fully embraced by their Nigerian counterparts too. The Nigerian players hugged the Tahitians warmly at the final whistle, as the emotion of their moment in the global spotlight spilled over for some. “I was deeply moved, almost crying,” said Eddie Etaeta. “We watch World Cups on TV. Today we were actors.”
In the stadium that would become the scene of Brazil’s nightmare 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany a year later, Tahiti had performed with a refreshing degree of style and positivity in the face of overwhelming odds. That they provided the moment of the tournament was the icing on the cake. That lone headed goal was all Tahiti needed for their Brazilian adventure to be nothing other than a success.
A few days later, Tahiti’s band of enthusiastic hopefuls moved a little south to one of the grandest settings in all of world football. They would be taking on none other than the world and European champions, Spain, in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana. There has surely never been such an epic mismatch in the history of international football. It was a far cry from opening OFC Nations Cup match against Samoa in front of just 3,000 spectators a year before.
That Spain subjected Tahiti to the biggest thrashing in FIFA completion history, in terms of tournament finals anyway, was of little relevance. The 10-0 scoreline wasn’t entirely unexpected after all. But once again it was the spirit and perseverance of the Tahiti players that most caught the eye.
Having conceded in the opening minutes once more, Tahiti then kept out the likes of Fernando Torres and David Villa for nigh on the next half an hour. So what if they went on to concede double figures? They never gave up in the face of one of the greatest national teams of all-time.
Spain, for their part, played the game the right way too. It might have been easy to lapse into a training ground mentality and take it easy, or to veer into showboating to humiliate their opponents, but Spain played it as they would any other match, following Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque’s insistence that his players show Tahiti full respect. “Tahiti set an example in terms of fair play and went forward whenever they had the opportunity,” he explained. “We didn’t score more goals because they didn’t let us. This game hasn’t damaged football in any way. In some ways it’s made it even stronger.”
“We focused like we were playing a final,” added Fernando Torres. “Spain have shown respect from the first minute to the last minute and that’s important. Often inferior teams look to break up the game and get aggressive; they play without spirit or hope. Standards aside, Tahiti showed a great example of how to go about playing football. We have tried to show them respect in every sense.”
It was a gesture that was appreciated by the Tahitians, even if it meant the Spanish didn’t let up even as the margin continued to grow. It was also noted by the crowd who embraced Tahiti’s sterling efforts with warm and generous support. “I’m still in the stars,” said Mikael Roche, Tahiti’s 30-year-old sports teacher cum goalkeeper said after the match. “The Brazilian crowd has been such a wonderful crowd, they’ve been cheering for us even though we’re just small players, a small team. I’ll never forget what they did for us.”
Four days later: another match, another heavy defeat. This time it was the South American champions Uruguay who racked up the goals in an 8-0 victory. It hardly mattered. Tahiti’s place in football folklore had already been assured by what had gone before. The islanders would leave the global footballing stage with a great deal more respect than they had arrived with.
Football is a global game and not the preserve solely of big nations. For better or worse, Tahiti’s presence in Brazil was a reminder of that. Perhaps most of all, Tahiti’s endeavours showed what is good about football. If you earn it, you can take your place alongside the great and the good of the game.
Not for me the ridicule of a mismatch and the arrogant, narrow view that Tahiti shouldn’t have been there. They were continental champions. They earned it. And more than that, their performances demonstrated football’s power for good. Its ability to make dreams come true, and to allow the possibility to dream in the first place. Success in sport is a relative concept, and for Tahiti, the 2013 Confederations Cup represented their pinnacle, their Everest, their footballing fulfilment.
梦想照进现实:塔希提的联合会杯之旅
文 / Aidan Williams
彼时的塔希提世界排名第138位,排在他们身前身后的分别是苏丹和卢旺达。凭借着自身的努力,塔希提成功跻身2013年联合会杯,从而得以与各路世界强队同场竞技。三场小组赛在贝洛奥里藏特、里约热内卢和累西腓举行,对手则依次是非洲冠军、欧洲冠军(同时也是当时的世界冠军)和南美洲冠军。
塔希提岛上共有25万人口,其中有注册球员11000人。作为南太平洋诸岛中首支入围国际足联旗下成年队大赛的代表队,塔希提甚至都不是一个主权国家,它是法属波利尼西亚群岛中最大的岛屿,因此也是法国的一部分。很显然,足球在这座岛上注定只能成为人们的一项业余爱好。
“世界上有99%的业余球员和1%的职业球员,”埃塔埃塔说道,“我们的球队获得了代表业余足球迎战世界强队的机会。虽然只是业余球员,我们也必须做好准备,像职业球员一样去战斗。”
与巴西的光鲜舞台相比,位于所罗门群岛首都霍尼亚拉的劳森-塔玛体育场显得简陋得多。2012年6月,塔希提队在这里收获了大洋洲国家杯的冠军,不仅成为了澳新之外的首支夺冠队伍,还拿到了联合会杯的入场券。
可以料想的是,塔希提人将在巴西吃到几场结结实实的大败;而在大洋洲国家杯的征程中,他们也以相同的方式重创了本大洲的鱼腩部队。首战面对萨摩亚,塔希提以10-1狂胜对手。值得一提的是,10个进球中有9个都来自于泰奥(Tehau)家族:双胞胎兄弟洛伦佐和埃尔文分别上演了大四喜和梅开二度,他们的哥哥若纳唐同样独中两元,表弟泰奥努伊也有一球入账。
此后塔希提队再接再厉,先后以4-3和4-1击败了新喀里多尼亚和瓦努阿图。赢得小组头名的他们成功地在半决赛中避开了强大的新西兰,与所罗门群岛狭路相逢。面对东道主,若纳唐-泰奥攻入全场唯一进球,帮助球队晋级。这也意味着塔希提至少能够追平自己的历史最佳战绩,此前他们曾在1996年的赛事中收获亚军。
塔希提预想中的决赛对手显然是新西兰队,“全白军团”在两年前的南非世界杯上表现出色,球队坐拥克里斯-伍德等球星,司职前锋的伍德刚刚在英冠踢出了一个很棒的赛季。假如遇上这样一个对手,那塔希提显然将处于下风。然而另外一场半决赛的结果却大大地出人意料,新喀里多尼亚以2-0爆冷淘汰新西兰,决赛成为了在地球另一端上演的法国内战(新喀也是法国的海外属地)。
Having already edged past New Caledonia in the group stage, confidence was high in the Tahitian camp; far higher than it would have been had New Zealand been the opposition. It was a justified confidence too as an early strike from Steevy Chong Hue sealed another narrow victory and earned Tahiti’s first piece of major silverware.
More than that, it gave the opportunity to travel to Brazil for the Confederations Cup to face the “big boys” as Etaeta had described it. It may have been Tahiti’s first ever appearance at a senior level FIFA competition, but many of the squad travelling to Brazil – Tahiti’s golden generation if you will – had taken part in the 2009 under-20 World Cup in Egypt where, as they would in Brazil, they had faced Nigeria and Spain. It was a chastening experience as Tahiti lost all three group games, conceding twenty-one goals in the process, and scoring none.
Shortly after their Oceanian success, Tahiti’s political status as part of France meant they took part in the biennial Coupe de l’Outre-Mer in Paris, a French FA tournament for France’s overseas territories. Far from providing a boost to morale ahead of the challenge that lay ahead, Tahiti lost their opening game to the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte. They did recover to win their next two games but it wasn’t enough to even reach the semi-finals. A confidence booster it was not.
The trip to France did yield a significant reward, however. The only Tahitian player to play professionally was a 33-year-old named Marama Vahirua. At the time, he was on the books of French top flight club Nancy, although they loaned him out to Greek club Panthrakikos. A former French under-21 international, he had played at the highest level with more than 300 appearances in Ligue 1, as well as playing for Nantes in the Champions League.
He had left Tahiti and his hometown of Papeete some 15 years earlier to join the Nantes youth setup, but his professional success had come at a price. He’d been unable to represent his country in what his European employers would have considered to be meaningless, lowly tournaments such as the Pacific Games or the OFC Nations Cup. Qualification for the Confederations Cup, however, meant that Vahirua’s dream of playing for Tahiti could finally, belatedly come true.
While Tahiti’s trip to Brazil was seen in some quarters as a heart-warming tale of against-the-odds success, their lowly status and amateur squad – Vahirua aside – meant that their very presence in Brazil was questioned by some. Lambs to the slaughter they may have been, but they had earned the right to be there. The fear of course was that in their first ever official senior matches against teams from outside Oceania they would embarrass themselves, and therefore by extension embarrass the tournament.
The African champions, Nigeria, were the first test lying in wait for Tahiti in a match played in the Mineirao in Belo Horizonte. It was a match that would end with a five goal defeat but would provide the most iconic scene of the whole competition. What would be remembered most about this match wasn’t that Nigeria scored within five minutes of the start, after a farcical stroke of luck when the ball rebounded to goal scorer Uwa Echiejile from the referee. Nor would it be that a second was added soon after, or that Tahiti shot themselves in the foot by scoring an own goal.
Rather, the moment that the world would remember, and the image that illustrated most match reports the following day, came early in the second half. Already three goals down, Tahiti’s Jonathan Tehau, a delivery driver when he’s not competing in global football events, headed home at the far post from a deep corner triggering rapturous and raucous celebrations from the Tahitians on the pitch and the Brazilians in the crowd.
The image beamed around the world was of Tehau and his teammates celebrating by going down on one knee and pretending to paddle canoes in honour of Tahiti’s national sport of Va’a canoe racing.
The energy and effervescence of the Tahitians had been the most notable aspect of the match, as they strung together several series of passes and neat moves, retaining possession quite well at times. They may have been facing an opposition of far higher standing, but they were trying to play the game their way, without fear, attacking when the opportunities arose. That their spirit and bravery had been rewarded with a goal was a moment to cherish for football lovers the world over.
For a spell after scoring, they visibly grew in confidence, frustrating their more illustrious opponents, before the amateurs eventually ran out of steam and succumbed to a late Nigerian flurry. It was Tehau himself who netted the own goal which cancelled out his historic strike at the other end, but nothing could dampen his spirits on a night he would never forget.
“I am so proud to score,” he told reporters afterwards. “I saw the gap and went for it. We showed we could play some football, and yes we lost, but we deserved at least a goal and we got it.” When subsequently asked about his own-goal shortly after his moment of glory, Tehau laughed and said: “Well, that’s just football.”
It had been a moving experience, fully embraced by their Nigerian counterparts too. The Nigerian players hugged the Tahitians warmly at the final whistle, as the emotion of their moment in the global spotlight spilled over for some. “I was deeply moved, almost crying,” said Eddie Etaeta. “We watch World Cups on TV. Today we were actors.”
In the stadium that would become the scene of Brazil’s nightmare 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany a year later, Tahiti had performed with a refreshing degree of style and positivity in the face of overwhelming odds. That they provided the moment of the tournament was the icing on the cake. That lone headed goal was all Tahiti needed for their Brazilian adventure to be nothing other than a success.
A few days later, Tahiti’s band of enthusiastic hopefuls moved a little south to one of the grandest settings in all of world football. They would be taking on none other than the world and European champions, Spain, in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana. There has surely never been such an epic mismatch in the history of international football. It was a far cry from opening OFC Nations Cup match against Samoa in front of just 3,000 spectators a year before.
That Spain subjected Tahiti to the biggest thrashing in FIFA completion history, in terms of tournament finals anyway, was of little relevance. The 10-0 scoreline wasn’t entirely unexpected after all. But once again it was the spirit and perseverance of the Tahiti players that most caught the eye.
Having conceded in the opening minutes once more, Tahiti then kept out the likes of Fernando Torres and David Villa for nigh on the next half an hour. So what if they went on to concede double figures? They never gave up in the face of one of the greatest national teams of all-time.
Spain, for their part, played the game the right way too. It might have been easy to lapse into a training ground mentality and take it easy, or to veer into showboating to humiliate their opponents, but Spain played it as they would any other match, following Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque’s insistence that his players show Tahiti full respect. “Tahiti set an example in terms of fair play and went forward whenever they had the opportunity,” he explained. “We didn’t score more goals because they didn’t let us. This game hasn’t damaged football in any way. In some ways it’s made it even stronger.”
“We focused like we were playing a final,” added Fernando Torres. “Spain have shown respect from the first minute to the last minute and that’s important. Often inferior teams look to break up the game and get aggressive; they play without spirit or hope. Standards aside, Tahiti showed a great example of how to go about playing football. We have tried to show them respect in every sense.”
It was a gesture that was appreciated by the Tahitians, even if it meant the Spanish didn’t let up even as the margin continued to grow. It was also noted by the crowd who embraced Tahiti’s sterling efforts with warm and generous support. “I’m still in the stars,” said Mikael Roche, Tahiti’s 30-year-old sports teacher cum goalkeeper said after the match. “The Brazilian crowd has been such a wonderful crowd, they’ve been cheering for us even though we’re just small players, a small team. I’ll never forget what they did for us.”
Four days later: another match, another heavy defeat. This time it was the South American champions Uruguay who racked up the goals in an 8-0 victory. It hardly mattered. Tahiti’s place in football folklore had already been assured by what had gone before. The islanders would leave the global footballing stage with a great deal more respect than they had arrived with.
Football is a global game and not the preserve solely of big nations. For better or worse, Tahiti’s presence in Brazil was a reminder of that. Perhaps most of all, Tahiti’s endeavours showed what is good about football. If you earn it, you can take your place alongside the great and the good of the game.
Not for me the ridicule of a mismatch and the arrogant, narrow view that Tahiti shouldn’t have been there. They were continental champions. They earned it. And more than that, their performances demonstrated football’s power for good. Its ability to make dreams come true, and to allow the possibility to dream in the first place. Success in sport is a relative concept, and for Tahiti, the 2013 Confederations Cup represented their pinnacle, their Everest, their footballing fulfilment.