Pascal Vahirua (born 9 March 1966) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. His career was intimately connected with

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or by the abbreviation AJA, is a French professional association football, football club based in the Communes of France, commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club plays in L ...

. Vahirua appeared for the France national team at Euro 1992.

Club career

Vahirua was born in

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeʻetē'', pronounced ; old name: ''Vaiʻetē''Personal communication with Michael Koch in ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

. Discovered by legendary club manager Guy Roux, who was vacationing in the island, he moved to

's youth academy in 1982, aged 16, going on to amass nearly 400 official appearances for the club in nine full professional seasons and making his

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

debut on 25 September 1984 in a 3–1 home win against

Stade Brestois 29 Stade Brestois 29, commonly known as Stade Brestois or simply Brest,''Stade Brest'', used by some English-speaking media outlets and journalists, is not a grammatically correct name for the club. is a French professional football club based in ...

. During the 90s, speedy Vahirua was part of a solid team whose attacking unit also included Gérald Baticle, Christophe Cocard and Corentin Martins. They reached the semi-finals of the 1992–93 UEFA Cup, losing on penalties to

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

. He left the team in 1995 – precisely the year they would go on to achieve a historic double – with only the 1994 edition of the French Cup to his credit. In the following seven seasons, Vahirua represented Stade Malherbe Caen, Atromitos F.C. in Greece and

Tours FC Tours Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tours (), was a football club based in Tours, France. Formed in 1919, the club adopted the name Tours FC in 1951 after several other name changes. The club was dissolved on 26 February 2025 d ...

, retiring professionally in 2002. He played amateur football for three more years in the city of

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

, with neighbours Stade Auxerrois and AJ's reserves, after which he took charge of football development in the area, which included the club's youth sides.

International career

Vahirua earned his first cap for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 21 January 1990, in a friendly home with

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

(1–0), and scored his only goal in another exhibition game, against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in preparation for the UEFA Euro 1992 (3–3), on 25 March. Summoned for the final stages by Michel Platini, the coach who also gave him his debut, Vahirua played twice in an eventual group stage exit, and was also part of the nation's infamous 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, in which they lost their last two home matches. With a total of 22 internationals, he was the first ever Polynesian to don the French shirt.

Personal life

Vahirua is cousin to another footballer and winger, Marama Vahirua. He was brought up in another famed academy in France, FC Nantes.Tahiti, an island of possibilities
FIFA.com, 28 April 2011

Honours

Auxerre * Coupe de France: 1993–94 * Coupe Gambardella: 1985 *

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

: 1985–86

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vahirua, Pascal 1966 births Living people People from Papeete French men's footballers French Polynesian men's footballers Men's association football wingers Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players AJ Auxerre players Stade Malherbe Caen players Tours FC players Atromitos F.C. players France men's international footballers UEFA Euro 1992 players French expatriate men's footballers French Polynesian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece French expatriate sportspeople in Greece 20th-century French sportsmen