The Toa Aito qualified for Brazil 2013 with a surprise win at the OFC Nations Cup in June and are now looking to follow up that unexpected success with more glory in Stage 3 of Oceania qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. oceaniafootball.com spent time with defender Vallar to talk about Tahiti’s preparations for the Confederations Cup and their chances of a strong showing at the event.
You will play with the Toa Aito against famous international players from football superpowers such as Spain and Brazil at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. How do you feel about getting such an opportunity?
I think to get the chance to play in this kind of event will be a great experience for us. Playing against the best players in the world is not something that is common at our level. There are other players who play at a high level who may not ever get an opportunity like this so we have to make the most of it. It will be a rich and beneficial adventure for each of us, especially the younger members of the squad. It will be a chance for them to show what they can do and maybe attract the attention of scouts.
Fédération Tahitienne de Football has shown its support for the team by establishing a professional environment where the players can focus solely on football for several months. Do you think this will prove to be an advantage?
I think it is great. Our status is amateur so we all have jobs and it is hard to train and be like professionals. For three months we will focus only on football every day. We will have to take three months of unpaid holidays from our jobs but the federation has agreed to help us financially during this period. I would like to thank the federation for putting everything in place to allow us to train properly and be at our best.
Brazil qualify as hosts while the likes of Spain, Japan, Mexico, Uruguay and Italy have also booked their berths at the Confederations Cup. How will you go about competing against teams of such a high standard?
Our team possesses young and dynamic players who have gained international experience at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. We have a lot of solidarity and a strong mentality. During the Nations Cup, the youngest players played for the team first instead of themselves. They listen and pay attention to the instructions of the coach and experienced players. We are the underdogs of the tournament so there is no pressure on us and we are free to play at our best.
What areas of the team do you think may prove to be weaknesses?
The lack of maturity and experience are our main weaknesses. We don’t play and train in the same conditions as the other teams or have the same level of championship in our country. We will have to be well prepared physically as the games will more intense than the ones we are used to playing in.
You will play in big stadiums packed full of thousands of fans and the games will be broadcast all over the world. What do you think it will be like to play in such an atmosphere and how will you handle it?
Playing in front of a big crowd in the country of football will be an unforgettable memory, what an amazing experience. It is a dream which will now become true for all of us. It will be something very impressive but we have to be careful to keep our concentration on the game.
Given that you are the underdogs of the tournament, what will be your main objective?
We don’t have one particular objective in mind, we just want to play at our best and give a good account of ourselves. Everything is possible in football so we hope to earn some good results.
Before the Confederations Cup you have six games to play in Stage 3 of Oceania qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The first two games are scheduled for September 7 and 11 against Solomon Islands and New Caledonia respectively. What have your preparations been like for these matches?
We are still working on the last details of our gameplan but we are almost ready. We will do our best to start with two good results because that will determine much of our prospects for the rest of the competition. After our success at the Nations Cup, all the teams are waiting for us and want to beat us. It will be hard but we have to put everything into our attempts to qualify.
For more on Tahiti football go to www.ftf.pf

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