Xavier Samin

Xavier Samin (born 1 January 1978) is a Tahitian footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper. He currently plays for AS Tefana in the Tahiti Division Fédérale,[2] and the Tahiti national football team.[3]

Xavier Samin
Personal information
Full name Xavier Samin[1]
Date of birth (1978-01-01) 1 January 1978
Place of birth Tahiti, French Polynesia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1986–2000 AS Tefana
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2012 AS Tefana
2012–2013 AS Dragon
2013–2016 AS Tefana
National team‡
2001–2013 Tahiti 28 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 June 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 June 2018

Biography

Samin started playing football at the age of eight at AS Tefana. Ten years later he was promoted to Tefana's main adult team, on which he remains to date. In 17 seasons with Tefana, Samin won the Tahiti First Division three times, as well as five Tahiti Cups and the 2007 Tahiti Coupe des Champions.[4] Outside of the field, Samin works as a football teacher,[5] and an accountant.[6]

The first caps for Samin in the Tahitian squad were in 2000. He has since taken part in four FIFA World Cup qualification tournaments, and was a major part of the Tahitian title of the 2012 OFC Nations Cup. Starting the competition as a backup goalkeeper to Mickaël Roche, Samin was promoted to a starting position in the third match, a 4–1 win against Vanuatu. He was also the starting goalkeeper for the next two matches, keeping a clean sheet in the semifinal match against Solomon Islands and in the final against New Caledonia, both won by 1–0.[4] His long experience with the "To'a Aitos" made defensive midfielder Lorenzo Tehau declare that "I’ve played with Samin since I was a kid. He’s like my dad."[7]

The OFC Nations Cup qualified Tahiti for its first international competition, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. There Samin played in the team's first game, a 6-1 defeat to Nigeria in Belo Horizonte.[8] He also wrote a fight song for the Tahitian squad, "Song of the To’a Aitos".[9]

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gollark: Also networking?
gollark: I mean, the advantage of datacentres, I guess, are just centralized chunkloading and possibly auto-power-on systems.
gollark: DatacentresKIND OF BADbecause of the small amount of computers you actually need most of the time
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References
  1. "Squad lists for the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). 7 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  2. "Xavier Samin". Worldfootball.net. 1 January 1978. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  3. "Xavier Samin". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Igor Resende (17 June 2013). "Desempregados, vendedor de celular e até alpinista: as profissões dos jogadores do Taiti". ESPN.com.br. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  6. Ítalo Ridney. "Candidato a pagar o pato - Copa das Confederações 2013". Pe.superesportes.com.br. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  7. "A Soccer Win for Tahiti? A Goal Would Be Terrific". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Ítalo Ridney. "Taiti lança sua música para a Copa das Confederações - Copa das Confederações 2013". Superesportes.com.br. Retrieved 24 June 2016.

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