Nicky Salapu

Nicky Vitolio Salapu (born 13 September 1980) is an American Samoan footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for ASFA Soccer League club PanSa East, which he captains, and the American Samoa national football team. He previously played for PanSa East from 2000 to 2011, before leaving for Indonesian side Mitra Kukar in 2012.

Salapu conceded a total of 91 goals in the 2002 and 2006 World Cup qualifiers, including a 31-0 loss to Australia which holds the record for the biggest loss in international football while also starting in American Samoa's first ever official FIFA World Cup qualifiers win. After the game, Salapu said: "I feel like a champ right now. Finally I'm going to put the past behind me."

His stint with the American Samoa national team was covered in the 2014 documentary Next Goal Wins, and the 2023 biographical comedy-drama also called Next Goal Wins.

Club career Salapu played for PanSa East for eleven years, beginning in 2000 and terminating in 2011. Despite rumors circulating online about Salapu joining Austrian club SC Mauerbach in 2008, Salapu contradicted those claims in an interview with Marca in 2011. In 2011, he went to play for Mitra Kukar, a club playing in the Indonesia Super League (ISL), which is a fully professional football competition as the top tier of the football league pyramid in Indonesia. Salapu returned to PanSa East in 2013.

International career Salapu conceded 31 goals to Australia in a 2002 World Cup qualifying match on April 11, 2001, which became a world record that still stands to this day. Salapu later said that he hid tears from his teammates. He also suffered from prolonged distress, and as a form of psychological therapy, Salapu coped by manually creating the American Samoa squad in the FIFA video game series on his PlayStation. He would then repeatedly play against Australia with the second controller left unplugged, allowing him to easily defeat the squad.

In 2007, Salapu missed his flight from Hawaii to the South Pacific Games in Samoa. Because he could not make it on time, he was replaced by the 17-year-old Jordan Penitusi. He was not eligible to play until he arrived for the last match of American Samoa in the South Pacific Games with Tonga, but there he was an unused substitute. In November 2011, Salapu was the goalkeeper when American Samoa won its first ever full FIFA match, a 2–1 win over Tonga during the first round of the OFC qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Salapu has been selected for the American Samoan team at the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara and the 2026 FIFA Series in Puerto Rico.

Personal life His son Dylan is also a footballer. Year!!Apps!!Goals