Olivier Occéan (), born October 23, 1981) is a retired Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player and current assistant coach of

IF Urædd IF Urædd is a Norwegian sports club from Porsgrunn, founded in 1880. Since 8 December 1993 it has been an alliance sports team, with independent sections for football, handball, sport wrestling, skiing, gymnastics, basketball, athletics and spe ...

Club career

College soccer

Occéan played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

Essex County College Essex County College (ECC) is a public community college in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. History In August 1966, the Essex County Board of Freeholders approved the creation of Essex County College and in September 1968, more tha ...

, Newark NJ in NJCAA Division 1 and at

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...

for the Fighting Owls in the NCAA Division II, from 2001 to 2003. While at the college, Occéan was twice named an NCAA All-American. He finished his career with 57 goals, including 21 as a senior, and 22 in 2001. During this time he also played for

Vermont Voltage Vermont Voltage was an American soccer team based in St. Albans, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northeast Division of ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

. Upon graduating from college, Occéan was selected 26th overall in the

2004 MLS SuperDraft The 2004 MLS SuperDraft, held in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 16, 2004, was the fifth incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The draft was most notable at the time for the selection of one of the younge ...

by the MetroStars. Occéan didn't surprise many after coming from a powerhouse Division II program, which had won six NCAA titles, and looked likely to make the team. However, Occéan did surprise when, while the MetroStars were playing in the preseason

La Manga Cup La Manga Cup is a winter football tournament played in La Manga Club, La Manga del Mar Menor (Murcia, Spain). Usual participants are clubs from countries with a summer football season: Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Ukraine Ukr ...

, Occéan impressed the Metrostars' competitors

Odd Grenland Odds Ballklubb, commonly known as Odd, is a Norwegian professional football club from Skien. Originally the football section of a multi-sports club, founded in 1894 nine years after the club's founding. Most sports other than football and gymnast ...

so much that the team immediately offered him a contract. With

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

not willing to compete financially with the Norwegian club, Occéan ended up with Odd.

Odd

Occéan quickly impressed in Norway, earning a starting spot and immediately scoring goals. In his first season with Odd, Occéan led the team in goals with 14, although the team slumped to a mid-table finish.

Lillestrøm SK

He signed a five-year contract with

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Akershus county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger ...

on December 10, 2005. The deal was worth approximately €885,000 plus about €126,000 in possible incentive pay. After a promising start however, his first season with the club was marred by a five-month goal-drought broken only in the very last match of the season. Occéan then faced the challenge of living up to the price tag and in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, the muscular striker bagged in 12 goals for the club.

Kickers Offenbach

Prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, Occean moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, joining

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

side

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Fussball-Club Kickers, commonly known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left establis ...

on a free transfer. He got off to a perfect start, netting four goals in his first three league appearances, thus becoming an instant favorite with Kickers fans. In his only season at the club, he scored 16 goals in 30 matches.

Greuther Fürth

It was announced in the German media on May 25, 2011 that Occéan had signed a three-year contract with

SpVgg Greuther Fürth Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth (), commonly known as Greuther Fürth (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Fürth, Bavaria. They play in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system, following r ...

until June 2014. Occéan made his debut for his new team on July 15 in a 3–2 home defeat to

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

. One week later, Occéan once again started for SpVgg Fürth and scored two goals leading the team to a 4–0 road victory over

1. FC Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as Union Berlin (), is a professional German football club based in Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweide was founded. During the Co ...

. Occéan scored one of the most important goals of the season in the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

quarter finals, scoring the game winner in the 44th minute against

Hoffenheim Hoffenheim () is a village in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Sinsheim and, as of 2020, it has a population of 3,191. History The village, settled since prehistoric times, and first mentioned ...

on February 8, 2012. On March 1, 2012 he was named the Canada Soccer Player of the Month for February based on his club team performances, and again for the month of March. Occéan helped lead Greuther Fürth to win the 2. Bundesliga championship. He was also awarded the league's top scorer with 17 goals in 30 appearances,

Nick Proschwitz Nick Proschwitz (born 28 November 1986) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for VfB Eppingen. He began his career in Germany and Switzerland, before moving to England in 2012 where he spent the next three years. Playing ...

and

Alexander Meier Alexander Meier (born 17 January 1983) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He was the 2014–15 Bundesliga top scorer with 19 goals in 26 games. Career Early career Meier began his prof ...

scored the same number of goals within the league, however Occéan tallied more assists.

Eintracht Frankfurt

On July 3, 2012, Occéan transferred to

for €1.3 million signing a three-year contract, where he would be joining fellow Canadian

Rob Friend Robert Douglas Friend (born 23 January 1981) is a Canadian former professional Association football, soccer player, the president and Organizational founder, co-founder of Vancouver Football Club, Vancouver FC, the chief executive officer, ceo ...

. Occéan made his top flight debut for Frankfurt on August 25 playing all 90 minutes in a 2–1 away victory over

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

. On September 15, 2012, Occéan scored his first Bundesliga goal in his third appearance for the club. He scored the second goal in an eventual 3–2 victory against

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

1. FC Kaiserslautern

It was announced on July 1, 2013 that Occéan was loaned to

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...

of the 2. Bundesliga on a two-year loan with an option for the loan to be extended even further after the 2012–13 season in which he scored only once for Frankfurt in 17 appearances.

Second spell at Odd

On January 6, 2015, Occéan signed a half-year loan deal with his former club Odd, who plays in the Norwegian

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

. On July 8, 2015, Occéan signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Odd.

Urædd Fotball

In 2018, Occéan signed with Urædd Fotball of the 3. divisjon. Occéan concurrently also began his coaching career as a youth coach at Urædd. After two seasons at

Mjøndalen Mjøndalen is a built up area in Drammen municipality in Buskerud, Buskerud county, Norway. It is situated south of the Drammenselva River opposite of Krokstadelva. History Mjøndalen has traditionally been a railway site most known as an indu ...

, he returned to Urædd Fotball for the 2020 season as a playing assistant coach. He ended his player career at the end of 2020 and continued at Urædd in his role as an assistant coach for the team and youth coach.

International career

Occéan made his debut for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in a May 2004 friendly match against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and until the end of 2012 he has earned a total of 28 caps, scoring six goals. He has represented Canada in 15

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matches (four goals) and at the

2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 2005. The United States emerged victorious i ...

. He scored Canada's first and only goal from a header in a 1–0 win against

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in Havana, during the opening match of the semi-final round of

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

. On February 11, 2013 FIFA ruled that Occéan had committed an act of unsporting conduct, displayed several acts of unsporting behavior, and used offensive language towards match officials during a 2014 World Cup qualifying match against Cuba on October 12, 2012. As part of the ruling, Occéan received a 6-match suspension. It was later determined that only Canada's official competitive matches, not

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

, count toward the suspension meaning that the earliest that Occéan would be available for selection would be the final of the

2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 12th CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and the 22nd CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's fifty years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition began on July 7, 2013, at the ...

, if Canada were to advance that far in the tournament.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Occéan goal.''

Honours

Lillestrøm SK *

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Greuther Fürth * 2. Bundesliga (Promotion to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

): 2011–12 Individual * Canada Soccer Player of the Month: February 2012, March 2012 * 2. Bundesliga top goalscorer: 2011–12

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Occean, Olivier 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Brossard Francophone Quebec people Black Canadian men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Soccer people from Quebec Canadian men's soccer players Canada men's international soccer players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Southern Connecticut Owls men's soccer players Vermont Voltage players Odds BK players Lillestrøm SK players Kickers Offenbach players SpVgg Greuther Fürth players Eintracht Frankfurt players 1. FC Kaiserslautern players Urædd FK players Mjøndalen IF Fotball players USL League Two players Eliteserien players Norwegian First Division players Norwegian Third Division players 3. Liga players 2. Bundesliga players Bundesliga players Canadian sportspeople of Haitian descent New York Red Bulls draft picks Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Germany 21st-century Canadian sportsmen