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 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

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 speed ...

Club career

College soccer

Occéan played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

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 than a ...

, 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 university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...

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 association football, soccer team based in St. Albans (city), Vermont, St. Albans, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the Americ ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

. 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 SuperDraft. The draft was most notable at the time for the selection of one of the youngest athletes in Am ...

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 Uk ...

, Occéan impressed the Metrostars' competitors

Odd Grenland Odd means unpaired, occasional, strange or unusual, or a person who is viewed as eccentric. Odd may also refer to: Acronym * ODD (Text Encoding Initiative) ("One Document Does it all"), an abstracted literate-programming format for describing X ...

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

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

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 Viken 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 be ...

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 is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, joining 3. Liga side

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Kickers, also 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 established local clubs in ...

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 German football club based in Fürth, Bavaria. They play in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system, following relegation from the B ...

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 professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

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

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

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 Hoffenheim II. He began his career in Germany and Switzerland, before moving to England in 2012 where he spent the next three years. Club ca ...

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 Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob (s ...

. 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 Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, th ...

. 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 (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

1. FC Kaiserslautern

It was announced on July 1, 2013 that Occéan was loaned to 1. FC Kaiserslautern 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 Odd means unpaired, occasional, strange or unusual, or a person who is viewed as eccentric. Odd may also refer to: Acronym * ODD (Text Encoding Initiative) ("One Document Does it all"), an abstracted literate-programming format for describing X ...

, who plays in the Norwegian

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

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

Urædd Fotball

In 2018, Occéan signed with Urædd Fotball of the

3. divisjon The Norwegian Third Division, also called 3. divisjon, is the fourth highest division of the men's football league in Norway. Like the rest of the Norwegian football league system, the season runs from spring to autumn, running approximately from ...

. 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 Viken county (formerly Buskerud county), Norway. It is situated south of the Drammenselva River opposite of Krokstadelva. History Mjøndalen has traditionally been a railway site most k ...

, 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 ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in a May 2004 friendly match against

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

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 competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

matches (four goals) and at the

2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the Gold Cup, the football 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 ...

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

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

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, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

, 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 7 July 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 ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) 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 ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

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. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

): 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 People from Brossard Francophone Quebec people Black Canadian soccer players Association football forwards Soccer people from Quebec Canadian soccer players Canada men's international soccer players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Southern Connecticut Fighting 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 Mjøndalen IF 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 soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Norway Expatriate footballers in Germany