Roger Zokou Boli (born 26 September 1965) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a forward for clubs in the French and British leagues. Born in Ivory Coast, he represented France at youth level. He is currently a sports agent.

Career

Roger Boli started his career with

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or simply Auxerre (), is a French football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division ...

, where he spent four seasons. A season at Lille OSC followed, before a long spell with

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (, commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens) is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, ''les sang et or'' (''the blood and gold''), co ...

. During his seven seasons with the club, Boli won promotion to Ligue 1, and finished joint-top scorer in the 1993–94 season. A season was spent with

Le Havre AC Le Havre Athletic Club (; commonly referred to as Le Havre) is a French association football club based in Le Havre, Normandy. The club was founded as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, making Le Havre AC the oldest professional French fo ...

before moving to England with

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

in 1997. Boli's twelve league goals with the Saddlers drew attention from Scottish side

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

and Boli moved north in a £150,000 deal in 1998. Injuries restricted him to just three league appearances, although he did score once in the Scottish League Cup against Stirling Albion, and within three months a £100,000 move saw him head to AFC Bournemouth. Boli's seven appearances would be his last before retiring in the summer of 1999. In May 2001, Boli arranged a benefit match – ''Le Jubilé de Roger Boli'' – which saw past and present Lens players play against a team of French superstars (

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Marcel Desailly Marcel Desailly (born Odenke Abbey; 7 September 1968) is a French former professional footballer, widely considered to be among the greatest centre-backs and defensive midfielders to ever play football. During a successful career at club level, l ...

Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He is widely considered as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Vieira began his career at ...

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...

Jean-Pierre Papin Jean-Pierre Roger Guillaume Papin (born 5 November 1963) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a forward. He was named the Ballon d'Or and IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year in 1991. Papin was known for ...

, etc.). Lens won 7–2, with the match proceeds going to the Raoul-Follereau association.

Personal life

Boli holds Ivorian and French nationalities. He is the brother of the French former footballer

Basile Boli Basile Boli (born 2 January 1967) is a Ivorian-born French former professional footballer who played as a defender, and a current television sports presenter. He spent the majority of his career with Auxerre and Marseille before ending his c ...

, and uncle of the Ivorian footballer Yannick Boli. His sons, Charles, Yohan, and

Kevin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

are also professional footballers.

Honours

Individual * Ligue 1 Golden Boot: 1993–94 * PFA Team of the Year: 1997–98 Second Division

References

External links

Interview
(''Translated from French'')

(''Translated from French'') * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boli, Roger 1965 births Living people Footballers from Abidjan Men's association football forwards Ivorian men's footballers French men's footballers France men's under-21 international footballers Ivorian emigrants to France Dundee United F.C. players Walsall F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Lille OSC players AJ Auxerre players Le Havre AC players RC Lens players Ligue 1 players Scottish Premier League players French expatriate men's footballers Ivorian expatriate men's footballers Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland French expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in England Boli family

Career

Personal life

Honours

See also

References

External links