Obou Narcisse Olivier Kapo (born 27 September 1980), known as Olivier Kapo, is a French 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 an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Early life

Born in

Marcory Marcory is a suburb of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It is one of the 10 urban communes of the city. Marcory is one of four communes of Abidjan that are entirely south of Ébrié Lagoon, the others being Treichville, Koumassi Koumassi is a suburb of A ...

, Ivory Coast, Kapo acquired

French nationality French nationality law is historically based on the principles of ''jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and ''jus sanguinis'', according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, ''jus sanguinis'' ( ...

by naturalization on 3 November 1998.

Club career

Early career

He began his professional career with

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

in 1999. He joined Juventus on a free transfer in the summer of 2004, but he struggled to adapt to life in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

and did not play much as he was behind

Pavel Nedvěd Pavel Nedvěd (; born 30 August 1972) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is regarded as one of the most successful players to emerge from the Czech Republic, winning domestic and European accolades with Ital ...

in the left midfield role. As a result, he was loaned to

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

for the 2005–06 season. When Juventus were forcibly relegated to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

, Kapo returned to Turin, but went back on loan due to the abundance of midfielders. He signed for Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

club Levante, scoring five goals in 32 appearances.

Birmingham City

Kapo signed for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

on 29 June 2007 for a fee of £3 million. He claimed to have rejected other offers to sign for the club, suggesting his style of play was better suited to English football. He scored on his

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

debut, against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in a 3–2 defeat on 12 August 2007.

Wigan Athletic

Kapo signed for

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

on 16 July 2008, signing a three-year deal for a fee reported as £3.5 million, a move which reunited him with former manager Steve Bruce. He scored his first goal for Wigan in a 4–1

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

win over

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

on 24 September 2008, and his first league goal in a 2–1 defeat to Chelsea on 28 February 2009. On 8 January 2010, Kapo moved to Boulogne on a six-month loan deal, and left Wigan by mutual consent in August 2010.

Celtic

On 4 November 2010, Kapo signed for Celtic on an 18-month deal. He was allocated the number 77 jersey. He stated he turned down better money from other clubs to sign for the Glasgow side, including an offer from

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 ...

club

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...

. He was encouraged to join the club after consulting with his friend, ex-Celtic player

Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé (born 27 September 1978) is a former footballer who played as a right-back. Born in France, he gained 20 caps for Cameroon, qualifying through heritage. Club career Early career Born in Paris, Perrier-Doumbé starte ...

. Kapo made his debut against St Johnstone at home in the Scottish Premier League as a second-half substitute, hitting the bar and then assisting the second goal in a 2–0 victory. He was released from his Celtic contract in January 2011, although the player claimed he walked out on the club because they had unilaterally changed the terms of his contract.

Al Ahli SC

In February 2011, Kapo signed for Qatar club Al Ahli SC on a five-month contract. He scored twice to help Al Ahli to only their second win of the season, beating

Qatar SC Qatar Sports Club ( ar, نادي قطر الرياضي) is a sports club based in Doha, Qatar. It is best known for its football team which competes in the Qatar Stars League. The club was founded in 1961 as a merger of two Qatari football clubs ...

3–1. After only five appearances and two league goals, he terminated his contract with the club of the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

during the following summer.

Return to Auxerre

He signed an 18-month contract with former club Auxerre in January 2012, after a few weeks spent training with the club.

Levadiakos FC

When his contract expired, Kapo signed a two-year deal with Superleague Greece club

Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Λεβαδειακός) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, afte ...

. In September 2014, he stated in the French media that "everything is corrupted in Greek football, mafia-controlled, while FIFA and

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

simply don't care".

Korona Kielce

On 15 August 2014, Kapo signed a one-year contract with the Polish

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 ...

side

Korona Kielce Korona Kielce, , (Korona – ''Crown'' – symbol of club and city, Kielce – name of city where club is based) is a Polish football club, which will compete in Ekstraklasa in the 2022–23 season. In the years 2002–08 the club ...

. He scored his first goal for Korona in the matchday 12, as his team drew 2–2 with Lech Poznań. In total, he scored seven goals. After the

2014–15 Ekstraklasa The 2014–15 Ekstraklasa (currently named T-Mobile Ekstraklasa due to sponsorship reasons), is the 81st season of the highest level of football leagues in the Polish football league system since its establishment in 1927. It began on 18 July ...

season, his contract was not extended.

International career

He won nine

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. He represented his country in the

2003 Confederations Cup The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup, held in France in June 2003. France retained the title they had won in 2001, but the tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroon player Marc-Vi ...

, scoring against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, and was a substitute in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

as France beat

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. He has also scored in friendlies against

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

and Serbia and Montenegro. Kapo's last cap came in 2004.

Personal life

His nephew, Maxen, is a footballer who turned professional with

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

and made his senior debut with Lausanne-Sport.

Career statistics

Honours

Auxerre *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

: 2002–03 France * FIFA Confederations Cup: 2003

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kapo, Olivier 1980 births Living people Ivorian men's footballers Naturalized citizens of France French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders France men's international footballers French sportspeople of Ivorian descent AJ Auxerre players Juventus FC players AS Monaco FC players Levante UD footballers Birmingham City F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players US Boulogne players Celtic F.C. players Al Ahli SC (Doha) players Levadiakos F.C. players Korona Kielce players Ligue 1 players Serie A players La Liga players Premier League players Scottish Premier League players Qatar Stars League players Ligue 2 players Super League Greece players Ekstraklasa players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Footballers from Abidjan Ivorian emigrants to France French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Italy French expatriate sportspeople in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland French expatriate sportspeople in Greece French expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Black French sportspeople