Olivier Kapo

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Olivier Kapo
Kapo in 2005
Personal information
Full name Obou Narcisse Olivier Kapo[1]
Date of birth (1980-09-27) 27 September 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Marcory, Ivory Coast[2]
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, left winger[3][4]
Youth career
1996–1999 Auxerre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2004 Auxerre 120 (19)
2004–2007 Juventus 14 (0)
2005–2006 → Monaco (loan) 25 (5)
2006–2007 → Levante (loan) 30 (5)
2007–2008 Birmingham City 26 (5)
2008–2010 Wigan Athletic 20 (1)
2010 → Boulogne (loan) 16 (2)
2010–2011 Celtic 2 (0)
2011 Al-Ahly 5 (2)
2012–2013 Auxerre 40 (12)
2013–2014 Levadiakos 19 (2)
2014–2015 Korona Kielce 27 (7)
Total 344 (60)
International career
2002–2004 France 9 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Obou Narcisse Olivier Kapo (born 27 September 1980), known as Olivier Kapo, is a French former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger.

Early life[edit]

Born in Marcory, Ivory Coast, Kapo acquired French nationality by naturalization on 3 November 1998.[5]

Club career[edit]

Early career[edit]

He began his professional career with Auxerre in 1999. He joined Juventus on a free transfer in the summer of 2004, but he struggled to adapt to life in Turin and did not play much as he was behind Pavel Nedvěd in the left midfield role. As a result, he was loaned to Monaco for the 2005–06 season.[citation needed]

When Juventus were forcibly relegated to Serie B, Kapo returned to Turin, but went back on loan due to the abundance of midfielders. He signed for Spanish La Liga club Levante, scoring five goals in 32 appearances.[citation needed]

Birmingham City[edit]

Kapo playing for Birmingham City in 2007

Kapo signed for Birmingham City on 29 June 2007 for a fee of £3 million.[6] He claimed to have rejected other offers to sign for the club, suggesting his style of play was better suited to English football.[7] He scored on his Premier League debut, against Chelsea in a 3–2 defeat on 12 August 2007.[8]

Wigan Athletic[edit]

Kapo signed for Wigan Athletic 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.[9] He scored his first goal for Wigan in a 4–1 League Cup win over Ipswich Town on 24 September 2008, and his first league goal in a 2–1 defeat to Chelsea on 28 February 2009.[10] On 8 January 2010, Kapo moved to Boulogne on a six-month loan deal,[11] and left Wigan by mutual consent in August 2010.[12]

Celtic[edit]

On 4 November 2010, Kapo signed for Celtic on an 18-month deal.[13] He was allocated the number 77 jersey.[14] He stated he turned down better money from other clubs to sign for the Glasgow side,[15] including an offer from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg.[16] He was encouraged to join the club after consulting with his friend, ex-Celtic player Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé.[14] 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.[17] 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.[18]

Al Ahli SC[edit]

In February 2011, Kapo signed for Qatar club Al Ahli SC on a five-month contract.[19] He scored twice to help Al Ahli to only their second win of the season, beating Qatar SC 3–1.[20] After only five appearances and two league goals, he terminated his contract with the club of the Persian Gulf during the following summer.[citation needed]

Return to Auxerre[edit]

He signed an 18-month contract with former club Auxerre in January 2012, after a few weeks spent training with the club.[21][22]

Levadiakos FC[edit]

When his contract expired, Kapo signed a two-year deal with Superleague Greece club Levadiakos.[23] In September 2014, he stated in the French media that "everything is corrupted in Greek football, mafia-controlled, while FIFA and UEFA simply don't care".[24]

Korona Kielce[edit]

On 15 August 2014, Kapo signed a one-year contract with the Polish Ekstraklasa side Korona Kielce.[25] 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 season, his contract was not extended.[26]

International career[edit]

He won nine caps for France.[27] He represented his country in the 2003 Confederations Cup, scoring against New Zealand,[14] and was a substitute in the final as France beat Cameroon.[28] He has also scored in friendlies against Egypt and Serbia and Montenegro.[14] Kapo's last cap came in 2004.[citation needed]

Personal life[edit]

His nephew, Maxen, is a footballer who turned professional with Paris Saint-Germain[29] and made his senior debut with Lausanne-Sport.[30]

Career statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[31]
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Auxerre 1998–99 Division 1 1 0 2 0 – 3 0
1999–00 15 3 2 0 – 17 3
2000–01 29 4 5 0 8 1 42 5
2001–02 25 4 2 0 – 27 4
2002–03 Ligue 1 21 6 2 0 8 1 31 7
2003–04 29 2 7 1 5 1 41 4
Total 120 19 20 1 21 3 160 23
Juventus 2004–05 Serie A 14 0 2 0 3 0 19 0
Monaco (loan) 2005–06 Ligue 1 25 5 1 0 6 2 32 7
Levante (loan) 2006–07 Primera División 30 5 2 0 – 32 5
Birmingham 2007–08 Premier League 26 5 – – 26 5
Wigan 2008–09 Premier League 19 1 2 0 – 21 1
2009–10 1 0 – – 1 0
Total 20 1 2 0 0 0 22 1
Boulogne (loan) 2009–10 Ligue 1 16 2 1 0 – 17 2
Celtic 2010–11 SPL 2 0 – – 2 0
Al Ahli 2010–11 Stars League 5 2 – – 5 2
Auxerre 2011–12 Ligue 1 15 4 – – 15 4
2012–13 Ligue 2 25 8 2 0 – 27 8
Total 40 12 2 0 0 0 42 12
Levadiakos 2013–14 Super League 19 2 – – 19 2
Korona Kielce 2014–15 Ekstraklasa 27 7 – – 27 7
Career total 344 60 30 1 30 5 404 66
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue, Coppa Italia, FA Cup, EFL Cup and Copa del Rey.
  2. ^ Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA Intertoto-Cup.


Honours[edit]

Auxerre

France

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 08 de abril de 2007, en Valencia" [Minutes of the Match held on 8 April 2007, in Valencia] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Kapo's actual place of birth".
  3. ^ Olivier Kapo at National-Football-Teams.com
  4. ^ Olivier Kapo at WorldFootball.net
  5. ^ "JORF n° 0256 du 4 novembre 1998 - Légifrance". www.legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Birmingham sign midfielder Kapo". BBC Sport. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
  7. ^ Acedo, Francisco (30 June 2007). "Kapo excited by Blues switch". Sky Sports. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  8. ^ Fletcher, Paul (12 August 2007). "Chelsea 3–2 Birmingham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  9. ^ "Bruce snaps up Kapo a second time". BBC Sport. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
  10. ^ "Games played by Olivier Kapo in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  11. ^ "Kapo granted loan wish". Sky Sports. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  12. ^ "Kapo makes Wigan exit". Sky Sports. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  13. ^ "Celtic sign Olivier Kapo for rest of the season". BBC Sport. 4 November 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  14. ^ a b c d "Ex-Celtic defender sold Kapo on move". STV Sport. 4 November 2010. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  15. ^ "Olivier Kapo insists football, not finance, was behind decision to join Celtic". The Scotsman. 5 November 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  16. ^ "Kapo: Why I chose the SPL over the Bundesliga". STV Sport. 7 November 2010. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  17. ^ "Celtic 2–0 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. 26 December 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  18. ^ Grahame, Ewing (19 January 2011). "French winger Olivier Kapo accuses Celtic of 'deep injustice' over contract as he walks out on club". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  19. ^ "Olivier Kapo Relaunches Career in Qatar". Inside Futbol. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  20. ^ "Kapo puts Al Ahli on top of Qatar SC". FIFA.com. 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  21. ^ "Kapo in shock return to Auxerre". Eurosport. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  22. ^ "O. Kapo un an et demi à Auxerre" [O. Kapo a year and a half at Auxerre]. L'Équipe (in French). 23 January 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  23. ^ "Transfert. Grèce: Olivier Kapo signe pour deux ans à Levadiakos" [Transfer. Greece: Olivier Kapo signs for two years at Levadiakos]. Ouest-France (in French). 28 August 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  24. ^ "Olivier Kapo : " En Grèce, c'est la mafia totale ! "". SOFOOT.com.
  25. ^ "Olivier Kapo w Koronie". www.90minut.pl.
  26. ^ "Korona zgłosiła Zbigniewa Małkowskiego i Pawła Sobolewskiego". www.90minut.pl.
  27. ^ "Olivier Kapo". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  28. ^ "FIFA Confederations Cup France 2003: Cameroon–France". FIFA. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  29. ^ Y.L. (14 March 2019). "PSG : le neveu d'Olivier Kapo, Maxen, signe pro" [PSG: Olivier Kapo's nephew, Maxen, turns professional]. Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  30. ^ "M. Kapo". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  31. ^ Olivier Kapo at WorldFootball.net

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Olivier Kapo.
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