Christian Jaeger Cappis (born August 13, 1999) is an American 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 who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for 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 ...

club

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

Club career

FC Dallas

Cappis started to play soccer for academy club, Texans SC. In 2017, his club won the "2016–17 US Developmental Academy U17/18 Championship" with him being named "Central Conference Player of the Year". As a result of his performance on this tournament, he and Chris Richards, who was also part of the team, were approached by

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

's academy and in the same year, they signed with the club. After several good performances at the Dallas Academy, the club showed interest in sign him a professional contract. However, the move was prevented by

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional 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 sanctioned by the United ...

due to the Homegrown Player Rule which prevents academy players from signing with clubs far from their native town. As Cappis is from

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

was supposed to have priority in signing the player.

Hobro

However, instead of signing with any team on MLS, Cappis went to trial with several clubs in Europe. On November 6, 2018, he signed his first professional contract with

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

team,

Hobro IK Hobro Idræts Klub (), commonly referred to as Hobro IK or HIK, is a professional football club based in Hobro, Denmark. The club currently competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league system, and plays its h ...

. On the same day, he debuted for the team in a match against OB at the

2018–19 Danish Cup The 2018–19 Danish Cup, also known as Sydbank Pokalen, was the 65th season of the Danish Cup competition. The winners of the tournament, Midtjylland, earned qualification into the third qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League. Str ...

. Cappis started the game and provided an assist in his team's 4–2 defeat, before he was replaced in the 56th minute by Edgar Babayan. On February 10, 2019, Cappis debuted in the Danish Superliga when he replaced Martin Mikkelsen at the 88th minute of a match against

AC Horsens Alliance Club Horsens (), commonly referred to as AC Horsens () or simply Horsens, is a Danish professional football club based in Horsens, Central Denmark Region. Founded in 1994, as a superstructure on Horsens fS (founded 1915), Stensballe ...

. Cappis scored his first goal on March 8, 2020, for Hobro. At the end of the 2019–20 season, Hobro was relegated to the

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991, the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the for ...

. In December, Hobro failed to renew Cappis' work permit and lead to Cappis' passport being revoked and at facing deportation form Denmark.

Brøndby

Cappis signed a four-year contract with

club Brøndby in February 2021 starting July 1, 2021. He joined the club ahead of the 2021–22 season. He made his debut against AGF on July 18, coming on as a second-half substitute for Rezan Corlu in a 1–1 draw. Cappis scored his first goal for Brøndby in a 2–2 draw against

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality (''Municipalities of De ...

on August 1. On September 1, 2023, Cappis joined Norwegian

club

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

on loan for the remainder of the year. He made just four appearances, totaling 45 minutes of play, before returning to Brøndby at the end of the year.

Viking

On August 13, 2024, Cappis signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Norwegian Eliteserien club

International career

Cappis was called up to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

senior squad in January 2020 for a friendly against Costa Rica but did not appear in the match. He received another call-up in March 2021 for two friendly matches against Jamaica and Northern Ireland, respectively, with both games taking place in Europe.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cappis, Christian 1999 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Sportspeople from Katy, Texas Soccer players from Harris County, Texas American people of Italian descent American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Hobro IK players Brøndby IF players Molde FK players Viking FK players Danish Superliga players Danish 1st Division players Eliteserien players Norwegian Second Division players Norwegian Third Division players American expatriate sportspeople in Denmark American expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Norway 21st-century American sportsmen