Olivier Kapo
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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 lea ...
who played as an
attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
or left winger.


Early life

Born in Marcory, Ivory Coast, Kapo acquired French nationality by
naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
on 3 November 1998.


Club career


Early career

He began his professional career with
Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...
in 1999. He joined
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
on a free transfer in the summer of 2004, but he struggled to adapt to life in
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 city is main ...
and did not play much as he was behind
Pavel Nedvěd Pavel Nedvěd (; born 30 August 1972) is a Czech former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Czech players of all time and he won numerous trophies with Italian cl ...
in the left midfield role. As a result, he was loaned to
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
for the 2005–06 season. When Juventus were forcibly relegated to
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as 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 b ...
, 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 as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
club Levante, scoring five goals in 32 appearances.


Birmingham City

Kapo signed for
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional 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. The team compete in the ...
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 is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
debut, against Chelsea in a 3–2 defeat on 12 August 2007.


Wigan Athletic

Kapo signed for
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
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 Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was a centre-back in a twenty-year playing career. He is currently the head coa ...
. 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. On 8 January 2010, Kapo moved to
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
on a six-month loan deal, and left Wigan by mutual consent in August 2010.


Celtic

On 4 November 2010, Kapo signed for
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
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 and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
club
SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions ...
. He was encouraged to join the club after consulting with his friend, ex-Celtic player Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé. Kapo made his debut against St Johnstone at home in the
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
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 3–1.


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 The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repl ...
club
Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club (officially romanized: ''Levadeiakos'' ) 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, ...
. In September 2014, he stated in the French media that "everything is corrupted in Greek football, mafia-controlled, while
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
and
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
simply don't care".


Korona Kielce

On 15 August 2014, Kapo signed a one-year contract with the Polish
Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...
side
Korona Kielce Korona Kielce (, Korona – ''Crown'' – symbol of club and city, Kielce – name of city where club is based) is a Polish professional football club based in Kielce, competing in Ekstraklasa in the 2025–26 season. From 2002 to ...
. He scored his first goal for Korona in the matchday 12, as his team drew 2–2 with
Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. ...
. In total, he scored seven goals. After the
2014–15 Ekstraklasa The 2014–15 Ekstraklasa (also known as T-Mobile Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by T-Mobile Polska) was the 81st season of Sports league, the highest level of football leagues in the Polish football league system since ...
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 Java ...
for
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. 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-Vivi ...
, scoring against
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, and was a substitute in the final as France beat
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
. He has also scored in
friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...
against
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and
Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
. 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 () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...
and made his senior debut with
Lausanne-Sport Football Club Lausanne-Sport is a Swiss football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport compete in the top-tier Swiss Super League after being promoted in the 2022–23 Swiss Challenge League Season. The ...
.


Career statistics


Honours

Auxerre *
Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...
: 2002–03 France *
FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...
:
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...


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 III liga 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 21st-century French sportsmen