Anthony Charles Capaldi (born 12 August 1981) is a former

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 made nearly 250 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

and is a Northern Ireland former international. Born in

Porsgrunn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Porsgrunn (town), city ...

, Norway, Capaldi won 22

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

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

at full international level, 21 of which were as a

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

player, a total that made him the club's most-capped international. He played in the Football League for Plymouth Argyle,

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

and

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

. Capaldi can play in defence as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

or as a left-sided

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 ...

Club career

Capaldi began his career at

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 ...

, where he came through the youth ranks as a trainee. During his time at Birmingham he spent time on loan at

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

before signing for

near the end of the 2002–03 season without making a first-team appearance for Birmingham. Capaldi sat out for much of the first part of the 2004–05 season after breaking a leg during a game, but in December 2004 he signed a two-year extension to his contract, to run until June 2007.

Cardiff City

Capaldi rejected a new contract with Plymouth and on 25 May 2007 he signed a three-year contract with

, joining on a Bosman free transfer. He began the season as first-choice left back but after struggling to perform consistently found himself dropped from the side, being replaced by

Chris Gunter Christopher Ross Gunter (born 21 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a defender. An attacking full back, he was capable of playing on both flanks but usually played on his preferred right side. Since 2023, he h ...

. Following the sale of Gunter on 1 January, he returned to the first-team squad and began to settle more comfortably into the side, including playing in all six of the club's matches on their run to the

2008 FA Cup Final The 2008 FA Cup final was an association football match between Cardiff City and Portsmouth held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 17 May 2008. The final was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the 2007–08 Footb ...

. The start of the 2008–09 season saw Capaldi sidelined due to a knee problem. After sitting out the first fortnight of the season, he returned to first-team action on 26 August in a 2–1 League Cup victory over

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

, only for him to suffer a recurrence of the problem. Capaldi spent over three months on the sidelines with the injury and, after being named on the bench for several games, made his return as a substitute for Chris Burke during a 0–0 draw with

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the fourth round of the FA Cup on 25 January. He featured in just five matches for the club throughout the season. On 18 August 2009, Capaldi was sent off for a second bookable offence away to his old club Plymouth Argyle. Cardiff won the match 3–1 with

Michael Chopra Rocky Michael Chopra (born 23 December 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. A product of the Newcastle United youth system, he spent six years at the club without managing to secure a regular first team ...

scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

. Capaldi returned to the side in a 3–2 loss to South Wales rivals

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

, playing on the left of midfield in place of the injured

Peter Whittingham Peter Michael Whittingham (; 8 September 1984 – 18 March 2020) was an English professional Association football, footballer. His primary position was as a central midfielder, although he also sometimes operated as a wide midfielder on both the ...

. However, due to a lack of appearances, Capaldi stated that he might need to look elsewhere for first-team football.

Loan to Leeds United

On 26 November 2009, Capaldi joined League One leaders

on loan until 4 January 2010, with a view to a permanent move, and was given permission to play for Leeds in the FA Cup. Having been recommended a move to Leeds by the club's assistant manager

Glynn Snodin Glynn Snodin (born 14 February 1960) is an English football coach, and former professional player. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1977 to 1998. He played for Doncaster Rovers and later made just under 100 appearances for Leeds United and ...

and Cardiff teammate

Warren Feeney Warren James Feeney (born 17 January 1981) is a Northern Irish football manager and former professional Association football, footballer who manages club Weymouth F.C., Weymouth. As a player he was a Forward (association football), forward who ...

, he made his debut in a 1–1 draw with

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Latimer Park. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in 1976, and have ...

in the second round of the FA Cup, before making his league debut against

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

. After playing against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

, Capaldi reiterated his desire to join Leeds permanently in January. Capaldi was dropped for the replay against Kettering, being replaced by

Aidy White Aidan Peter White (born 10 October 1991) is a former footballer who last played for Rochdale. He has represented both England U19s and Republic of Ireland U21s at international level. Despite an injury-laden career, he achieved considerable su ...

, but White suffered an injury during the game and Capaldi came on to replace him. With White still out injured in the next game Capaldi came back into the starting line-up for a 0–0 draw with Brentford. However, with the return of

Andy Hughes Andy Hughes (11 November 1965 – 12 June 2009) was an English electronic music producer. He is best known for his work with the Orb, where he helped mix and produce '' Orbus Terrarum'', '' Orblivion'', and '' Cydonia'', as well as the Orb's s ...

from injury, Capaldi was dropped from the squad for four consecutive games before being an unused substitute for the final game of his loan spell, a 1–0 win over

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the FA Cup.

Return to Cardiff City

Capaldi returned to Cardiff on 5 January 2010 after Leeds decided against extending his loan spell. He made nine appearances during the final five months of the season before being released at the end of the year.

Later years

Following his release, Capaldi spent time on trial with Plymouth Argyle,

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

and Heart of Midlothian before signing a short-term deal with

on 16 September 2010, reuniting him with former

manager

Sammy McIlroy Samuel Baxter McIlroy (born 2 August 1954) is a Northern Irish retired footballer who played for Manchester United, Stoke City, Manchester City, Örgryte (Sweden), Bury, VfB Mödling (Austria), Preston North End and the Northern Ireland na ...

. Capaldi had a trial with

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 ...

club

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

in early 2011 and featured in two friendly matches. In June 2011, Capaldi joined

and signed a two-year contract. Injury kept him out of the first-team squad for almost the whole 2011–12 season: he finally made his Oxford debut in a 3–0 defeat to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

on the final day of the season. Capaldi was released by Oxford when his contract expired at the end of the 2012–13 season; he made 39 appearances for the club in league and cup competitions. He spent time on trial at Tamworth that summer and signed in August ahead of the club's new season in the

Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

International career

Although born in Norway to a Scottish father and raised in Birmingham, Capaldi chose to represent Northern Ireland. He was eligible because his grandmother was born in

Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 11,279 people at the 2021 Census. In the 40 years between 1 ...

. Capaldi has represented

22 times at senior level, making his debut in March 2004 in a 1–0 victory over

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

as well as playing in their famous 1–0 victory over England in September 2005. Capaldi broke Welshman Moses Russell's 78-year-old record for international appearances made by a

player when he was awarded his 21st cap in a friendly against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Personal life

Capaldi was born in

, Norway, while his Scottish father, John Capaldi, was playing for the local team

Pors Grenland Pors Fotball is a Norwegian football club from Porsgrunn, currently playing in the 2. divisjon. Pors plays in blue jerseys, and their home ground is Pors Stadion. Notable former players include Jan Halvor Halvorsen and Erik Pedersen. History ...

. His father also played for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

and

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

and had a spell managing Bolehall Swifts.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capaldi, Tony 1981 births Living people Footballers from Porsgrunn Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's international footballers Northern Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Northern Ireland men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football wingers Birmingham City F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players Barwell F.C. players Rushall Olympic F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Men's association football utility players 21st-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland