 Kapo in 2005 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Obou Narcisse Olivier Kapo[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1980-09-27)27 September 1980 (age 45) | ||||||||||||||||
| 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) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Korona Kielce II | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 347 | (61) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | France | 9 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Obou Narcisse Olivier Kapo (born 27 September 1980), known asOlivier Kapo, is a French former professionalfootballer who played as anattacking midfielder orleft winger.
Born inMarcory, Ivory Coast, Kapo acquiredFrench nationality bynaturalization on 3 November 1998.[5]
He began his professional career withAuxerre in 1999. He joinedJuventus on a free transfer in the summer of 2004, but he struggled to adapt to life inTurin and did not play much as he was behindPavel Nedvěd in the left midfield role. As a result, he was loaned toMonaco for the 2005–06 season.[citation needed]
When Juventus were forcibly relegated toSerie B, Kapo returned to Turin, but went back on loan due to the abundance of midfielders. He signed for SpanishLa Liga clubLevante, scoring five goals in 32 appearances.[citation needed]
Kapo signed forBirmingham 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 hisPremier League debut, againstChelsea in a 3–2 defeat on 12 August 2007.[8]
Kapo signed forWigan 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 managerSteve Bruce.[9] He scored his first goal for Wigan in a 4–1League Cup win overIpswich 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 toBoulogne on a six-month loan deal,[11] and left Wigan by mutual consent in August 2010.[12]
On 4 November 2010, Kapo signed forCeltic 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 fromBundesliga clubSC Freiburg.[16] He was encouraged to join the club after consulting with his friend, ex-Celtic playerJean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé.[14] Kapo made his debut againstSt Johnstone at home in theScottish 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]
In February 2011, Kapo signed for Qatar clubAl Ahli SC on a five-month contract.[19] He scored twice to help Al Ahli to only their second win of the season, beatingQatar SC 3–1.[20]
He signed an 18-month contract with former club Auxerre in January 2012, after a few weeks spent training with the club.[21][22]
When his contract expired, Kapo signed a two-year deal withSuperleague Greece clubLevadiakos.[23] In September 2014, he stated in the French media that "everything is corrupted in Greek football, mafia-controlled, whileFIFA andUEFA simply don't care".[24]
On 15 August 2014, Kapo signed a one-year contract with the PolishEkstraklasa sideKorona Kielce.[25] He scored his first goal for Korona in the matchday 12, as his team drew 2–2 withLech Poznań. In total, he scored seven goals. After the2014–15 Ekstraklasa season, his contract was not extended.[26]
He won ninecaps forFrance.[27] He represented his country in the2003 Confederations Cup, scoring againstNew Zealand,[14] and was a substitute inthe final as France beatCameroon.[28] He has also scored infriendlies againstEgypt andSerbia and Montenegro.[14] Kapo's last cap came in 2004.[citation needed]
His nephew,Maxen, is a footballer who turned professional withParis Saint-Germain[29] and made his senior debut withLausanne-Sport.[30]
| 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 | |
| 1999–2000 | Division 1 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 17 | 3 | ||
| 2000–01 | Division 1 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 42 | 5 | |
| 2001–02 | Division 1 | 25 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 4 | ||
| 2002–03 | Ligue 1 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 31 | 7 | |
| 2003–04 | Ligue 1 | 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 | Premier League | 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 | 0 | 0 | — | 27 | 7 | |
| Korona Kielce II | 2014–15 | III liga | 3 | 1 | — | — | 3 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 347 | 61 | 30 | 1 | 30 | 5 | 407 | 67 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2002 | 2 | 1 |
| 2003 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 November 2002 | Stade de France,Paris, France |  Serbia and Montenegro | 3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly | [32] |
| 2 | 30 April 2003 | Stade de France, Paris, France |  Egypt | 5–0 | 5–0 | Friendly | [33] |
| 3 | 22 June 2003 | Stade de France, Paris, France |  New Zealand | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup | [34] |
Auxerre
France
