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Fullname: Narcisse-Olivier Kapo-Obou
aka: Olivier Kapo, Obou Narcisse Olivier Kapo
Born: 27 September 1980
Birthplace: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Signed: 2 November 2010 (free agent after Wigan)
Left: 19 January 2011 (released for free)
Position: Left midfielder, Attacking midfielder
Debut: Celtic 2-0 St Johnstone, League, 26 Dec 2010
Squad No.: 77
Internationals: France
International Caps: 9
International Goals: 3
Biog
Olivier Kapo had one very varied career. He was at the time of signing for Celtic a free agent having been let go from Wigan where he was a very high priced flop. Aged 30, he was on effectively a 3 month trial with Celtic which was now a do or die for his career.
A former international with France, he was seen as a potentially strong player which interested Juventus enough to give him a try. Many clubs later and in time mocked by many Wigan fans (his last club), he had not achieved the great heights that were expected of him.
He was given two opportunities to show what he could prove at Celtic, and in fairness he did well in his games especially in a league game against Motherwell where he was given 40 minutes of the first half (starting the game) but then many found it confusing that he was taken off early, an injury possibly. He gave a good account of himself that day and most of the support that day felt he did well in passing and possession. Seemed to know what he was doing.
Anyhow, problem for him was that Celtic had a huge surplus of attacking midfielders (Kayal, McCourt, Forrest, McGinn, Brown, Cha-du-ri, Ki etc) and so Kapo was going to have it hard to prove himself. The squad needed trimmed in midfielders and strengthened in others (such as defence). The return to action of Kayal and the loan signing of Ljungberg effectively ended the likely chances for Kapo to get his short loan contract extended or converted.
Negotiations fell through to retain him on reduced terms (his only option left to prove himself for a longer contract) but he dismissed it and his contract was not rolled on, and he was released instead.
He left with some silly snipes by him which was uncalled for and a bit petty. He took the gamble to come on a loan trial, there is nothing guaranteed. The club and support in turn didn’t retort and took his remarks as being at the heat of the moment. Nothing more, and we did wish him the best for the future.
He was to win a place at Auxerre in time which was a fine move to help roll down to the end of his career.
He later moved to Greece, and caused a bit of a stir, stating:
“….in Greek football everything is corrupted, mafia-controlled, while FIFA and UEFA simply don’t care“.
He appears to have wrapped up his career around 2015.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2010-11 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) |
| Goals: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
none
Pictures
KDS
Articles
Neil Lennon gives Olivier Kapo 3 months to cut it
(Evening Times)
Olivier Kapo has three months to prove he is worth a long-term contract at Celtic – and the 30-year-old French international can’t wait to get started. Neil Lennon is also considering making another move for Slovenian central defender Marko Suler when the transfer window re-opens at the end of next month.
But the Celtic manager is not content to wait until then to strengthen his squad, and has moved quickly to secure Kapo who can sign immediately because he was not registered with a club when the summer transfer deadline closed.
Lennon has dangled a deal through to 2012 in front of the former Wigan, Birmingham, Juventus, Levante, Monaco and Auxerre winger. Kapo has been training at former boss Steve Bruce’s Sunderland since being released from his contract at Wigan in August.
A bad knee injury saw him drop out of the Latics side when Roberto Martinez took over from Bruce. And, although he recovered from this, he never regained his first-team place and was shipped out to Boulogne on loan for the second half of last season.
Kapo will now try to regain his full match fitness at Lennoxtown as he attempts to convince Lennon not to activate the early-release clause in the contract, which allows Celtic to terminate the two-year deal in January.
Despite the unusual structure of the offer, the much-travelled man who has played nine times for France believes he will be given a fair chance under Lennon. Kapo said he has taken his time to make his next move, and is confident agreeing to join Celtic is the right decision.
“Several clubs have been in touch with me over the past few weeks, but nothing came to me as strong as Celtic,” he said. Lennon’s priority remains improving his defence, and Nottingham Forest’s Kelvin Wilson is still his No.1 target.
However, Gent’s experienced centre-back, Suler, was another man the club pursued in the summer, only for a hamstring injury to force them to pull out of a move for the Slovenian. The 27-year-old said: “Many clubs are following me and, yes, Celtic are one of them.”
Kapo: I couldn’t turn down Celtic
Mark Henderson
WHEN Olivier Kapo heard Celtic were interested in his services, his mind was already made up. A call to his good friend and former Hoops full-back Jean-Joel Perrier Doumbe merely reaffirmed his original decision.
That was a month ago. Since then Kapo has waited anxiously to see if the move would come to fruition. On Thursday morning, much to the 30-year-old’s relief, it was finally completed subject to international clearance.
It’s been a long wait and now the French internationalist is eager to get started at a club he has long admired from afar.
“It’s a great club with a lot of history and I have had the chance to know about Celtic when watching the Champions League, so when the opportunity was given to me I just couldn’t refuse,” he said.
“I first heard of the interest a month ago and my wish is to stay here for as long as possible and to perform as best I can for the club. I played with Juventus who are a big team but Celtic are also very big too.
“I know the club quite well through the Champions League and the Glasgow derby, which you can’t miss, and also because of my friend Perrier-Doumbe who used to play for Celtic.
“I spent 11 years with him in Auxerre, so we grew up together as young players. He’s like my brother and we spend holidays together.
“Before I came here I called him and asked him about Celtic. He told me they are a good team, with great fans and a big stadium, and that the staff and everything are good as well.”
Kapo is an attacking midfielder who is capable of getting forward and finding the back of the net. These are the attributes which saw him play at the highest level in France, Italy, Spain and England. What he will also always guarantee is 100 per cent commitment to the cause.
“I see myself as an offensive player, an attacking midfielder and my role is passing the ball forward and scoring when I have the opportunity,” he explained. “I will give my best like I did before for clubs like Auxerre, Monaco and Juve.”
Coming from the English Premier League, where he enjoyed successful spells at Birmingham and Wigan, Kapo feels he will comfortably adapt to the demands of the SPL.
And, despite being without a club since the start of the season, if required for service he is ready to answer Neil Lennon’s call.
“I know it’s a little bit more physical than English football,” said Kapo. “And around two years ago I played against Hibs for Wigan so that is my amount of knowledge about Scottish football.
“I’m fit and will work hard, but it’s the coach who will decide. There is a team in place and you don’t want to change things over night.”
Olivier Kapo leaves Celtic
By: Newsroom Staff on 19 Jan, 2011 14:26 OLIVIER Kapo has left Celtic Football Club after a short spell with the club. The French internationalist made two appearances for the Hoops.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon said today: “These are the facts. Olivier Kapo signed a contract with the club which allowed us to terminate on January 10, 2011.
“Celtic took this option to terminate as we felt he had not done enough to justify a longer-term contract.
“We were willing to look at an extension to this short term contract with Olivier. However, he was not willing to accept these terms.
“Clearly, everyone at the club wishes Olivier well for the future.”
French winger Olivier Kapo accuses Celtic of ‘deep injustice’ over contract as he walks out on club (telegraph)
Olivier Kapo, the former Auxerre, Juventus, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic winger, has walked out on Celtic, claiming that the club reneged on a financial agreement with him and that manager Neil Lennon does not have autonomy when it comes to making signings at the club.
The 30-year-old made two appearances for the first team, coming off the bench against St Johnston and starting against Motherwell last month. Both matches were won.
However, Kapo, capped nine times by France, is unhappy with subsequent developments.
“On November 4, 2010, I signed a contract which bound me to the club until 2012 with a probationary period of three months,” he said.
“During that time, I required no pay. My sole concern was to recover the pleasure of playing.
“ A moral commitment was then made by the football management of the club that my trial period would be converted, as expected, into a contract of 18 months. I began looking for an apartment for my family and a school for my children. My future was with Celtic.
“On January 11, there was a twist. The executive management called me and said my contract would be changed. My salary would be divided by three and would now expire on June 30, 2011.
“The position of the club was a ‘lack of experience’ because four games had been postponed due to the weather and I had been out injured with a thigh injury in late December, from which I have now fully recovered.
“I still do not understand this sudden change of situation. I feel a deep injustice, even though the coaching staff wanted me to stay.
“Despite the insistence of Neil Lennon, I did not want to stay longer in a situation where a young coach, who was an experienced player, is not able to impose his choices on the financial management.”
Lennon, however, gave a somewhat different account. “These are the facts,” he told the club’s official website. “Olivier Kapo signed a contract with the club which allowed us to terminate on January 10, 2011.
“Celtic took this option to terminate as we felt he had not done enough to justify a longer-term contract.
“We were willing to look at an extension to this short term contract with Olivier. However, he was not willing to accept these terms.
From Video Celts:
Neil Lennon has fired back at Olivier Kapo’s claims that Celtic back-tracked on his contract and that Lennon doesn’t have the authority to hire and fire.
The former Wigan and Birmingham winger joined Celtic on a short term deal in November but was released on January 10 after two brief appearances at the club.
An agreement was drafted to give the 30-year-old an 18 month contract but with concerns over his fitness Lennon offered a deal till the end of the season which was angrily rejected.
Lennon explained: “We couldn’t give him a contract on 30 minutes of football, not on the money he was after but we were quite prepared to extend his agreement to the end of the season until he proved his fitness.
“There is no doubting his talent – but he didn’t do enough to warrant what he wanted.
“I couldn’t go to the board and say I want this guy to have a one-year, two-year, 18-month contract, based on 30 minutes of football.
“I’d have everybody knocking on the door if that was the case.”
The Celtic boss added: “He hadn’t proved his fitness. He played in a reserve game and lasted a half, then he played in the first team and lasted 30 minutes. There was no way I could justify that to anybody.”
Kapo’s claim that the decision on his contract was made above Lennon’s head brought a short, sharp reply.
“It’s rubbish, absolute nonsense,” Lennon responded.
“We did have an agreement in place. He then changed his mind and said he’d take it. Then he changed his mind again and said No. I wish he had come to me before making that public.”