Olivier Occéan facts for kids
Occéan with Greuther Fürth in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Olivier Occéan | ||
| Date of birth | October 23, 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Brossard, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.85 m | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Urædd (assistant coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2000 | Longueuil Select Rive-Sud | ||
| 2000 | Essex County College | ||
| 2001–2003 | SCSU Fighting Owls | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2003 | Vermont Voltage | 30 | (19) |
| 2004–2006 | Odd | 46 | (22) |
| 2006–2010 | Lillestrøm SK | 91 | (33) |
| 2010–2011 | Kickers Offenbach | 30 | (16) |
| 2011–2012 | Greuther Fürth | 33 | (17) |
| 2012–2015 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 18 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | → 1. FC Kaiserslautern (loan) | 27 | (3) |
| 2015 | → Odd (loan) | 17 | (7) |
| 2015–2017 | Odd | 62 | (20) |
| 2018 | Urædd | 8 | (9) |
| 2018–2019 | Mjøndalen | 39 | (11) |
| 2020 | Urædd | 4 | (8) |
| National team | |||
| 2004–2012 | Canada | 28 | (6) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2020 | Urædd (player-assistant) | ||
| 2021– | Urædd (assistant) | ||
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Olivier Occéan (born October 23, 1981) is a Canadian former professional soccer player. He was known for being a strong striker who scored many goals. After a successful career playing for various clubs in Norway and Germany, he became an assistant coach for IF Urædd.
Contents
Club Career
Playing in College
Olivier Occéan played college soccer in the United States from 2001 to 2003. He played for Essex County College and then for the Fighting Owls at Southern Connecticut State University.
During his time in college, Occéan was named an NCAA All-American twice. He scored an impressive 57 goals in his college career. He also played for Vermont Voltage in a league called the USL Premier Development League.
After college, Occéan was chosen by the MetroStars in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. However, a Norwegian club called Odd Grenland was very impressed with him during a preseason tournament. They offered him a contract, and Occéan decided to join them instead of playing in Major League Soccer.
Starting in Norway
Occéan quickly became a key player for Odd in Norway. He earned a starting spot and began scoring goals right away. In his first season with the team, he was their top scorer with 14 goals.
Moving to Lillestrøm
In December 2005, Occéan signed a five-year contract with Lillestrøm. After a good start, he went through a period where he didn't score for five months. However, he eventually found his form again. In the 2007 and 2008 seasons, he scored 12 goals for the club.
Playing in Germany
Before the 2010–11 season, Occéan moved to Germany. He joined Kickers Offenbach on a free transfer, meaning no money was paid for him. He had a fantastic start, scoring four goals in his first three games. This made him an instant favorite with the fans. In his only season there, he scored 16 goals in 30 matches.
Winning with Greuther Fürth
On May 25, 2011, Occéan signed a three-year contract with SpVgg Greuther Fürth. He made his debut in July and scored two goals in his second game, helping his team win 4–0.
Occéan scored a very important goal in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) quarter-finals in February 2012. He was named the Canada Soccer Player of the Month for both February and March 2012 because of his great performances. Occéan helped Greuther Fürth win the 2. Bundesliga championship, which meant they were promoted to the top German league, the Bundesliga. He was also the league's top scorer with 17 goals.
Reaching the Top League
On July 3, 2012, Occéan moved to Eintracht Frankfurt for €1.3 million, signing a three-year contract. This move meant he would be playing in the Bundesliga, Germany's highest soccer league.
He made his debut in the Bundesliga on August 25. On September 15, 2012, Occéan scored his first Bundesliga goal in his third game for the club, helping them win 3–2.
Loan to Kaiserslautern
On July 1, 2013, Occéan was loaned to 1. FC Kaiserslautern, another team in the 2. Bundesliga. This loan was for two years.
Back to Odd
On January 6, 2015, Occéan signed a short-term loan deal to return to his former club, Odd, which plays in the Norwegian Eliteserien (top league). On July 8, 2015, he signed a full two-and-a-half-year contract with Odd.
Becoming a Coach
In 2018, Occéan joined Urædd Fotball in Norway. At the same time, he started his coaching career as a youth coach at Urædd.
After playing two seasons for Mjøndalen, he returned to Urædd Fotball in 2020 as a player and assistant coach. He stopped playing professionally at the end of 2020 but continued his role as an assistant coach for the team and as a youth coach.
International Career
Occéan played for the Canadian national soccer team. He made his first appearance in May 2004 against Wales. By the end of 2012, he had played 28 games for Canada and scored six goals.
He played in 15 FIFA World Cup qualification matches for Canada. He scored Canada's first goal in a 1–0 win against Cuba during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.
In February 2013, FIFA ruled that Occéan had shown unsporting behavior and used offensive language towards match officials during a game against Cuba in October 2012. Because of this, he received a 6-match suspension. This meant he could only play for Canada again after those six official competitive matches were completed.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Odd | 2004 | Eliteserien | 24 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 17 |
| 2005 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 3 | – | 25 | 11 | |||
| Total | 46 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 54 | 28 | ||
| Lillestrøm | 2006 | Eliteserien | 23 | 7 | 3 | 4 | – | 26 | 11 | |
| 2007 | 25 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 16 | ||
| 2008 | 26 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 14 | ||
| 2009 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | 16 | 2 | |||
| 2010 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | 5 | 2 | |||
| Total | 91 | 33 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 110 | 45 | ||
| Kickers Offenbach | 2010–11 | 3. Liga | 30 | 16 | 3 | 0 | – | 33 | 16 | |
| Greuther Fürth | 2011–12 | 2. Bundesliga | 33 | 17 | 5 | 2 | – | 38 | 19 | |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 19 | 1 | |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern (loan) | 2013–14 | 2. Bundesliga | 27 | 3 | 4 | 3 | – | 31 | 6 | |
| Odd (loan) | 2015 | Eliteserien | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 7 |
| Odd | 2015 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 20 | 13 | |
| 2016 | 28 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 11 | ||
| 2017 | Eliteserien | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 32 | 3 | |
| Total | 79 | 27 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 100 | 34 | ||
| Urædd | 2018 | 3. divisjon | 8 | 9 | 1 | 0 | – | 9 | 9 | |
| Mjøndalen | 2018 | 1. divisjon | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | 14 | 5 | |
| 2019 | Eliteserien | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | – | 25 | 6 | ||
| Total | 38 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 11 | ||
| Career total | 370 | 137 | 39 | 19 | 24 | 11 | 433 | 169 | ||
International Goals
- Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Occéan goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 9, 2005 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Northern Ireland |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | August 22, 2007 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland |  Iceland |
1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | October 7, 2011 | Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia |  Saint Lucia |
3–0 | 7–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 5–0 | |||||
| 5 | November 15, 2011 | BMO Field, Toronto, Canada |  Saint Kitts and Nevis |
1–0 | 4–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | June 8, 2012 | Estadio Pedro Marrero, Havana, Cuba |  Cuba |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Lillestrøm SK
- Norwegian Cup: 2007
Greuther Fürth
- 2. Bundesliga (Promotion to the Bundesliga): 2011–12
Individual
- Canada Soccer Player of the Month: February 2012, March 2012
- 2. Bundesliga top goalscorer: 2011–12
See also
In Spanish: Olivier Occéan para niños
