Sacha Fernand Henri Opinel (born 9 April 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He made over 200 appearances across France, Scotland, and England, and won an FA Trophy winners' medal in 2008.
 Opinel after winning the 2008 FA Trophy Final with Ebbsfleet United | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sacha Fernand Henri Opinel[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 9 April 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Bourg-Saint-Maurice, France | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1991–1997 | Cannes | ? | (?) |
| 1997–1998 | Lille 2 | 11 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Ajaccio | 7 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Raith Rovers | 22 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Plymouth Argyle | 0 | (0) |
| 2001 | Leyton Orient | 11 | (1) |
| 2001–2002 | Billericay Town | 24 | (2) |
| 2003–2005 | Farnborough Town | 56 | (2) |
| 2005–2006 | Crawley Town | 31 | (2) |
| 2006–2009 | Ebbsfleet United | 104 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Farnborough | 11 | (1) |
| 2010 | → Eastbourne Borough (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2010 | → Burgess Hill Town (loan) | ||
| 2010–2011 | Harlow Town | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editOpinel began his career with French clubs Cannes, Lille and Ajaccio before joining Scottish club Raith Rovers in December 1999, where he made over 20 league and cup appearances.[2] He was released by Rovers in December 2000 by mutual consent after a series of on and off-the-field problems.[3] After training with Third Division club, Plymouth Argyle,[4] Opinel was given a short-term contract so that manager Paul Sturrock could take a closer look at him over the 2000 Christmas and New Year period.[5] He made only one appearance for Plymouth in a Football League Trophy tie against Bristol Rovers[6] and was not offered a contract. After a trial at AFC Bournemouth,[7] he joined Leyton Orient in February 2001, where he made eleven appearances in the remainder of the 2000–01 season,[2] scoring one goal against Cardiff City,[8] and helped Orient towards the Third Division play-offs in May 2001.[9]
Opinel then dropped into non-league football, joining Billericay Town at the beginning of the 2001–02 season.[10] He joined Farnborough Town in July 2003,[11] signing a two-year contract in May 2004,[12] but requested a transfer for personal and professional reasons and joined Crawley Town in January 2005 in a deal that saw Farnborough receive a substantial transfer fee as well as having Robert Traynor move from Crawley to Farnborough.[13] Opinel had started over 50 games for Farnborough.[14] Opinel agreed a contract until May 2006 with Crawley and in July 2006, he joined Gravesend & Northfleet (now Ebbsfleet United).[15] He signed a new contract in May 2007 and collected a winners' medal when Ebbsfleet won the FA Trophy at Wembley Stadium in May 2008.[16] On 4 June 2009, Opinel re-joined Farnborough.[17]
Personal life
editOpinel is the cousin of former professional footballer Eric Cantona and actor Joël Cantona.[18]
Honours
editEbbsfleet United
References
edit- ^ "M.J.L.S". BFM Verif (in French). NextInteractive. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
"Sacha Opinel". BFM Business (in French). NextInteractive. Retrieved 8 October 2021. - ^ a b "Sasha Opinel". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
- ^ "Not got Opinel". The Mirror. 19 December 2000. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
- ^ "Opinel for Plymouth". The Mirror. 21 December 2000. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
- ^ "Pilgrim's Progress". The Mirror. 29 December 2000. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
- ^ "Bristol Rovers 3–0 Plymouth". BBC Sport. 9 January 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
- ^ "Purches returns for Cherries". BBC Sport. 8 February 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
- ^ "Cardiff 1-1 Leyton Orient". BBC. 6 March 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
- ^ "Blackpool pip Orient to promotion". BBC Sport. 26 May 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
- ^ "Foreign influence at Billericay". Non League Daily. 29 November 2001. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Taylor add three more to Boro squad". Non League Daily. 28 July 2003. Archived from the original on 17 August 2003. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Opinel boost for Seare". Non League Daily. 14 May 2004. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Crawley and Farnborough in swop deal". Non league Daily. 15 January 2005. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Crawley complete Opinel signing". BBC Sport. 14 January 2005. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ "Frenchman Opinel joins Gravesend". BBC Sport. 4 July 2006. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ a b "Ebbsfleet 1–0 Torquay". BBC Sport. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ "Sacha – It's good to be back". Farnborough Official website. 4 June 2009. Archived from the original on 28 May 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
- ^ "Former Orient defender Sacha Opinel wants kids to learn football the way France used to play it". Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
External links
edit- Sacha Opinel at Soccerbase
- Profile on Ebbsfleet United website
