Sacha Opinel

Sacha Opinel (born 9 April 1977) is a French professional footballer who played as a defender. He has made over 200 appearances in the French Ligue, the Scottish League, the English Football League and the English Football Conference, and won a FA Trophy winner's medal in 2008.

Sacha Opinel
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-04-09) 9 April 1977
Place of birth Bourg-Saint-Maurice, France
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 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
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:45, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

Career

Opinel, who is a cousin of Eric Cantona, 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.[1] He was released by Rovers in December 2000 by mutual consent after a series of on and off-the-field problems.[2] After training with Third Division club, Plymouth Argyle,[3] Opinel was given a short-term contract so that manager Paul Sturrock could take a closer look him over the 2000 Christmas and New Year period.[4] He made only one appearance for Plymouth in a Football League Trophy tie against Bristol Rovers[5] and was not offered a contract. After a trial at Bournemouth,[6] he joined Leyton Orient in February 2001, where he made eleven appearances in the remainder of the 2000–01 season,[1] scoring one goal against Cardiff City,[7] and helped Orient towards the Third Division play-offs in May 2001.[8]

Opinel then dropped into non-league football, joining Billericay Town at the beginning of the 2001–02 season.[9] He joined Farnborough Town in July 2003,[10] signing a two-year contract in May 2004,[11] 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 Robert Traynor move from Crawley to Farnborough.[12] Opinel had started over 50 games for Farnborough.[13] Opinel agreed a contract until May 2006 with Crawley and in July 2006, he joined Gravesend & Northfleet (now Ebbsfleet United).[14] 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.[15] On 4 June 2009, Opinel re-joined Farnborough.[16]

Honours
Ebbsfleet United

References
  1. "Sasha Opinel". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  2. "Not got Opinel". The Mirror. 19 December 2000. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  3. "Opinel for Plymouth". The Mirror. 21 December 2000. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  4. "Pilgrim's Progress". The Mirror. 29 December 2000. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  5. "Bristol Rovers 3–0 Plymouth". BBC Sport. 9 January 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  6. "Purches returns for Cherries". BBC Sport. 8 February 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  7. "Cardiff 1-1 Leyton Orient". BBC. 6 March 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  8. "Blackpool pip Orient to promotion". BBC Sport. 26 May 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  9. "Foreign influence at Billericay". Non League Daily. 29 November 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  10. "Taylor add three more to Boro squad". Non League Daily. 28 July 2003. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  11. "Opinel boost for Seare". Non League Daily. 14 May 2004. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  12. "Crawley and Farnborough in swop deal". Non league Daily. 15 January 2005. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  13. "Crawley complete Opinel signing". BBC Sport. 14 January 2005. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  14. "Frenchman Opinel joins Gravesend". BBC Sport. 4 July 2006. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  15. "Ebbsfleet 1–0 Torquay". BBC Sport. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  16. "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.
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