Playing position Name Sacha Opinel Years Team Role Footballer | 1991–1997 Cannes Height 1.77 m 1997–1998 Lille 2 Position Defender | |
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Date of birth (1977-04-09) 9 April 1977 (age 38) Place of birth Bourg-Saint-Maurice, France | ||
Sacha Opinel (born 9 April 1977) is a French professional footballer who was last attached to Harlow Town and 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.
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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. He was released by Rovers in December 2000 by mutual consent after a series of on and off-the-field problems. After training with Third Division club, Plymouth Argyle, 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. He made only one appearance for Plymouth in a Football League Trophy tie against Bristol Rovers and was not offered a contract. After a trial at Bournemouth, he joined Leyton Orient in February 2001, where he made eleven appearances in the remainder of the 2000–01 season, scoring one goal against Cardiff City, and helped Orient towards the Third Division play-offs in May 2001.
Opinel then dropped into non-league football, joining Billericay Town at the beginning of the 2001–02 season. He joined Farnborough Town in July 2003, signing a two-year contract in May 2004, 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. Opinel had started over 50 games for Farnborough. Opinel agreed a contract until May 2006 with Crawley and in July 2006, he joined Gravesend & Northfleet (now Ebbsfleet United). 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. On 4 June 2009, Opinel re-joined Farnborough.