Claudio Cacapa

Claudio Roberto da Silva (born 29 May 1976), commonly known as Claudio Cacapa or simply Cacapa (Brazilian Portuguese: [kaˈsapɐ]), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Having made his senior debut in 1996 for Atletico Mineiro, Cacapa went on to play for Lyon, Newcastle United, Cruzeiro, Evian and Avai. He was capped three times by the Brazil national team. Since 2016, he is the assistant manager of Olympique Lyon.

Club Career

Atletico Mineiro

Cacapa began his career in 1996 with Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro, where he established himself as a first team regular. He received the Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball) award in 1999 after being voted the best defender in Serie A that season.

Lyon

In 2001, Cacapa began attracting interest from European clubs and joined Lyon on loan in 2001. He played his first game in the French Ligue 1 championship on 17 February 2001 and scored in the 2001 Coupe de la Ligue Final which Lyon won after extra time. In the summer, he signed a five-year contract with the club. He was captain of Lyon for five seasons, winning the French championship in each of these seasons. He became a French citizen in October 2006 after living in the country for over five years.

His contract with Lyon expired in the summer of 2007 and he refused to sign a new deal with the club.

Newcastle United

Cacapa signed for Newcastle United on a Free transfer after his contract with previous club Lyon expired, on 3 August 2007, signing an initial two-year deal with an option for a third. He made his debut for Newcastle as an 89th-minute substitute during the goalless draw against Aston Villa on 18 August, and in doing so he became the 1,000th player to represent the Magpies in a competitive match.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Касапа (russian)