Pascal Olmeta
Pascal Olmeta (born 7 April 1961 in Bastia) is a French former football goalkeeper who played for Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais in the 1990s.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 April 1961 | ||
| Place of birth | Bastia, France | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1980–1981 | INF Vichy | 14 | (0) |
| 1981–1984 | Bastia | 45 | (0) |
| 1984–1986 | Toulon | 76 | (0) |
| 1986–1990 | Matra Racing | 138 | (0) |
| 1990–1993 | Marseille | 84 | (0) |
| 1993–1996 | Lyon | 131 | (2) |
| 1996–1998 | Espanyol | 0 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Gazélec Ajaccio | 54 | (0) |
| Total | 542 | (2) | |
| National team | |||
| France U-21 | |||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Olmeta is good friends with Eric Cantona and has played in two testimonials for the Rest of the World against Manchester United: he played in the Munich testimonial in 1998 and also Sir Alex Ferguson's testimonial in 1999. In 2010, Olmeta played in goal for United in a charity game in aid of Sport Relief.
He represented France in the Beach Soccer World Cup 2001 and was awarded the title of 'Best Goalkeeper' in the tournament.
Personal life
Olmeta is married with two daughters.[2]
In 2016, Olmeta drew criticism after video footage from 2011 surfaced showing him shooting an elephant in the head before posing "proudly" with the corpse. He defended the footage stating he had shot the animal because of overpopulation in Zimbabwe, and all income from hunting was being used to help local people.[3]
References
- Pascal Olmeta – French league stats at LFP (also available in French)
- http://www.purepeople.com/article/pascal-olmeta-et-stephanie-de-monaco-equipe-qui-donne-le-sourire_a84752/1
- "Une vidéo de Pascal Olmeta chassant un éléphant révolte les internautes". Sud Ouest (in French). 19 October 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2020.