Kodjovi Obilalé’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Intro Togolese footballer
Is Athlete 
Football player 
Association football player 
From Togo 
Type Sports 
Gender male
Birth 8 October 1984, Lomé
Age: 35 years

Kodjovi Dodji Obilalé (born 8 October 1984) is a Togolese former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He last played for French amateur club GSI Pontivy. His career was cut short after he was severely injured in a bus attack against the Togolese team that took place in the Cabinda Province, Angola just days before the start of the 2010 African Cup of Nations.

Club career

Born in Lomé, Obilalé began his career with Chamois Niortais before signed a contract with FC Lorient in 2003. After one year in Lorient turned back to Togo and signed a contract with Étoile Filante de Lomé, where he played for three years. In July 2006 he returned to France moved to CS Quéven, where he played 39 games in one and a half years, before leaving the club in the summer of 2008 to sign a contract with GSI Pontivy.

International career

Obilalé is a former member of the national team, and was called up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Obilalé was the only member of the World Cup squad to play for a club in Togo. He was capped five times by Togo in 2009.

2010 African Cup of Nations shooting

On 8 January, a bus carrying the Togo national football team to the African Cup of Nations was fired at by a group of rebel terrorists from Cabinda Province, Angola, just after they had crossed the Congo border. Obilalé was one of the two players who were reported to have bullet wounds. Defender Serge Akakpo, was the other player confirmed to have been shot. The driver of the bus was killed during the attack, and the assistant coach and a spokesperson later died from their wounds. Later, Obilalé was reported dead by some sources including MSNBC.com; such reports were later dismissed by his club GSI Pontivy in a press announcement, stating the player was undergoing surgery in South Africa instead. Later reports indicated that Obilalé’s condition had improved following the shootout, and that he was “recovering well.”

On March 2010 Obilalé returned to France to continue his rehabilitation at the Kerpape centre in Lorient; later on July he confirmed that, as a result of the shooting, he was still suffering serious walking problems, and that he did not think about playing football anymore. Obilalé’s rehabiliation was funded by FIFA, the Togo government and the French Football Federation, and the goalkeeper complained that “the only institution that did not help me, it is the Confederation of African Football”.

On 30 July 2010 his contract with French football club Pontivy expired, and he stated that he had serious financial issues. He also announced his intention of denouncing the Togo football federation on the grounds that it had neglected his situation. These concerns were also raised by a number of other former fellow players, including international teammate Emmanuel Adebayor who, according to Obilalé, regularly calls him and helps him financially on his own.

On 26 July 2010 Obilalé was given the honour of taking the kick-off during a friendly game between FC Lorient and Stade Rennais F.C., which was organized to raise funds for the rehabilitation facility where he had recovered. The game was attended by more than 3,000 people.

Obilalé has since earned a diploma in special education, and works in the field of youth rehabilitation for Lorient association Remise en Jeu. In 2015, he published an autobiography, Un destin foudroyé (“A Destiny Struck”).

You May Also Like

Anthony Bourdain’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Anthony Bourdain Net Worth: Anthony Bourdain was an American chef, author, and television host who had a net worth of $16 million dollars at the time of his death in 2018. Anthony Bourdain was best known for hosting a range of culinary TV shows. He also wrote a number of books, the most famous of which focused on cooking and culture. Early Life: Anthony Michael Bourdain was born on June 25th of 1956 in New York City. The eldest of two sons, Anthony was raised by a Catholic father and a Jewish mother, although the family was not religious. Bourdain was born in New York but he grew up in New Jersey. In his youth, he was a member of the Boy Scouts of America. Education: Although Bourdain attended Vassar College after graduating from high school in 1973, he quickly switched directions to pursue an education in the culinary arts. Bourdain had been passionate about cooking from a young age, but he only saw it as a potential career path after he worked as a chef in seafood restaurants across Provincetown while attending college. Anthony Bourdain then attended the Culinary Institute of America. After graduating from this esteemed institution in 1978, Bourdain ran several successful restaurants in New York City. Career as a Chef: Bourdain’s restaurants in New York included Sullivan’s, Supper Club, and One Fifth Avenue. In 1998, Bourdain formed a close relationship with the famed restaurant in Manhattan, Brasserie Les Halles. Although he only acted as their executive chef for a relatively short time, Bourdain maintained close ties with the restaurant for many years to come. Writing Career: Anthony Bourdain published a number of books over the course of his career – both fiction and non-fiction. Although he didn’t have much luck at the beginning of his writing career, he won widespread praise with 2000’s Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. The book became a New York Times Bestseller, as did later works such as A Cook’s Tour, The Nasty Bits, and No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach. He later wrote his own cookbook and a series of culinary mystery books. As a journalist, Anthony Bourdain wrote for many well-known publications. These included The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Times of London, The Observer, Gourmet, and Esquire. He also wrote for various magazines and created a blog that accompanied TV shows such as Top Chef. In 2011, Anthony Bourdain established his own publishing line through Ecco Press. After his death, the publishing line was shut down. TV Career: For the majority of global audiences, Anthony Bourdain was best known as a TV personality. After the success of his book, Kitchen Confidential, the Food Network reached out to Bourdain with an offer to host his own show. As a result, Bourdain starred in his first show in 2002. The show was called A Cook’s Tour, and it followed Bourdain as he traveled the world to try exotic foods from various nations and cultures. Although A Cook’s Tour ended in 2003, Bourdain was given another show by the Travel Channel in 2005 entitled Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. This was largely a carbon copy of his first television show, and it ran until 2012. In 2011, the Travel Channel gave Anthony Bourdain his first non-cooking-related show with The Layover. This show educated audiences about what they could accomplish in a given city within a period of 24-48 hours. The show ran for 20 episodes, and it spawned a celebrity-hosted spin-off called The Getaway, which was executively produced by Bourdain. In 2012, Bourdain left the Travel Channel after becoming frustrated with the organization’s leadership. In 2013, CNN debuted Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. This show followed the same formula as the previous cooking shows. He also acted as narrator for PBS’ The Mind of a Chef and as a judge for Top Chef on numerous occasions. In addition, Bourdain had cameo roles on a variety of other shows, such as Miami Ink and The Simpsons. In 2015, Bourdain had a short cameo in the film The Big Short. Personal Life: Anthony Bourdain’s first wife was his high school girlfriend, Nancy Putkoski, who he married in 1985. After the couple divorced in 2005, Bourdain met mixed martial artist Ottavia Busia and married her in 2007. The couple had one child together before divorcing in 2016. In 2017, he began a romantic relationship with Italian actress Asia Argento. Passing: In 2018, Anthony Bourdain was found dead in a French hotel room. He had apparently hung himself. There were no signs of violence and tests showed that Bourdain was not intoxicated at the time of his passing. His death was covered extensively by the media, with many high-profile celebrities expressing their condolences. Personal Wealth: Although it was reported that Bourdain’s net worth was only worth $1.2 million at the time of his death, his wealth was actually much more substantial. In order to figure out the true amount of his net worth, one must factor in all of his assets, and not just his checking and brokerage accounts. For example, in 2014 Anthony paid $3.35 million for an apartment in NYC. Just a few years later, that apartment was worth approximately $5 million. According to public bank records, Anthony had $1 million worth of mortgages at the time of his death. More importantly, a closer look at Bourdain’s will shows that he created a trust in 2016 that held the majority of his assets (image rights, future income, royalties). His will dictates that the beneficiary of this trust is his daughter. Wealthy people often use trusts that are completely separate from their wills, partly for privacy but mainly for tax advantages. Based on all of this information, an estimate of about $16 million is much more accurate compared to the previously reported amount of $1.2 million by many media sources.
Read More