Olivier Tébily
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 6'1 (185 cm) | ||
| Position(s) | Fullback | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Birmingham City | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 May 2006 | |||
Olivier Tébily (born December 19, 1975 in Abidjan) is an Ivorian football player who currently plays for Birmingham City F.C. as a defender. He plays international football for Côte d'Ivoire.
He started his career at French second division side Châteauroux, before he was signed by Sheffield United F.C. for £200,000 on March 23, 1999. However, he only stayed at the club for three and a half months, moving to Celtic F.C. on July 8 for 1.25 million pounds. An irregular starter due to his early erratic form, this improved as Martin O'Neill took over as coach of the team, as Tebily was assured of a more, albeit not entirely, regular placement in the team.
On March 22, 2002, he moved on again, this time to Birmingham City F.C., but once again thanks to Birmingham manger Steve Bruce, the same manager as had signed him at Sheffield United three years previously. Tebily became admired by the Birmingham fans as an integral part of their play-off success.
His 2002/03 season was marred by a worrying knee injury sustained when Birmingham City and Charlton Athletic met on December 21, 2002. However, he returned to fitness at the beginning of the 2003/04 season and has since been injury-free albeit not a regular selection for the club.