Roger Zokou Boli (born 26 September 1965) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward for clubs in the French and British leagues. Born in Ivory Coast, he represented France at youth level. He is currently a sports agent.
Career Roger Boli started his career with Auxerre, where he spent four seasons. A season at Lille followed, before a long spell with Lens. During his seven seasons with the club, Boli won promotion to Ligue 1, and finished joint-top scorer in the 1993–94 season. A season was spent with Le Havre, before moving to England with Walsall in 1997. Boli's twelve league goals with the Saddlers drew attention from Scottish side Dundee United and Boli moved north in a £150,000 deal in 1998. Injuries restricted him to just three league appearances, although he did score once in the Scottish League Cup against Stirling Albion, and within three months a £100,000 move saw him head to AFC Bournemouth. Boli's seven appearances would be his last before retiring in the summer of 1999.
In May 2001, Boli arranged a benefit match – Le Jubilé de Roger Boli – which saw past and present Lens players play against a team of French superstars (Zinedine Zidane, Marcel Desailly, Patrick Vieira, Eric Cantona, Jean-Pierre Papin, etc.). Lens won 7–2, with the match proceeds going to the Raoul-Follereau association.
Personal life Boli holds Ivorian and French nationalities.
He is the brother of the French former footballer Basile Boli, and uncle of the Ivorian footballer Yannick Boli. His sons, Charles, Yohan, and Kevin are also professional footballers.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAuxerre1984–85Division 110100——1011985–86Division 117310—202031986–87Division 112133——1541987–88Division 116020—10190Total55463—30647Lille1988–89Division 125531——286Lens1989–90Division 2B331610——34161990–91Division 2B311110—5437151991–92Division 133420——3541992–93Division 131320——3331993–94Division 1352042——39221994–95Division 13892020—4291995–96Division 1284101042346Total22967132309625475Le Havre1996–97Division 12641010—284Walsall1997–98Division Two41124462665724Dundee United1998–99Premier League30—21—51AFC Bournemouth1998–99Division Two60201010100Career total3859226101331912443117
Honours Individual Ligue 1 Golden Boot: 1993–94 PFA Team of the Year: 1997–98 Second Division
See also Top goalscorers in Ligue 1 1997–98 Walsall season 1998–99 Dundee United season 1998–99 AFC Bournemouth season
References
External links Interview (Translated from French) Roger Boli information (Translated from French)