Denis Zakaria
Denis Lemi Zakaria Lako Lado (born 20 November 1996) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea, on loan from Serie A club Juventus, and the Switzerland national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Denis Lemi Zakaria Lako Lado[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 20 November 1996[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Geneva, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder[2] | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Chelsea (on loan from Juventus) | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2015 | Servette | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2015 | Servette | 6 | (2) |
| 2015–2017 | Young Boys | 50 | (2) |
| 2017–2022 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 125 | (11) |
| 2022– | Juventus | 11 | (1) |
| 2022– | → Chelsea (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2015 | Switzerland U19 | 8 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | Switzerland U21 | 8 | (0) |
| 2016– | Switzerland | 45 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:28, 6 January 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:56, 6 December 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Servette
Born in Geneva, Switzerland, to a South Sudanese father and Congolese mother,[3] Zakaria first began playing for local club Servette.[4]
Young Boys
Zakaria joined Young Boys in June 2015 for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year contract.[5] He made his Swiss Super League debut on 18 July 2015 against FC Zürich in 1–1 away draw replacing Alexander Gerndt after 79 minutes.[6]
Borussia Mönchengladbach
In June 2017, Zakaria signed a five-year contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach. He was transferred as a replacement for Mahmoud Dahoud who left the club for Borussia Dortmund. The transfer fee paid to Young Boys for Zakaria was reported as €10 million.[7] Zakaria scored a total of 11 goals in 125 appearances for Borussia Mönchengladbach.[4]
Juventus
On 31 January 2022, with six months remaining on his contract, Zakaria moved to Serie A club Juventus on a four-and-a-half-year contract,[4][8] in a deal worth €4.5 million.[4] On 6 February, Zakaria scored on his debut in the 61st minute, helping his side beat Hellas Verona 2–0.[9]
Loan to Chelsea
On 1 September 2022, Zakaria was loaned to Premier League club Chelsea until the end of the 2022–23 season with an option of a permanent transfer at the end of the season.[10] On 2 November 2022, Zakaria made his Chelsea debut in the club's final UEFA Champions League group stage match, scoring the winning goal of a 2–1 victory against Dinamo Zagreb.[11]
International career
Zakaria played for various Swiss youth national teams. He could have represented either Switzerland, South Sudan or Congo at a senior level due to being born in Switzerland and having a South Sudanese mother and a Congolese father.[12]
Zakaria made his debut for the senior Switzerland national team in a friendly 2–1 loss to Belgium on 28 May 2016.[13] He was part of the squad for the 2016 European Championships.[13] Zakaria was included in the 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[14]
In May 2019, Zakaria played in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished fourth.[15] He was named in the 26-man Swiss squad for the UEFA Euro 2020.[16] On 2 July 2021, he scored an own goal in Switzerland's quarter-final match against Spain, which they went on to lose on penalties.[17]
Style of play
Due to his characteristics and playing style has led Zakaria to be compared with former France international Patrick Vieira as well as Paul Pogba.[18] Zakaria has been described as a midfield powerhouse due to his pace, strength, athleticism and aggressive playing style.[19] He is also known for being a composed passer and for making surging forward runs from midfield.[20] Primarily a defensive midfielder, he is also capable of playing as a central midfielder, in a holding role, or a box-to-box role, and has even played as a central defender.[21]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 5 January 2023[22]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Servette | 2014–15 | Swiss Challenge League | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 2 | ||
| Young Boys | 2015–16 | Swiss Super League | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| 2016–17 | Swiss Super League | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 7[d] | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| Total | 50 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | 67 | 2 | |||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 31 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 4 | |||
| 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 6[e] | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 5[f] | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 2 | |||
| Total | 125 | 11 | 10 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | 146 | 11 | |||
| Juventus | 2021–22 | Serie A | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[f] | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | |||
| Chelsea (loan) | 2022–23 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[f] | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Career total | 194 | 16 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 238 | 17 | ||
- ^ Includes Swiss Cup, DFB-Pokal, Coppa Italia
- ^ Includes EFL Cup
- ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
International
- As of match played 6 December 2022[23]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 2016 | 3 | 0 |
| 2017 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zakaria goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 September 2018 | Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland | 13 | Iceland | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League A | [24] |
| 2 | 23 March 2019 | Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia | 19 | Georgia | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification | [25] |
| 3 | 8 September 2019 | Stade Tourbillon, Sion, Switzerland | 24 | Gibraltar | 1–0 | 4–0 | [26] |
Honours
Individual
- Swiss Super League Team of the Year: 2016–17[27]
- Swiss Super League Young Player of the Year: 2016–17
References
- ^ (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2019.
- ^ a b c . borussia.de (in German). Borussia Mönchengladbach. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ Wuillemin, Dominic (3 October 2015). "Zackig". Berner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d "OFFICIAL | Zakaria joins Juventus!". Juventus.com. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "U19-Nationalspieler Zakaria zu den Young Boys". Berner Zeitung (in German). 26 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "FC Zürich vs. BSC Young Boys - 18 July 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ "Bis 2022: Zakaria unterschreibt in Gladbach". kicker Online (in German). 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "DENIS ZAKARIA MOVES TO JUVENTUS" (Press release). Borussia Mönchengladbach. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Vlahovic and Zakaria score on Juventus debuts in Verona win". CNA. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ "Zakaria goes on loan to Chelsea from Juventus". Chelsea F.C. 2 September 2022.
- ^ "Chelsea 2–1 Dinamo Zagreb". BBC Sport. 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Zackig". Berner Zeitung.
- ^ a b "Switzerland include three teenagers in final squad for Euro 2016". ESPN FC. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ The Washington Post[dead link]
- ^ "Pickford the hero in England shootout win". BBC Sport.
- ^ The Athletic Staff. "Switzerland's full 26-man Euro 2020 squad". The Athletic. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Watch video: Zakaria's own goal gifts Spain early lead in Euro 2020 QF against Switzerland". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Denis Xhaka-ria the new heartbeat of the Borussia Mönchengladbach midfield". bundesliga.com. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ "Denis Zakaria: Borussia Mönchengladbach's midfield monster". bundesliga.com. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ "Denis Zakaria: Who is Borussia Mönchengladbach and Switzerland's midfield marvel?". bundesliga.com. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ "Denis Zakaria - the biography". chelseafc.com. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ "Denis Zakaria". SofaScore. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ "Denis Zakaria". EU-Football.info. 25 June 2018.
- ^ "Switzerland-Iceland - UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Georgia-Switzerland - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Switzerland-Gibraltar - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "SAFP Golden 11 2016". Golden11. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
External links
- Denis Zakaria at National-Football-Teams.com
- Denis Zakaria at Soccerway