Leonard Zuta
Leonard Zuta (Macedonian: Леонард Жута; born 9 August 1992) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a left back for Norwegian Eliteserien club Vålerenga.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leonard Zuta | ||
| Date of birth | 9 August 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Gothenburg, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Vålerenga | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2009 | Västra Frölunda | ||
| 2010–2012 | Häcken | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2015 | Häcken | 57 | (0) |
| 2015–2018 | Rijeka | 109 | (2) |
| 2019–2020 | Konyaspor | 12 | (0) |
| 2020 | Häcken | 16 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | Lecce | 23 | (0) |
| 2021– | Vålerenga | 36 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012–2013 | North Macedonia U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2015–2018 | North Macedonia | 15 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 September 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 04 October 2021 | |||
Club career
Zuta spent the first four seasons of his professional career with BK Häcken in Allsvenskan. He made his official début on 13 April 2012, when he came in as a substitute in a home win against Mjällby AIF.[1] Until late August 2015, Zuta made 57 appearances with Häcken, often featuring in the starting line-up.
On 31 August 2015, Zuta signed a three-year contract with Rijeka in Croatia's 1. HNL.[2] He made his official début for the club on 19 September 2015, in a goalless home draw against Inter Zaprešić, when he entered as a substitute in the 87th minute.[3] Zuta soon became a first team player during his stint at the club and won Croatian league and cup in 2016–17 season. Zuta also became popular figure to the supporters of Rijeka and was praised on various memes on social media.[4]
On 8 January 2019 Zuta signed for Turkish Süper Lig club Konyaspor.[5]
In September 2020, Zuta signed a two-year contract with Italian Serie B club Lecce, with an option for another year.[6]
On 30 July 2021, Zuta signed a three-year contract with Norwegian Eliteserien club Vålerenga. He was brought in to replace Sam Adekugbe, who had left for Hatayspor.[7]
International career
On 15 June 2015. Zhuta made his début with the Macedonian national team in an away loss to Slovakia. He has earned a total of 15 caps, scoring no goals[8] and his final international was a November 2016 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Spain.[9]
Club statistics
| Season | Club | League | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 2012 | Häcken | Allsvenskan | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2014 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2015 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 22 | 0 | |||
| Häcken total | 57 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 72 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Rijeka | 1. HNL | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 30 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | 35 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | 35 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 49 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Rijeka total | 109 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 139 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 166 | 2 | 30 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 211 | 2 | ||
| Last Update: 8 December 2018. | ||||||||||
International statistics
- As of 12 November 2016
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macedonia | 2015 | 7 | 0 |
| 2016 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 0 | |
Honours
HNK Rijeka
References
- ^ "Leonard Zuta". Svenskfotboll. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
- ^ "Leonard Zuta novi igrač HNK Rijeka". nk-rijeka.hr. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ "Rijeka-Inter Zaprešić 0:0". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
- ^ "Razgovarali smo s Badbeatom. Evo što kaže o sukobu Armade i Miškovića, Žuti, Sharbiniju i - Kantridi". Novi list. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
- ^ "LEONARD ŽUTA: Brzo smo se dogovorili, sretan sam što odlazim u Tursku". Novi list. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
- ^ "Officiellt: Leonard Zuta klar för Lecce". Fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). 13 September 2020.
- ^ "Leonard Zuta klar for Vålerenga". Vålerenga (in Norwegian). 30 July 2021.
- ^ Mamrud, Roberto (2009-07-16). "Macedonia - Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
External links
- Profile at Macedonian Football (in English)
- Leonard Zuta at Soccerway
- Leonard Zuta at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
- Leonard Zuta club team profile at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
- at Croatian Football Statistics (archived) (in Croatian)