Denis Zakaria

Denis Lemi Zakaria Lako Lado (born 20 November 1996) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Borussia Mönchengladbach and the Switzerland national team.

Denis Zakaria

Personal information
Full name	Denis Lemi Zakaria Lako Lado[1]
Date of birth	20 November 1996
Place of birth	Geneva, Switzerland
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team	Borussia Mönchengladbach
Number	8
Youth career
2004–2015	Servette
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2015	Servette	6	(2)
2015–2017	Young Boys	50	(2)
2017–	Borussia Mönchengladbach	93	(9)
National team^‡
2014–2015	Switzerland U19	8	(2)
2015–2016	Switzerland U21	8	(0)
2016–	Switzerland	28	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:11, 16 January 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:17, 29 July 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Zakaria joined BSC Young Boys in June 2015 from Servette FC for an undisclosed fee signing a four-year contract.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

International career

Zakaria played for various Swiss youth national teams.

He made his debut for the senior Switzerland national football team in a friendly 1–2 loss to Belgium on 28 May 2016.[6] He was part of the squad for the 2016 European Championships.[6]

He was included in the Switzerland national football team 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[7]

In May 2019, he played in 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished 4th. [8]

Personal life

Zakaria was born in Geneva, Switzerland to a South Sudanese mother and Congolese father.[9]

Career statistics

Club

As of 16 January 2021.[10]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Servette	2014–15	Challenge League	6	2	0	0	—		—		6	2
Young Boys	2015–16	Super League	27	1	3	0	3[lower-alpha 1]	0	—		33	1
	2016–17		23	1	4	0	7[lower-alpha 2]	0	—		34	1
	Total		50	1	7	0	10	0	—		67	2
Borussia Mönchengladbach	2017–18	Bundesliga	30	2	3	0	—		—		33	2
	2018–19		31	4	1	0	—		—		32	4
	2019–20		23	2	2	0	6[lower-alpha 3]	0	—		31	2
	2020–21		9	1	0	0	3[lower-alpha 4]	0	—		12	1
	Total		93	9	6	0	9	0	—		108	9
Career total			148	13	13	0	19	0	0	0	181	13

1. One appearances in UEFA Champions League play-off round, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League play-off round, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

International

As of 29 July 2020[11]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Switzerland	2016	3	0
	2017	6	0
	2018	9	1
	2019	10	2
	Total	28	3

Switzerland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Zakaria goal.

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

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	[12]
2	23 March 2019	Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia	19	Georgia	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2020 qualification	[13]
3	8 September 2019	Stade Tourbillon, Sion, Switzerland	24	Gibraltar	1–0	4–0		[14]

References

1. "UEFA Nations League 2019: Booking List before League phase Matchday 5" (PDF). UEFA. 6 November 2018. p. 2. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
2. "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 21 June 2018. p. 30.
3. "U19-Nationalspieler Zakaria zu den Young Boys". Berner Zeitung (in German). 26 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
4. "FC Zürich vs. BSC Young Boys - 18 July 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
5. "Bis 2022: Zakaria unterschreibt in Gladbach". kicker Online (in German). 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
6. "Switzerland include three teenagers in final squad for Euro 2016". ESPN FC. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
7. https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/sports/dcunited/switzerland-opts-for-experience-in-world-cup-squad/2018/06/04/86572ee2-680a-11e8-a335-c4503d041eaf_story.html
8. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/48191915
9. Wuillemin, Dominic (3 October 2015). "Zackig". Berner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 9 June 2017.
10. "Denis Zakaria". SofaScore. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
11. "Denis Zakaria". European Football. 25 June 2018.
12. "Switzerland-Iceland - UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
13. "Georgia-Switzerland - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
14. "Switzerland-Gibraltar - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.

External links

• Denis Zakaria at National-Football-Teams.com
• Denis Zakaria at Soccerway