Gabriel Zakuani
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gabriel Zakuani | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Fulham | ||
| Number | TBA | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:00, 12 July 2006 (UTC) | |||
Gabriel "Gabby" Zakuani (born May 31 1986 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo) is a professional footballer, currently playing for Fulham.
Career
Zakuani moved to London in 1992 where Leyton Orient spotted him playing in one of his school matches as a 14 year old. After two seasons in the Youth Team, the 16-year-old was given his first team debut in a match against Bury in March 2003.
In the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons he become a regular in Martin Ling's plans, making the central defence position his own at Orient. He scored three goals in almost 100 first team appearances for Orient.
In January 2006, Zakuani was part of the Leyton Orient side that overcame Fulham, 2–1, in the FA Cup third round. Zakuani and his team mates were eventually knocked out of the Cup by another Premiership outfit, Charlton Athletic.
In July 2006, he was signed by Fulham for a fee of £1m, rising to £1.5m depending on appearances, on a four-year contract. The fee represented a club record for Leyton Orient.
Zakuani made his international debut for the Democratic Republic of Congo in August 2005 against Guinea.
Zakuani signed for Stoke City on loan for the remainder of the 2006–07 season.[1] Despite being a natural centre back, Zakuani also deputised as a right back during his loan spell.
On 31 August 2007, Zakuani again signed for Stoke City on loan. This time for the rest of the 2007–08 season.[2]
Away from football, in 2007, Zakuani appeared in Dizzee Rascal's music video for his single Flex.
References
- ^ "Stoke snap up Hendrie and Zakuani". BBC Sport. 2007-01-30. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Gabbi's Back!". Stoke City Official Website. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
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External links
- Gabriel Zakuani at Soccerbase
- Gabriel Zakuani Official Website at Icons.com
- Premier League player profile
- BBC report on Fulham transfer
- Zakuani in Dizzee Rascal Video. Appears 02:32
  | This biographical article related to association football in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1986 births
- Living people
- Democratic Republic of the Congo footballers
- Football (soccer) defenders
- Leyton Orient F.C. players
- Fulham F.C. players
- Stoke City F.C. players
- English people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent
- The Football League players
- Democratic Republic of the Congo football biography stubs