Lionel Zouma

Lionel Zouma (born 10 September 1993) is a footballer who plays as a central defender for Omani club Dhofar and the Central African national team.

Lionel Zouma
Zouma with Sochaux in 2013
Personal information
Full name Lionel Zouma
Date of birth (1993-09-10) 10 September 1993
Place of birth Lyon, France
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Dhofar
Number 3
Youth career
2003–2007 Vaulx-en-Velin
2007–2010 Sochaux
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Sochaux B 65 (4)
2011–2016 Sochaux 32 (0)
2016–2018 Asteras Tripolis 1 (0)
2018–2019 Bourg-en-Bresse 18 (0)
2019– Dhofar 0 (0)
National team‡
2012 France U19 1 (0)
2019– Central African Republic 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:02, 7 February 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 August 2013

Club career

Born in Lyon, Zouma began his development at Vaulx-en-Velin before moving to Sochaux, where he made his senior debut for their reserve team in CFA (fourth tier) in the second half of the 2010–11 season.

Zouma made his professional debut on 16 October 2011 in a league match against Valenciennes.[2]

On 12 July 2016, Zouma signed a three-year contract with Greek club Asteras Tripoli of Superleague Greece.[3] On 25 January 2018 he was released.

Following his release, Zouma trained from March 2018 with Bourg-en-Bresse. On 21 June, following their relegation to the Championnat National, he signed a two-year deal.[4]

In 2019, he moved to Dhofar Club in Oman.[5]

International career

In October 2017, Zouma accepted and was called up for the Central African Republic for the friendly match against Equatorial Guinea in Malabo.[6]

Personal life

Zouma's younger brother, Kurt, plays in the same position for English club Chelsea and has represented France at senior level.[7] Another younger brother, Yoan, made his professional debut for Bolton Wanderers in 2019.[8] Their parents emigrated from the Central African Republic.[9]

Career statistics

Correct as of 2 December 2015

Club Season League Cup[nb 1] Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sochaux 2011–12 4010—50
2012–13 1010—20
2013–14 16020—180
2014–15 11021—131
2015–16 0000—00
Career total 3206100381
  1. Includes Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue

References
  1. "Lionel Zouma UNFP Profile". National Union of Professional Footballers (in French). Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. "Valenciennes v. Sochaux Match Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 16 October 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  3. "ATFC: Στα κιτρινομπλέ ο Lionel Zouma" [ATFC: Lionel Zouma in yellow and blue]. Asteras Tripoli F.C. (in Greek). 12 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  4. "Lionel Zouma signe en Bourg-en-Bresse" [Lionel Zouma signs for Bourg-en-Bresse]. L'Équipe (in French). 21 June 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  5. Atiso, Kofi (6 November 2019). "Kondogbia présent, Zouma la surprise, toute la liste de la Centrafrique" [Kondogbia present, Zouma the surprise, all of Central Africa's squad] (in French). Afrique Sports. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  6. "Fauves A: La liste des 22 joueurs convoqués pour Malabo" [Wildcats senior team: The list of the 22 players chosen for Malabo] (in French). Bangui.com. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  7. "Les retrouvailles des " jumeaux " Zouma" [The reunion of the Zouma "twins"]. Le Parisien (in French). 23 March 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  8. Moore, Glenn (3 August 2019). "Defiance, pride and anger as Bolton fans cheer on team of strangers". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  9. "France: Kurt Zouma parle de la paix en Centrafrique" [France: Kurt Zouma speaks of peace in the Central African Republic]. Journal de Bangui (in French). 8 October 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
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