Manuel Akanji

Manuel Obafemi Akanji (born 19 July 1995) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defender for Borussia Dortmund and the Switzerland national team.

Manuel Akanji
Akanji with Switzerland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Manuel Obafemi Akanji[1]
Date of birth (1995-07-19) 19 July 1995
Place of birth Wiesendangen,[2] Switzerland
Height 7'9 [1]
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Borussia Dortmund
Number 16
Youth career
2004–2007 FC Wiesendangen
2007–2014 FC Winterthur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Winterthur 37 (10000000000000000)
2015–2200 Basel 42 (56665)
2018– Borussia Dortmund 76 (2326)
National team‡
2014 Switzerland U-20 2 (0)
2014–2015 Switzerland U-21 6 (0)
2017– Switzerland 24 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:03, 22 December 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 September 2020

Club career

Youth football

Born in Wiesendangen,[3] Akanji began his youth career with the local club in Wiesendangen. In May 2007, Akanji changed clubs and was a youth-team player for FC Winterthur. During his early years, he played for their Under-18 team and later with their second team. In the 2014–15 Challenge League, he was in Winterthur's starting eleven, having played two games for them during the previous season.

Basel

On 15 April 2015, it was announced that Akanji would transfer to Basel for the 2015–16 Super League season.[4] He made his Swiss Super League debut on 26 September 2015 being substituted in against FC Lugano. Under trainer Urs Fischer, Akanji won the Swiss Super League championship at the end of the 2015–16 Super League season[5] and at the end of the 2016–17 Super League season for the second time. For the club this was the eighth title in a row and their 20th championship title in total. They also won the Swiss Cup for the twelfth time, which meant they had won the double for the sixth time in the club's history.[6]

As Swiss Champions, Basel qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League and started in the Group stage. Akanji played in all six games over the full 90 minutes and helped the team finish in second group position, thus qualifying for the next round. On 15 January 2018, Basel announced that Akanji had transferred to Borussia Dortmund.[7]

Borussia Dortmund

Akanji transferred to Borussia Dortmund on 15 January 2018 during the winter transfer window for a reported fee of 18 million euros.[8] He signed a four and a half year contract dated until June 2022.[9] On 27 September, Akanji scored his first goal for the club and his first Bundesliga goal in a 7–0 victory over 1. FC Nürnberg.[10] Akanji was widely criticised for his costly errors during Dortmund's failed challenge to Bayern during the 2019/20 season. Akanji was one of the main players singled out as a weak link in the team.[11]

International career

Akanji made two appearances for the Switzerland U-20 national team. His debut was on 7 September 2014 in the 0–0 draw against the German U-20 national team. From 2014, he was a member of the Switzerland U-21 team and made his debut for them on 26 March in the 0–3 defeat by the Italian U-21 team.

Akanji made his debut in the senior team in the 2–0 win against Faroe Islands in the 2018 World Cup qualification match on 9 June 2017. He played the entire 90 minutes.[12]

He was included in the Swiss team's 23 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[13]

In May 2019, he played in 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished 4th. [14]

Personal life

Akanji was born in Wiesendangen, Switzerland to a former tennis player Swiss mother and a financial expert Nigerian father.[15]

Career statistics

International
As of 7 September 2020[16]
Switzerland
YearAppsGoals
201740
201890
201990
202020
Total240

Honours

FC Basel

Borussia Dortmund

References
  1. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  2. "Manuel Akanji: 10 things on Borussia Dortmund's new Swiss international defender". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website.
  3. "Manuel Akanji: 10 things on Borussia Dortmund's new Swiss international defender". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  4. Ein neuer Verteidiger für den FCB: Manuel Akanji kommt vom FC Winterthur TagesWoche dated 15. April 2015
  5. Marti, Casper (2016). "Es ist vollbracht ! Der FCB ist zum 19. Mal Meister". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  6. Marti, Casper (2017). "Der Saisonabschluss im Zeitraffer". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  7. FC Basel 1893 (2018). "Manuel Akanji wechselt zu Borussia Dortmund". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  8. "Wechsel perfekt! BVB bekommt Akanji sofort" kicker, 15 January 2018. Retrieved on 15 January 2018.
  9. Borussia Dortmund (2018). "BVB verpflichtet Schweizer Nationalspieler Manuel Akanji". bvb.ch. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  10. "Marco Reus stars as breathtaking Borussia Dortmund put seven past Nuremberg". Bundesliga. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  11. https://bvbbuzz.com/2019/11/11/three-borussia-dortmund-players-need-improve/2/
  12. "Färöer Inseln 0:2 Schweiz". football.ch. Schweizerischer Fussballverband. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/48191915
  15. "Manuel Akanji: 10 things on Borussia Dortmund's new Swiss international defender". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  16. "Manuel Akanji". European Football. 24 June 2018.
  17. "Swiss football: FC Basel wins 3-0 over Sion in Geneva; police extra vigilant after game". allaboutgeneva.com. 25 May 2017. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.