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Steve Zakuani
Personal information
Full name	Steve Zakuani
Date of birth	February 9, 1988 (age 21)
Place of birth	Kinshasa, Zaire
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder; Second Striker, Striker
Club information
Current club	Seattle Sounders FC
Number	11
Youth career
1997–2002	Arsenal
2007–2008	Akron Zips
Senior career*
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 November, 2009.; † Appearances (Goals).;

Steve Zakuani (born February 9, 1988 in Kinshasa) is a Congolese-English^[1] soccer player who currently plays for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer.

[edit] Career

[edit] Youth and College

Zakuani was born in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), but moved to London with his family as a small child. He played for the Arsenal youth team until the age of 14, took part in the Tillburg Tournament in Holland in 2002, and played at the Independent Football Academy from 2004 to 2007 before enrolling at the University of Akron in the United States.^[2] As a sophomore, after leading the nation in scoring with 20 goals and 7 assists, Zakuani finished as runner-up for the Hermann Trophy, awarded to the nation's best collegiate soccer player.

In 2008, Zakuani also played for the Cleveland Internationals in the USL Premier Development League.^[3]

[edit] Professional

Zakuani was selected by Seattle Sounders FC as the number one pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft on a Generation Adidas contract.^[4], and turned down a larger contract offer from Preston North End to sign with Major League Soccer^[5].

Zakuani made his MLS debut on 19 March 2009, in the 2009 season opener against New York Red Bulls, coming on as a 68th minute substitute for Sanna Nyassi.^[6] He scored his first professional goal against Toronto FC on April 4, 2009.

[edit] International

Steve's older brother Gabriel Zakuani, who currently plays for Peterborough United in England's Championship division, is a member of Congolese national team. Steve also considers himself Congolese^[7], and has made it known that he would also like to play for the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the future.^[8]

[edit] Playing Style

Steve Zakuani is said to be quick and agile. He also likes to take defenders on one-on-one.

[edit] Honors

[edit] Seattle Sounders FC

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1): 2009

[edit] See also

List of current MLS players

[edit] References

^ http://web.mlsnet.com/pdf/mls/2009/superdraft/CombinePlayerBios.pdf
^ Jones, Grahame (2009-01-15). "Seattle makes Steve Zakuani first pick in MLS draft". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/01/seattle-makes-s.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
^ "Cleveland Internationals". USLSoccer.com. http://www.uslsoccer.com/teams/2008/roster/934451.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
^ "Zakuani Finishes Runner Up for M.A.C. Hermann Trophy". Akron Media Relations (GoZips.com). 2009-01-09. http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10800&ATCLID=3643114. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
^ "Zakuani Chooses MLS over English Championship". MLS (MLSnet.com). 2009-01-15. http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090115&content_id=212663&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
^ http://web.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=03192009_NYSEA
^ http://soccer.fanhouse.com/2009/01/16/mls-no-1-pick-steve-zakuani-chats-with-fanhouse/
^ http://sounderatheart.com/2009/01/steve-zakuani-6-days-a-sounder/

[edit] External links

MLS player profile

[0] ttp://web.mlsnet.com/pdf/mls/2009/superdraft/CombinePlayerBios.pdf

[1] Jones, Grahame (2009-01-15). "Seattle makes Steve Zakuani first pick in MLS draft". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/01/seattle-makes-s.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16.

[2] "Cleveland Internationals". USLSoccer.com. http://www.uslsoccer.com/teams/2008/roster/934451.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16.

[3] "Zakuani Finishes Runner Up for M.A.C. Hermann Trophy". Akron Media Relations (GoZips.com). 2009-01-09. http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10800&ATCLID=3643114. Retrieved 2009-01-16.

[4] "Zakuani Chooses MLS over English Championship". MLS (MLSnet.com). 2009-01-15. http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090115&content_id=212663&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved 2009-01-16.

[5] ttp://web.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=03192009_NYSEA

[6] ttp://soccer.fanhouse.com/2009/01/16/mls-no-1-pick-steve-zakuani-chats-with-fanhouse/

[7] ttp://sounderatheart.com/2009/01/steve-zakuani-6-days-a-sounder/

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