Breel Embolo

Breel Embolo
Personal information
Full name Breel-Donald Embolo
Date of birth (1997-02-14) 14 February 1997
Place of birth Yaoundé, Cameroon
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 FC Basel
Number 36
Youth career
2006–2008 Nordstern
2008–2010 Old Boys
2010–2014 Basel
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2014– Basel 58 (20)
National team‡
2012–2013 Switzerland U16 4 (1)
2014– Switzerland U20 3 (0)
2014– Switzerland U21 4 (0)
2015– Switzerland 9 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 April 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 March 2016

Breel-Donald Embolo (born 14 February 1997) is a Swiss professional footballer, who plays for Swiss Super League side Basel. He plays as striker or midfielder for Switzerland's U21 team and has made several appearances for their first team.

Club career

Early career

Embolo started his youth football with Nordstern. Via Old Boys he transferred to the youth system of Basel in 2010. In the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons he played in Basel's U-16. With the U-16 team he won the Swiss Championship title twice at this level.[1][2] He received various individual prizes, such as the Basel youngster of the year 2013.[3] Just three weeks after his 16th birthday he signed his first professional contract with the club.[4] In summer 2013 he rose to play in their U-18 and U-21 teams.

FC Basel

Embolo made his professional debut on 13 March 2014 as a 90th-minute substitute for Geoffroy Serey in the Europea League round of 16 first leg in St. Jakob-Park.[5] The match against Red Bull Salzburg ended in a goalless draw.[6] Just three days later, on 16 March, he made his Swiss Super League debut in the 5–0 home win against Aarau, entering as a substitute in the 85th minute. He scored his first goal for the team only four minutes later, the final goal of the game.[7] At the end of the 2013–14 Super League season he won the league championship with Basel.[8] They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time.

On 4 November 2014 he scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League, opening a 4–0 home group win against Ludogorets Razgrad.[9] The season 2014–15 was a very successful one for Embolo and FC Basel. The championship was won for the sixth time in a row that season[10] and in the 2014–15 Swiss Cup they reached the final. But for the third season in a row, they finished as runners-up, losing 0–3 to FC Sion in the final. Basel entered the Champions League in the group stage and reached the knockout phase as on 9 December 2014 they managed a 1–1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool.[11] But then Basel then lost to Porto in the Round of 16. Basel played a total of 65 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 8 Champions League and 15 test matches). Under new manager Paulo Sousa Embolo totaled 54 appearances, 27 (five goals) in the League, 5 (six goals) in the Cup, 8 in the Champions League (one goal), as well 14 in test games. He totaled 18 goals in all these matches.[12]

On 19 August 2015, Embolo scored in a 2–2 draw against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv at St. Jakob-Park in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs.[13] He was scouted by several German and English clubs due to his performances, among them Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund.[14] Late into the 2016 January transfer window Wolfsburg made a bid of around €27 million for Embolo, but it was rejected by Basel.[15]

Under trainer Urs Fischer Embolo won the Swiss Super League championship at the end of the 2015–16 Super League season for the third time. For the club it was the seventh title in a row and their 19th championship title in total.[16]

Club statistics

As of match played 20 April 2016
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Basel 2013–14 Swiss Super League 710040—111
2014–15 27105681—4017
2015–16 2291082413512
FC Basel Total 562066203418630
Career total 562066203418630

    International career

    Embolo made four appearances for the Switzerland U16 national team. He scored his first international goal on 1 November 2012 in the 3–0 away win against the Ukraine U16. He was also eligible to play for Cameroon, however in December 2014 he pledged his international allegiance to Switzerland.[17] He made his senior international debut on 31 March 2015, replacing Josip Drmić after 56 minutes of an eventual 1–1 friendly draw against the United States in Zürich.[18] On 9 October, he scored his first international goal, a penalty in a 7–0 win over San Marino at the AFG Arena in St Gallen, converting after Alessandro Della Valle fouled Eren Derdiyok; the result qualified the Swiss to UEFA Euro 2016. In the same game, he also set up Michael Lang for the first goal and won a spot-kick scored by Johan Djourou.[19]

    Style of play

    UEFA.com writer, Steffen Potter, praised Embolo as a complete striker: "He is powerful, technically strong and decisive. He has explosive pace and is a composed finisher". Fabian Frei, who was a midfielder for FC Basel at the same time with Embolo, complimented him as well, for keeping his feet on the ground.[20]

    I think he is a sensation – playing like that aged 17. I like him as a person as much as I do as a player. His feet will stay on the ground – he won't be shooting from 50 metres to score the goal of the season. You can give him good advice and he is ready to take it without getting angry.

    Embolo has cited Mario Balotelli as one of his inspirations. Both players like to lurk between defenders and both have great control allied to physical prowess.[20]

    Personal life

    Embolo was born in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. His mother settled with her two sons in Basel, believing there was no future for them in Cameroon. Embolo received Swiss citizenship on 12 December 2014.[21][22]

    Honours

    Club

    Basel[23]

    Individual

    References

    1. 1 2 Kiesewetter, Dominik (2012). "U16 kurz vor der Ziellinie!" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
    2. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2013). "Die U16 holt das Double!" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
    3. 1 2 FC Basel 1893 (2013). "Auszeichnung der "Rookies of the Year"" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
    4. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2013). "Profivertrag für U16-Stürmer Breel-Donald Embolo" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
    5. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2014). "Keine Tore zwischen Basel und Salzburg" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
    6. ↑ Hindley, Martyn (2014). "Basel put breaks on Salzburg". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
    7. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2014). "Der FCB setzt gegen Aarau das gewünschte Zeichen" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
    8. ↑ Grossenbacher, Sacha (2014). "Fotos vom Spiel gegen Lausanne sowie den anschliessenden Feierlichkeiten" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
    9. ↑ Holyman, Ian (4 November 2014). "Embolo leads Basel to Ludogorets stroll". UEFA. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
    10. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2015). "Der Meisterfreitag im bunten Zeitraffer". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2015-05-29. (German)
    11. ↑ "Liverpool 1 Basel 1". BBC Sport. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
    12. ↑ Zindel, Josef (2015). Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2015/2016. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2050-4.
    13. ↑ "Zahavi header ensures Maccabi deny Basel". UEFA. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
    14. ↑ Jones, Simon (11 October 2015). "Aston Villa scouts watch Switzerland's teenage sensation Breel Embolo score against San Marino". Daily Mail. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
    15. ↑ Wright, Joe (2016). "Basel reject Wolfsburg bid for Embolo". goal.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
    16. ↑ Marti, Casper (2016). "Es ist vollbracht ! Der FCB ist zum 19. Mal Meister". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
    17. ↑ "Breel Embolo chooses to play for Switzerland over Cameroon". BBC Sport. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
    18. ↑ McCarthy, Kyle (31 March 2015). "Switzerland 1-1 USA: Altidore sent off in friendly draw". Goal.com. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
    19. ↑ "Switzerland hit seven to qualify for EURO 2016". UEFA. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
    20. 1 2 "UEFA.com's weekly wonderkid: Breel Embolo". UEFA. 7 February 2015.
    21. ↑ Kreis, Stefan; Sandro Inguscio (2014). "FCB-Star Embolo erhält den Schweizer Pass!" (in German). blick.ch. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
    22. ↑ "FCB-Stürmer Breel Embolo erhält den Schweizer Pass" (in German). Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
    23. ↑ Breel Embolo profile at Soccerway

    External links

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