Wilfried Zaha

Wilfried Zaha

Zaha playing for Crystal Palace in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Dazet Wilfried Armel Zaha[1]
Date of birth	10 November 1992[1]
Place of birth	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current team	Crystal Palace
Number	11
Youth career
0000–2010	Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2010–2013	Crystal Palace	110	(12)
2013–2015	Manchester United	2	(0)
2013	→ Crystal Palace (loan)	16	(1)
2014	→ Cardiff City (loan)	12	(0)
2014–2015	→ Crystal Palace (loan)	16	(1)
2015–	Crystal Palace	49	(5)
National team^‡
2011	England U19	2	(0)
2012–2013	England U21	13	(1)
2012–	England	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:46, 24 April 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:41, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

Dazet Wilfried Armel Zaha (born 10 November 1992), known as Wilfried Zaha, is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Crystal Palace.

Zaha advanced into the Crystal Palace first team from their academy in 2010. In January 2013, he transferred to Manchester United for an initial fee of £10 million, but remained on loan at Palace until the end of the season, helping them return to the Premier League. After an unsuccessful 2013–14 season with Manchester United (partly spent on loan at Cardiff City), Zaha returned to Palace in August 2014 on a season-long loan, before rejoining the club on a permanent basis in February 2015.

Born in the Ivory Coast, Zaha grew up in England from the age of four. He made his debut for the England national team in 2012.

Early life

Born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Zaha moved with his family – including his eight siblings – to Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon, at the age of four.^[2][3][4] He was educated at Whitehorse Manor Junior School, Thornton Heath and Selsdon High School, Selsdon.^[5]

He played football at school, and joined the Crystal Palace academy aged 12.^[4]

Club career

Crystal Palace

2009–10

Zaha was given his Crystal Palace first-team debut at home to Cardiff City on 27 March 2010 by caretaker manager Paul Hart as a substitute with 10 minutes remaining in the match.^[6] He signed a two-year professional contract with Palace during April 2010.^[7]

2010–11

He quickly progressed through the ranks at Palace and became a key member of the first team during the 2010–11 pre-season friendlies. On 7 August 2010, he scored his first senior goal in a 3–2 win over Leicester City.^[8] Speaking after this match, Palace defender Paddy McCarthy praised Zaha and compared him to Victor Moses. Zaha assisted Kieron Cadogan in the home game against Queens Park Rangers and James Vaughan in the away game at Watford.^[9] On 12 April 2011, he was sent off in the 95th minute against Leicester City for an alleged stamp on Patrick van Aanholt but it was later rescinded.^[10] Zaha ended the season playing a total of 44 games, while scoring 1 goal and having 2 assists in all competitions.^[11][12][13]

2011–12

Zaha playing for Crystal Palace in 2012

Zaha started the 2011–12 season by scoring two goals in a League Cup game on 23 August 2011 at home to Crawley Town.^[14] On 30 November, Zaha impressed in Crystal Palace's 2–1 shock win over Manchester United in the League Cup, constantly sneaking through the United defence and in January, attracting interest from Liverpool and Manchester United.

In March 2012, Zaha was voted The Football League's Young Player of the Year.^[15]

In the latter part of the season, manager Dougie Freedman opted to play Zaha as a striker and on 21 April he scored in a 2–2 draw with Reading, in a game that saw Reading secure the Championship title.^[16] At the end of the 2011–12 season, Zaha was voted Crystal Palace Young Player of the Year for a second time in a row. During this season, he played a total of 48 games while scoring 9 goals and having 5 assists.^[17][18][19]

2012–13

Zaha started the 2012–13 season brightly, getting an assist in the League Cup against Exeter City and winning a penalty in the first league game against Watford. Zaha scored his first two goals of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 2 October 2012. He then scored two goals in a game again, four days later, in a 4–3 win over Burnley. By November, Palace were top of the Championship after a 2–1 win against Leicester, a 2–0 win against Blackburn and a 5–0 win against Ipswich Town.

On 5 March 2013, Zaha scored his first goal for Crystal Palace since being loaned back from Manchester United, in a 4–2 victory against promotion rivals Hull City.^[20] On 13 May 2013, in the second leg of the play off semi-final against Brighton, Zaha scored two goals in the second half to put Crystal Palace into the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.^[21] In the play-off final on 27 May 2013, Zaha won a penalty that was converted to secure Crystal Palace a Premier League spot for 2013–14.^[22]

Manchester United

On 25 January 2013, Zaha agreed to join Premier League side Manchester United, and would immediately be loaned back to Crystal Palace for the remainder of the season.^[23][24] Palace tried to delay the transfer and agree the transfer in the summer of 2013, but Football League rules prevented this with the player having to join United and be loaned back to Palace.^[25] Zaha passed the medical at Manchester United, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract on 26 January 2013 for a reported £10m rising to £15m with performance-related add-ons.^[26]

2013–14

Zaha playing for Cardiff City in 2014

On 11 August 2013, Zaha made his debut for Manchester United in the 2013 FA Community Shield against Wigan Athletic.^[27] He was included in the starting line-up and played 61 minutes before being replaced by Antonio Valencia as he won his first major honour in football.^[28] On 31 January 2014, Zaha completed a loan move to Cardiff City for the remainder of the 2013–14 season after being left out of favour by then manager David Moyes.^[29]

Return to Crystal Palace

On 28 August 2014, Zaha agreed to a season-long loan deal with Crystal Palace.^[30] Two days later, in the first match of his loan, he scored a stoppage-time equaliser in a 3–3 draw at Newcastle United.^[31]

On 2 February 2015, the final day of the winter transfer window, Zaha's move to Palace was made permanent with the signing of a five-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee, And also included a buy back clause, ^[32] believed to be in the region of £3 million, rising to £6 million with add-ons; Manchester United will also receive a percentage of the fee if Palace sell Zaha in the future.^[33]

International career

Zaha was eligible to represent both the Ivory Coast and England, the former because it was where he was born and the latter because it is where he grew up.^[34] His success over the course of his first full season resulted in a call-up to the England under-19 side for their game against Germany in February 2011. He was called up to the under-21 team on 23 February 2012.^[35] He made his debut in a 4–0 win against Belgium on 29 February, assisting Henri Lansbury for the third goal.^[36] On 11 November 2012, Zaha was called up to the senior team by manager Roy Hodgson for a friendly match against Sweden on 14 November. He came on as a substitute for fellow debutant Raheem Sterling in the 83rd minute.^[37][38]

Career statistics

Club

Zaha playing for Crystal Palace in 2012

As of match played 24 April 2016.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Crystal Palace	2009–10[39]	Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2010–11[40]	Championship	41	1	1	0	2	0	—		44	1
	2011–12[41]	Championship	41	6	0	0	7	3	—		48	9
	2012–13[42]	Championship	43	6	2	0	2	0	3[lower-alpha 1]	2	50	8
	Total		126	13	3	0	11	3	3	2	143	18
Manchester United	2013–14[27]	Premier League	2	0	0	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	4	0
	2014–15[43]	Premier League	0	0	—		0	0	—		0	0
	Total		2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	4	0
Cardiff City (loan)	2013–14[27]	Premier League	12	0	1	0	—		—		13	0
Crystal Palace	2014–15[43]	Premier League	31	4	3	0	1	0	—		35	4
	2015–16[44]	Premier League	34	2	5	2	3	1	—		42	5
	Total		65	6	8	2	4	1	—		77	9
Career total			205	19	12	2	16	4	4	2	237	27

1. Appearances in Championship play-offs
2. Appearance in FA Community Shield

International

As of match played 14 August 2013.^[45]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
England	2012	1	0
	2013	1	0
Total		2	0

Honours

Crystal Palace

• Football League Championship play-offs: 2013^[42]

Manchester United

• FA Community Shield: 2013^[28]

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 450. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
2. Fifield, Dominic; Taylor, Daniel (11 November 2012). "Wilfried Zaha agrees to join England squad for Sweden friendly". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 11 November 2012.
3. Fifield, Dominic (12 November 2012). "Wilfried Zaha – prince from the Palace now mixing with England royalty". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 12 November 2012.
4. "Wilfried Zaha: To Manchester United from Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
5. Lidbetter, Ross (11 November 2012). "Wilfried Zaha was always destined to be star, say former teachers". Croydon Advertiser. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
6. "Crystal Palace 1–2 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 27 March 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
7. "Zaha commits to Eagles". Crystal Palace Mad. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
8. "Crystal Palace 3–2 Leicester". BBC Sport. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
9. Kay, Alex (8 August 2010). "Wilfred Zaha gives Eagles reason to believe". Daily Mail (London). Retrieved 12 August 2010.
10. "Leicester 1–1 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
11. "Crystal Palace 2010–11 appearance statistics". The Football League. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
12. "Crystal Palace 2010–11 goal statistics". The Football League. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
13. "Crystal Palace 2010–11 assist statistics". The Football League. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
14. "Crystal Palace 2–0 Crawley Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
15. Football League Awards winners announced The Football League, 11 March 2012
16. "Reading 2–2 Crystal Palace" BBC Sport. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
17. "Crystal Palace 2011–12 appearance statistics". The Football League. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
18. "Crystal Palace 2011–12 goal statistics". The Football League. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
19. "Crystal Palace 2011–12 assist statistics". The Football League. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
20. "Crystal Palace 4–2 Hull". BBC Sport. 5 March 2013.
21. "Brighton 0 Crystal Palace 2 (agg 0–2): Zaha shows Premier League class to fire Eagles into Wembley showdown with Watford". Daily Mail. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
22. Gibbs, Thom (27 May 2013). "Crystal Palace v Watford: Championship play-off final: live". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 6 June 2013.
23. "Zaha's United Move Agreed". Crystal Palace F.C. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
24. "Deal agreed for Wilfried Zaha". Manchester United F.C. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
25. "Manchester United agree £17m Zaha deal". ZeeNews. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
26. "Exciting youngster Wilfried Zaha has passed his medical at Manchester United". Sky Sports. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
27. "Games played by Wilfried Zaha in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
28. Rostance, Tom (11 August 2013). "Community Shield: Man Utd 2–0 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
29. "Transfer Deadline Day: Man Utd's Zaha joins Cardiff City on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
30. "Wilfried Zaha rejoins Crystal Palace on loan from Man Utd". ESPN FC. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
31. Taylor, Louise (30 August 2014). "Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha scores last-gasp equaliser at Newcastle". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
32. "Wilf Returns Home". Crystal Palace F.C. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
33. "Wilfried Zaha 'glad to be back permanently' at Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
34. "EXCLUSIVE: Stick with England, Pearce pleads with Palace wonderkid Zaha". Daily Mail (London).
35. "Zaha earns first U21s call" The Football Association. 23 February 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
36. "England 4–0 Belgium" BBC Sport. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
37. "England squad update" The Football Association. 11 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
38. "Sweden 4-2 England". BBC Sport. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
39. "Games played by Wilfried Zaha in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
40. "Games played by Wilfried Zaha in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
41. "Games played by Wilfried Zaha in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
42. "Games played by Wilfried Zaha in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
43. "Games played by Wilfried Zaha in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
44. "Games played by Wilfried Zaha in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
45. "Zaha, Wilfried". National Football Teams. Retrieved 4 April 2016.

External links

• Wilfried Zaha profile at the official Crystal Palace F.C. website
• Wilfried Zaha profile at the official Football Association website
• Wilfried Zaha career statistics at Soccerbase