BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Dazet Wilfried Armel Zaha (born 10 November 1992), known as Wilfried Zaha, is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Crystal Palace on loan from Manchester United.
He advanced into the Crystal Palace first team from their academy in 2010. In January 2013 he transferred to Manchester United for an initial £10 million, but remained on loan at Palace until the end of the season, helping them return to the Premier League.
Born in the Ivory Coast, Zaha 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 theLondon 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 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, 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he was sent off in the 95th minute against Leicester City for an alleged stamp on Patrick van Aanholt but it was later rescinded.[10] Zaha ended the season playing a total of 44 games, while scoring 1 goal and having 2 assists in all competitions.[11][12][13]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 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.[citation needed]
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 withReading, 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[edit]
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]
Zaha made his debut for Manchester United on 13 July 2013 in a 1–0 defeat to a Thai All-Star XI in Bangkok, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Anderson. He made his first start on 20 July against A-League All Stars in Sydney, Manchester United winning the match 5–1. His first goal for Manchester United came in the last minute of a 2–2 draw against Cerezo Osaka on 26 July 2013.[27]
On 11 August 2013, Zaha made his competitive debut for Manchester United in the 2013 FA Community Shield against Wigan Athletic. He was included in the starting line-up and played 61 minutes before being replaced by Antonio Valencia. Zaha made his first official Manchester United appearance in a League Cup tie against Norwich City, playing 78 minutes before being substituted for Wayne Rooney.
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.[28]
Return to Crystal Palace
On 28 August 2014, Zaha agreed to a season-long loan deal with Crystal Palace.[29] Two days later, in the first match of his loan, he scored a stoppage-time equaliser in a 3–3 draw at Newcastle United.[30]
International career
Zaha was eligible to represent both Côte d'Ivoire and England, the former because it was where he was born and the latter because it is where he grew up.[31] 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.[32] He made his debut in a 4–0 win against Belgium on 29 February, assisting Henri Lansbury for the third goal.[33] 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 débutant Raheem Sterling in the 83rd minute.[34][35]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 30 August 2014.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Crystal Palace | 2009–10[36] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11[37] | Championship | 41 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 44 | 1 | |||
| 2011–12[38] | Championship | 41 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | — | — | 48 | 9 | |||
| 2012–13[39] | Championship | 27 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 5 | |||
| Manchester United | 2012–13[39] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Crystal Palace (loan) | 2012–13[39] | Championship | 16 | 1 | — | — | — | 3[a] | 2 | 19 | 3 | |||
| Crystal Palace total | 126 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 3 | — | 3 | 2 | 143 | 18 | |||
| Manchester United | 2013–14[40] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Manchester United total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Cardiff City (loan) | 2013–14[40] | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| Crystal Palace (loan) | 2014–15[41] | Premier League | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 139 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 159 | 19 | ||
- ^ Appearances in Championship play-offs
- ^ Appearance in FA Community Shield
International
- As of match played 14 August 2013.[42]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
Honours
Club
Crystal Palace
Manchester United
Individual
- Crystal Palace Young Player of the Year: 2010–11, 2011–12
- Football League Young Player of the Year: 2011–12
- Football League Championship PFA Team of the Year: 2012–13
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