Yousuf Salwan Zetuna (Arabic: يوسف زيتونة; born 10 March 1999) is an Iraqi professional footballer of Assyrian ethnicity.[2][3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yousuf Salwan Zetuna[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 10 March 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Tel Keppe, Ninawa, Iraq | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Vardar Academy | |||
| 2016–2019 | Oaxaca | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | Alebrijes de Oaxaca | 0 | (0) |
| 2020 | La Piedad | 2 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Saltillo | 6 | (1) |
| 2021 | Alebrijes de Oaxaca | 1 | (0) |
| 2022 | Kastrioti | 6 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2021 | Iraq U23 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 September 2024 | |||
Early life
editBorn in Tel Keppe in the Nineveh Governorate of Iraq,[4] Zetuna is one of four brothers, including fellow footballer Yohan Zetuna, and has one sister.[3][5] Due to the family being Catholic, they faced religious persecution in Iraq, and fled initially to Turkey, living in a United Nations refugee camp.[3] After ten months in Turkey, the family moved to Michigan in the United States on 15 May 2009.[6] In 2016, the family relocated to Oaxaca, Mexico, as one of Zetuna's uncles was living there.[5]
Club career
editHaving initially played football in the refugee camp in Turkey, and then for the Vardar Academy in Rochester, Michigan, Zetuna joined the academy of professional side Alebrijes de Oaxaca in 2016, appearing in a number of pre-season friendlies for the side.[3] As he was seventeen when he joined, Zetuna was unable to sign a professional contract until February 2019, when he and Yohan were also registered for the Clausura 2019.[3][6]
He made his professional debut in the Copa MX on 7 September 2019, coming on as a substitute for Adrián Marín in a 4–1 loss to Deportivo Toluca.[7] Following one more Copa MX appearance, he left the club for Liga Premier de México side La Piedad, but only made two league appearances before the COVID-19 pandemic struck and the season was terminated.[8]
He joined fellow Liga Premier side Saltillo in August 2020,[9] and went on to score his first goal in senior football on the first matchday of the season; the equaliser in a 2–2 draw against Mineros de Fresnillo on 18 September.[8] After five more appearances, Zetuna returned to Oaxaca, now playing in the newly-formed Liga de Expansión MX, in January 2021.[10]
Zetuna made one appearance for Oaxaca, coming on as a late substitute for Julio Cruz in a 2–0 loss to Cimarrones, before his contract expired in May 2021.[11] He signed for Albanian Kategoria Superiore side Kastrioti in January 2022, going on to make eight appearances in all competitions before leaving the club at the end of the year.[12]
International career
editZetuna was called up to the Iraq under-23 squad in August 2021.[13] He made one appearance for the nation, in a 4–1 friendly loss to the United Arab Emirates.[14]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of 8 September 2024.[15]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Oaxaca | 2019–20 | Ascenso MX | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| La Piedad | 2020–21 | Liga Premier - Serie A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Saltillo | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | ||
| Oaxaca | 2020–21 | Liga de Expansión MX | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kastrioti | 2021–22 | Kategoria Superiore | 6 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Career total | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 | ||
- Notes
- ^ Appearances in the Copa MX
- ^ Appearances in the Albanian Cup
References
edit- ^ a b Yousuf Zetuna at WorldFootball.net
- ^ "Yousuf Salwan Zetuna". Liga MX. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Gomez, Eric. "From Iraq to Oaxaca, two American brothers are chasing soccer dream". ESPN. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ "عراقيان يطاردان "الحلم" في ملاعب المكسيك" [Two Iraqis chase the "dream" in Mexico's stadiums]. skynewsarabia.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Dos hermanos que tuvieron que escapar de Irak jugarán en el Ascenso MX" [Two brothers who had to escape from Iraq will play in Ascenso MX]. si.com (in Spanish). 8 February 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ a b Sánchez, Mariano (6 February 2019). "Yousuf y Yohan Zetuna, los refuerzos iraquíes de Alrebrijes" [Yousuf and Yohan Zetuna, the Iraqi reinforcements of Alrebrijes]. mexico.as.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Zetuna: I couldn't live without football". inside.fifa.com. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ a b Collazo, Jonathan (24 September 2020). "Yousuf Salwan Zetuna: el complicado camino de un futbolista iraquí en México" [Yousuf Salwan Zetuna: The complicated path of an Iraqi footballer in Mexico]. mediotiempo.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ Arancivia, Gerardo (14 August 2020). "Fija sus objectivos" [Set your goals]. Retrieved 8 September 2024 – via PressReader.
- ^ Gasca Bobadilla, Mauricio (14 January 2021). "FÚTBOL DE ESTUFA - Últimos rumores y noticias del mercado de fichajes de Liga MX: Rojo, Sánchez, Aguilar y más" [STOVE FOOTBALL - Latest rumors and news from the Liga MX transfer market: Rojo, Sánchez, Aguilar and more]. 90min.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "Ilusión iraquí" [Iraqi Illusion]. elmanana.com (in Spanish). 18 March 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "U afrua në janar, sulmuesi zhgënjen te Kastrioti" [Approached in January, the striker disappoints in Kastrioti]. newsport.al (in Albanian). 17 March 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "التشيكي سوكوب يستدعي سبعة لاعبين محترفين لقائمة منتخب العراق الاولمبي" [Czech Soukup calls up seven professional players for Iraq Olympic team]. alkass.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "منتخبنا الأولمبي يخسر ودياً أمام نظيره الاماراتي" [Our Olympic team lost in a friendly match to its Emirati counterpart]. tanawue.com (in Arabic). 4 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ Yousuf Zetuna at Soccerway