Manuel Akanji
![]() Akanji with Switzerland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Manuel Obafemi Akanji[1] | ||
Date of birth | 19 July 1995 | ||
Place of birth | Wiesendangen,[2] Switzerland | ||
Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Borussia Dortmund | ||
Number | 16 | ||
Youth career | |||
2004–2007 | FC Wiesendangen | ||
2007–2014 | Winterthur | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014–2015 | Winterthur | 35 | (1) |
2015–2018 | Basel | 42 | (5) |
2018– | Borussia Dortmund | 112 | (3) |
National team‡ | |||
2014 | Switzerland U20 | 2 | (0) |
2014–2015 | Switzerland U21 | 6 | (0) |
2017– | Switzerland | 38 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:13, 20 March 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 November 2021 |
Manuel Obafemi Akanji (born 19 July 1995) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Switzerland national team.
Club career[]
Youth football[]
Born in Wiesendangen,[4] Akanji began his youth career with the local club in Wiesendangen. In May 2007, Akanji changed clubs and was a youth-team player for FC Winterthur. During his early years, he played for their Under-18 team and later with their second team. In the 2014–15 Challenge League, he was in Winterthur's starting eleven, having played two games for them during the previous season.
Basel[]
On 15 April 2015, it was announced that Akanji would transfer to Basel for the 2015–16 Super League season.[5] He made his Swiss Super League debut on 26 September 2015 being substituted in against FC Lugano. Under trainer Urs Fischer, Akanji won the Swiss Super League championship at the end of the 2015���16 Super League season[6] and at the end of the 2016–17 Super League season for the second time. For the club this was the eighth title in a row and their 20th championship title in total. They also won the Swiss Cup for the twelfth time, which meant they had won the double for the sixth time in the club's history.[7]
As Swiss Champions, Basel qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League and started in the Group stage. Akanji played in all six games over the full 90 minutes and helped the team finish in second group position, thus qualifying for the next round. On 15 January 2018, Basel announced that Akanji had transferred to Borussia Dortmund.[8]
Borussia Dortmund[]
Akanji transferred to Borussia Dortmund on 15 January 2018 during the winter transfer window for a reported fee of 18 million euros.[9] He signed a four and a half year contract dated until June 2022.[10] On 27 September, Akanji scored his first goal for the club and his first Bundesliga goal in a 7–0 victory over 1. FC Nürnberg.[11] Akanji was widely criticised for his costly errors during Dortmund's failed challenge to Bayern during the 2019/20 season. Akanji was one of the main players singled out as a weak link in the team.[12]
International career[]
Akanji made two appearances for the Switzerland U-20 national team. His debut was on 7 September 2014 in the 0–0 draw against the German U-20 national team. From 2014, he was a member of the Switzerland U-21 team and made his debut for them on 26 March in the 0–3 defeat by the Italian U-21 team.
Akanji made his debut in the senior team in the 2–0 win against Faroe Islands in the 2018 World Cup qualification match on 9 June 2017. He played the entire 90 minutes.[13]
He was included in the Swiss team's 23 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
In May 2019, he played in 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished 4th. [14]
In 2021 he was called up to the national team for the 2020 UEFA European Championship, where the team created one of the main sensations of the tournament reaching the quarter-finals. [15]
Personal life[]
Akanji was born in Wiesendangen, Switzerland to a Swiss mother and a Nigerian father.[16]
Career statistics[]
Club[]
- As of match played 20 March 2022[17]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Winterthur | 2013–14 | Swiss Challenge League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
2014–15 | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 1 | ||||
Total | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
Basel | 2015–16 | Swiss Super League | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
2016–17 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 5 | |||
2017–18 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6[b] | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | |||
Total | 42 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 7 | ||
Borussia Dortmund | 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
2018–19 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |||
2019–20 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 39 | 0 | ||
2020–21 | 28 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
2021–22 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
Total | 112 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 151 | 3 | ||
Career total | 189 | 9 | 22 | 2 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 245 | 11 |
- ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
- ^ a b c Appearance in DFL-Supercup
- ^ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
International[]
- As of match played 12 November 2021[18]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Switzerland | 2017 | 4 | 0 |
2018 | 9 | 0 | |
2019 | 9 | 0 | |
2020 | 3 | 0 | |
2021 | 13 | 0 | |
Total | 38 | 0 |
Honours[]
FC Basel
Borussia Dortmund
References[]
- ^ "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of Players: Switzerland" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Manuel Akanji: 10 things on Borussia Dortmund's new Swiss international defender". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website.
- ^ "Manuel Akanji".
- ^ "Manuel Akanji: 10 things on Borussia Dortmund's new Swiss international defender". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ Ein neuer Verteidiger für den FCB: Manuel Akanji kommt vom FC Winterthur TagesWoche dated 15. April 2015
- ^ Marti, Casper (2016). "Es ist vollbracht ! Der FCB ist zum 19. Mal Meister". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ Marti, Casper (2017). "Der Saisonabschluss im Zeitraffer". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ FC Basel 1893 (2018). "Manuel Akanji wechselt zu Borussia Dortmund". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Wechsel perfekt! BVB bekommt Akanji sofort" kicker, 15 January 2018. Retrieved on 15 January 2018.
- ^ Borussia Dortmund (2018). "BVB verpflichtet Schweizer Nationalspieler Manuel Akanji". bvb.ch. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Marco Reus stars as breathtaking Borussia Dortmund put seven past Nuremberg". Bundesliga. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ^ "Three Borussia Dortmund players who need to improve". 11 November 2019.
- ^ "Färöer Inseln 0:2 Schweiz". football.ch. Schweizerischer Fussballverband. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "Pickford the hero in England shootout win". BBC Sport.
- ^ https://www.uefa.com / uefaeuro-2020 / match / 2024485 - switzerland-vs-spain / lineups /? iv = true
- ^ "Manuel Akanji: 10 things on Borussia Dortmund's new Swiss international defender". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
- ^ "M. Akanji". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Manuel Akanji". EU-football.info. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ "Swiss football: FC Basel wins 3-0 over Sion in Geneva; police extra vigilant after game". allaboutgeneva.com. 25 May 2017. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
External links[]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manuel Akanji. |
- 1995 births
- Living people
- People from Winterthur District
- Swiss footballers
- Switzerland youth international footballers
- Switzerland under-21 international footballers
- Switzerland international footballers
- Association football defenders
- FC Winterthur players
- FC Basel players
- Borussia Dortmund players
- Swiss Super League players
- Bundesliga players
- 2018 FIFA World Cup players
- UEFA Euro 2020 players
- Swiss expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Germany
- Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- Swiss people of Nigerian descent
- Sportspeople of Nigerian descent