Éamon Zayed

Eamon Zayed

Eamon Zayed PFAI Players' Player of the Year
Personal information
Full name Eamon Zayed
Date of birth 4 October 1983 (1983-10-04) (age 28)
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Persepolis
Number 12
Youth career
2000–2002 Leicester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2002–2006 Bray Wanderers 106 (54)
2004 → Crewe Alexandra (Loan)[1] 0 (0)
2005 → Aalesunds (Loan) 1 (0)
2006–2008 Drogheda United 71 (20)
2009–2010 Sporting Fingal 54 (21)
2011 Derry City 36 (22)
2011– Persepolis 0 (0)
National team‡
2003–2004 Republic of Ireland U21 2 (0)
2010– Libya 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 December 2011.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22 December 2011

Eamon Zayed (Arabic: أيمن زايد‎; born 4 October 1983 in Dublin) is a footballer of Tunisian and Libyan descent who currently plays for Persepolis. He also writes a weekly column on League of Ireland website, extratime.ie.[2][3]

Contents

Youth career

Zayed started his career with Broadford Rovers before moving to St. Joseph's Boys AFC, based in Sallynoggin, Dublin. While with the club, Zayed was selected at U-16 and U-17 levels for both the Leinster Schoolboys and Dublin teams, and was on the Leinster Schools team at U-17. In two years at Leicester City, he played for their youth (U-18), U-19 and Reserve sides. He then returned to Ireland after Leicester's relegation from the English Premiership in 2002.

Senior club career

Bray Wanderers

He joined Bray Wanderers and after impressing in the Under-21s, Zayed soon graduated to the senior team making his League of Ireland debut on the 18th of October 2002 at the Carlisle Grounds. He scored the fastest hat-trick ever by a Bray Wanderers player against Dundalk in 2003 within a nine-minute spell from the 7th to the 16th minute.

Zayed signed for Crewe Alexandra in February 2004 on loan, but returned to Bray in May without having made a first team appearance at Gresty Road.

Zayed was the PFAI Young Player of the Year for 2003.[4] He represented the Eircom League Under-21s in a four nations tournament in Scotland in May 2004 and earned his second U-21 international cap against Scotland in May 2004 in Galway.

Drogheda United

Zayed signed for Drogheda United in July 2006 on a two and a half year full time contract,[5] and scored on his debut on 7 July.[6] His first of 5 goals in the Europa League came in a 1-1 draw with IK Start in August 2006.[7] The following season he scored at A.C. Libertas.[8] His third Drogheda goal in European competition came against Helsingborgs IF.[9] He was a key part of the Drogheda team that won their first League of Ireland title in 2007 and finished as their top scorer.[10]

Sporting Fingal

In the midst of great financial uncertainty at Drogheda at the end of the 2008 season, Zayed was released from his contract. He went on trial at Incheon United in the K-League[11], but eventually decided to remain in Ireland and moved to Sporting Fingal in January 2009.[12] He scored twice against his former club Bray in Fingal's 4-2 FAI Cup semi-final victory in October 2009. He also scored twice against C.S. Marítimo in July 2010 in Sporting Fingal's European debut.[13] He was released by Sporting Fingal at the end of the 2010 season. He was set to sign for Al Ahly in the Libyan Premier League, but the transfer was blocked following the introduction of a new rule preventing foreign-born Libyan internationals under the age of 30 from playing in the league.[14]

Derry City

He joined Derry City in January 2011 on a free transfer, signing a one year contract.[15][16] In his first season at Derry, Zayed finished as the league's top scorer with 23 goals, helping the club to European qualification and gaining himself a place in the Premier Division team of the season. He also won the PFAI Players' Player of the Year award.[17]

Persepolis

On 23 December 2011, Zayed signed a 6-month contract with Iran Pro League side, Persepolis. He will wear the number 12.[18]

International career

Ireland

Zayed was eligible to play international football for Ireland, Tunisia, as a result of his father, and Libya, as a result of his grandparents[19], however he chose to begin his international career with Ireland. Zayed made his international debut for the Irish U-20s against South Korea in January 2003 in a pre-World Cup tournament and followed up with two goals against UAE two days later in a 3-2 win for Ireland. He made his U-21 debut for Ireland against Poland in a 5-1 away win in August 2003. Zayed played in all four of Ireland's games in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, held in United Arab Emirates, starting two and making two appearances as a substitute.[20] Following the tournament, he was contacted by both the Tunisian and Libyan FAs with a view to declaring for either, however, Zayed declined as he wanted to pursue his dream of representing Ireland at senior level.[21]

Libya

With no further caps at underage level for Ireland, and the chances of him receiving any senior caps looking slim, Zayed declared for Libya in October 2010. He received his first call up to the Libyan national team from Brazilian coach, Marcos Paquetá, for an African Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia in the same month.[22] He made his debut a few weeks later in a friendly against Niger.[19] After impressing on his debut, Zayed was called up to Libya's 23-man training squad for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in November 2011.[23] He went on to play in the 2011 Pan Arab Games in Doha, Qatar[24], gaining three caps against Sudan[25], Palestine[26] and Jordan[27].

Club career statistics

As of 22 December 2011
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland League FAI Cup Europe Total
2002-03 Bray Wanderers Premier Division 16 3 0 0 0 0 16 3
2003 31 19 0 0 0 0 31 19
2004 23 17 0 0 0 0 23 17
2005 22 12 0 0 0 0 22 12
England League FA Cup Europe Total
2003–04 → Crewe Alexandra First Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Norway League Norwegian Football Cup Europe Total
2005 → Aalesunds FK Tippeligaen 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Republic of Ireland League FAI Cup Europe Total
2006 Drogheda United Premier Division 14 2 0 0 0 0 14 2
2007 31 11 1 0 4 2 36 13
2008 26 7 2 0 4 0 32 7
2009 Sporting Fingal First Division 13 12 5 1 0 0 18 13
2010 Premier Division 25 8 4 1 2 2 31 11
2011 Derry City 36 22 1 1 0 0 37 23
Iran League Hazfi Cup Asia Total
2011–12 Persepolis Pro League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total England 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Norway 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Republic of Ireland 224 101 13 3 10 4 154 67
Iran 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 225 101 13 3 10 4 248 108

Honours

Club

Individual

References

  1. ^ Crewe swoop for Zayed Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  2. ^ Racism - still a problem? March 31, 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  3. ^ Extratime.ie www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
  4. ^ Shels star Byrne wins top PFAI award www.rte.ie, 23 February 2004. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  5. ^ Drogheda land Bray striker Zayed www.rte.ie, 4 July 2006. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  6. ^ Drogheda United 2 - St Patrick's Athletic 1 Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  7. ^ Defiant Drogs exit on penalties Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  8. ^ Flying starts for Helsingborg and AIK Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  9. ^ Drogs battle back to claim UEFA draw Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  10. ^ Former Drogheda striker Eamon Zayed joins Derry City Retrieved 2011-11-10.
  11. ^ Potential Earnings in Unfamiliar Places Eamon Zayed, March 10 2010. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  12. ^ Combination reaps rewards Eamon Zayed, March 03 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  13. ^ Heads held high after Europa exit www.sportingfingal.ie. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  14. ^ "My lucky escape from the chaos of Libya.". Daily Mail. 3 March 2011. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-14470899/My-lucky-escape-from-the.html. Retrieved 14 May 2011. 
  15. ^ Former Drogheda striker Eamon Zayed joins Derry City Retrieved 2011-11-10.
  16. ^ Zayed completes Derry City deal www.extratime.ie Retrieved 2011-24-01.
  17. ^ Derry striker Eamon Zayed wins PFAI award www.bbc.co.uk/sport Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  18. ^ http://fc-perspolis.com/5281/مهاجم_ایرلندی_پرسپولیس_قراردادش_را_به_ثبت_رساند/#More
  19. ^ a b "Zayed still willing to answer Libya's call". Independent.ie. 20 March 2011. http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/zayed-still-willing-to-answer-libyas-call-2586332.html. Retrieved 14 May 2011. 
  20. ^ Eamon ZAYED Record at FIFA Tournaments Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  21. ^ Sport At 7: Eamon Zayed Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  22. ^ Libya call on Zayed www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
  23. ^ Zayed's Nations call www.independent.ie. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
  24. ^ Football: Libyan national football team in Qatar for Arab Games www.afriquejet.com. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  25. ^ 2011 Arab Games – Football: Disappointing Defeat for Libya in Opener www.tripolipost.com. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  26. ^ Doha 2011 - Football: Libya Face Elimination After Another Disappointing Performance www.tripolipost.com. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  27. ^ 2011 Arab Games - Football: Below Par Libya Eliminated After Scoreless Tie www.tripolipost.com. Retrieved 2011-12-22.

External links

Persepolis F.C. – current squad