Breel Embolo

Breel Embolo
Personal information
Full nameBreel-Donald Embolo
Date of birth14 February 1997
Place of birthYaoundé, Cameroon
Height1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionMidfielder / Striker
Club information
Current team
FC Basel
Number36
Youth career
2006–2008Nordstern
2008–2010Old Boys
2010–Basel
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2014–Basel U-212(0)
2014–Basel15(4)
National team‡
2012–2013Switzerland U-164(1)
2013Switzerland U-170(0)
2014–Switzerland U-203(0)
2014–Switzerland U-213(0)
2015–Switzerland1(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 November 2014, 24:00 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2014, 24:00 (UTC)

Breel-Donald Embolo (born 14 February 1997) is a Swiss professional footballer, who plays for Swiss Super League side FC Basel. He plays as midfielder or striker for their U-21 team and has had various appearances in their first team.

Youth football

Embolo started his youth football with Nordstern. Via Old Boys he transferred to the youth system of Basel in 2010. In the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons he played in Basel's U-16. With the U-16 team he won the Swiss Championship title twice at this level.[1][2] He received various individual prizes, such as the Basel youngster of the year 2013.[3] Just three weeks after his 16th birthday he signed his first professional contract with the club.[4] In summer 2013 he rose to play in their U-18 and U-21 teams.

Club career

Embolo made his professional debut on 13 March 2014 as a 90th-minute substitute for Geoffroy Serey in the Europea League round of 16 first leg in St. Jakob-Park.[5] The match against Red Bull Salzburg ended in a goalless draw.[6] Just three days later, on 16 March, he made his Swiss Super League debut in the 5–0 home win against Aarau, entering as a substitute in the 85th minute. He scored his first goal for the team only four minutes later, the final goal of the game.[7] At the end of the 2013–14 Super League season he won the league championship with Basel.[8] They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time.

On 4 November 2014 he scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League, opening a 4–0 home group win against Ludogorets Razgrad.[9]

International career

Embolo made four appearances for the Switzerland U-16 national team. He scored his first international goal on 1 November 2012 in the 3–0 away win against the Ukraine U-16. He was also eligible to play for Cameroon, however in December 2014 he pledged his international allegiance to Switzerland.[10] He made his senior international debut on 31 March 2015, replacing Josip Drmić after 56 minutes of an eventual 1–1 friendly draw against the United States in Zürich.[11]

Personal life

Embolo was born in the Cameroonian capital Yaoundé. His mother settled with her two sons in Basel, because there was no future for them in Cameroon. He received Swiss citizenship on 12 December 2014.[12][13]

Honours

Club

Basel

Individual

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kiesewetter, Dominik (2012). "U16 kurz vor der Ziellinie!" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 FC Basel 1893 (2013). "Die U16 holt das Double!" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 FC Basel 1893 (2013). "Auszeichnung der "Rookies of the Year"" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  4. ↑ FC Basel 1893 (2013). "Profivertrag für U16-Stürmer Breel-Donald Embolo" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  5. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2014). "Keine Tore zwischen Basel und Salzburg" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  6. ↑ Hindley, Martyn (2014). "Basel put breaks on Salzburg". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  7. ↑ Marti, Caspar (2014). "Der FCB setzt gegen Aarau das gewünschte Zeichen" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  8. ↑ Grossenbacher, Sacha (2014). "Fotos vom Spiel gegen Lausanne sowie den anschliessenden Feierlichkeiten" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  9. ↑ Holyman, Ian (4 November 2014). "Embolo leads Basel to Ludogorets stroll". UEFA. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  10. ↑ "Breel Embolo chooses to play for Switzerland over Cameroon". BBC Sport. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  11. ↑ McCarthy, Kyle (31 March 2015). "Switzerland 1-1 USA: Altidore sent off in friendly draw". Goal.com. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Kreis, Stefan; Sandro Inguscio (2014). "FCB-Star Embolo erhält den Schweizer Pass!" (in German). blick.ch. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  13. ↑ "FCB-Stürmer Breel Embolo erhält den Schweizer Pass" (in German). Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.

External links