Cristián Eduardo Zapata Valencia (born 30 September 1986) is a Colombian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a centre-back for

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the oth ...

. A quick and physically powerful defender, known for his hard marking of opponents and strength in the air, he usually plays as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

. Although naturally right footed, he can also play as a full-back on either side of the pitch, as he is comfortable with both feet. Zapata began his career in Colombia with Deportivo Cali in 2004, moving to

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...

the following year. After spending several seasons with Udinese, Zapata signed for Spanish club

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

. In 2012, he returned to Italy, joining

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

. Following the expiration of his contract with the ''Rossoneri'', he joined Italian top-flight counterpart

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

in 2019, departing in 2021 to join Argentine Primera División side San Lorenzo. A Colombian international since 2008, he has represented his nation at the 2011, 2015,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

editions of the Copa América, as well at the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and 2018 FIFA World Cups.

Club career

Early career and Udinese

A product of Deportivo Cali's youth academy, Zapata was quickly promoted to the first team in 2004. In his first season, Zapata played a total of 25 games with ''Los Azucareros'' while also consolidating himself as a key component of the team's defensive end. After exhibiting quality defensive assets in his debut season, several European teams were interested in acquiring him. Ultimately, his destiny laid in

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

and eventually joined

club

. Also, this leap to European football was one month before his 19th birthday and ultimately consisted of a €550,000 transfer fee. Zapata was signed by Udinese on 31 August 2005 from Deportivo Cali, along with team-mate

Abel Aguilar Abel Enrique Aguilar Tapias (born 6 January 1985) is a Colombian retired professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Central midfielder, central or Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder. Having start ...

. Both of them were scouted by Udinese while playing at the U-20 World Cup. He made his first appearance with the squad on 19 November 2005 against Messina Pelero for the

. On 18 September 2006, Zapata signed a new five-year

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

. That season he started 35 Serie A games. Cristián Zapata employed Claudio Pasqualin (of P.D.P. srl) as his

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

on 21 February 2006, but fired him on 9 July 2007. In 2009 the ''Tribunale Nazionale di Arbitrato per lo Sport'' awarded Pasqualin eligible to receive €38,900 as agent fee that Zapata owed Pasqualin (5% of annual salary times 2 seasons, 2006–07 and 2007–08). In October 2007, Zapata along with

Andrea Dossena Andrea Dossena (; born 11 September 1981) is an Italian football coach and former player who played as a left winger or left back. He is the head coach of Renate. Dossena started his professional career at Verona in 2001, having progressed thro ...

, Roman Eremenko and

Simone Pepe Simone Pepe (; born 30 August 1983) is an Italian former footballer who played as a winger, on either side of the pitch. After starting out at Roma, he went on to compete in Serie A for 12 seasons, spending most of his time at Udinese and Juve ...

was awarded new contracts until June 2012. In June 2008, Zapata was injured and missed 6 months. In the 2009–10 season, Zapata usually played as central defender, partnered with Andrea Coda.

Brief spell at Villarreal

After the 2010–11 season, Cristián Zapata claimed that many top European clubs were interested in signing him. Zapata signed for

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

on 12 July 2011. On Wednesday 17 August 2011, in the 2011–12 season, Cristián Zapata made his debut against Udinese in a Champions League qualifier. His La Liga debut came on 29 August against

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

at the Camp Nou. Deployed as a right-back for the entire game, Zapata and Villarreal suffered a harsh 5–0 defeat. Initially in the season, Zapata would be a regular starter and a key player for

Miguel Ángel Lotina Miguel Ángel Lotina Oruechebarría (; born 18 June 1957) is a Spanish professional manager and former footballer who played as a striker. Playing career Born in Meñaka, Biscay, Lotina started playing football with local Gernika Club, rep ...

. In addition, he was in constant rotation between a right-back and centre-back position. On 31 October, Zapata suffered a knee injury that ruled him out for 35 days. Subsequently, he missed a total of six games including two

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

group stage matches against Manchester City and Bayern Munich. He made his return from injury in the final group stage match against Italian side

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. Following a 0–2 defeat, Villarreal finished last of their group with 0 points. On the last match-day of the season, Zapata played the entire match against Atletico Madrid as Villarreal were relegated with fellow countryman Radamel Falcao scoring the only goal of the game for Atletico. In total, Zapata played 36 matches and provided 1 assist throughout all competitions during his time at Villarreal.

AC Milan

In August 2012, Villarreal announced that Zapata had left the club to join

on a season-long

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

. Zapata made headline news in the Champions league against Spanish giants

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

: Milan's opening goal in a 2–0 victory of the first leg involved the ball being deflected on to his hand and landing in front of

Kevin-Prince Boateng Kevin-Prince Boateng (; born 6 March 1987), also known as Prince, is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for club Hertha BSC. Born in Germany, he represented the Ghana national team. Coming through the youth system, ...

who scored seconds later. The referee did not judge it an attempted touch of the ball but allowed Boateng's goal to be counted, while Zapata was credited with an '

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

'. The replay showed the ball making contact with his face. In his first Milan derby against

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

, Zapata was praised for his defending and for playing a key role in counter-attacks. In 2013, Zapata signed a contract with Milan until summer 2016. In January 2015, Zapata suffered an injury keeping him sidelined for two months. Upon recovery, he featured as an unused substitute. On 5 February 2017, Zapata was named as captain in his first league game of the season, a 0–1 home defeat against

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

, due to the absence of team captain

Riccardo Montolivo Riccardo Montolivo (; born 18 January 1985) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He most notably played for Fiorentina, AC Milan, and the Italy national team. A versatile and creative player, Montolivo began ...

and third captain

Mattia De Sciglio Mattia De Sciglio (; born 20 October 1992) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Juventus and the Italy national team. He made his professional debut for Milan in 2011, after several seasons in the club's yo ...

because of injuries. Vice-captain

Ignazio Abate Ignazio Abate (; born 12 November 1986) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a full-back and manager of AC Milan's under-19 side. On early stage deployed as a winger, he was also capable of playing as a wide midfielder or ...

later appeared in the game as a substitute with Zapata keeping the captain's armband. On 15 April 2017, Zapata scored an equalizer in the Milan derby against

at the 97th minute. The match resulted in a 2–2 draw. It was also the first Milan game under the ownership of Rossoneri Sport Investment, headed by

Li Yonghong Li Yonghong (born 16 September 1969) is a Chinese businessman and investor who first came into the public eye in 2016 when he succeeded Silvio Berlusconi as the owner of the Italian football club A.C. Milan. Li is also known for his stock mar ...

, with Zapata giving away his jersey as a gift to the Chinese entrepreneur soon after the final whistle. On 17 April 2018 he was confirmed to be vice-captain instead of

Giacomo Bonaventura Giacomo "Jack" Bonaventura (; (born 22 August 1989) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Italy national football team. Bonaventura started his senior career at Atalanta in the Serie ...

as he kept the armband during the game against

S.S.C. Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli (), is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in the city of Naples ( it, Napoli, nap, Napule), Camp ...

, where captain

Leonardo Bonucci Leonardo Bonucci (; born 1 May 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and captains both club Juventus and the Italy national team. Known for his technique and ball-playing ability, he is regarded as one of the b ...

was unavailable and

was playing, he celebrated this news with an outstanding performance with his former

teammate Mateo Musacchio. Zapata began the 2018–19 season with injury, and was third-choice centre-back behind Musacchio and

Alessio Romagnoli Alessio Romagnoli (born 12 January 1995) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Lazio and the Italy national team. Romagnoli began his career with Roma in 2012, and later spent a season on loan with Sampdor ...

. His first appearance of the season came on 4 October, in Milan's second

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

match, a 3–1 at home to

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. Zapata started the club's final five matches in Europe, including their final match away to Olympiacos, in which Zapata scored at both ends in the second half, two minutes apart. Milan entered the match three points ahead of Olympiacos, seeking to qualify for the knockout stage alongside

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

. Milan were losing 1–0 prior to Zapata's goals; the own goal would have sent Olympiacos through on

away goals The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

, and the proper goal would have sent Milan through on aggregate. A late penalty was scored by

Kostas Fortounis Konstantinos 'Kostas' Fortounis ( gr, Κωνσταντίνος 'Κώστας' Φορτούνης, ; born 16 October 1992) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Super League club Olympiacos and ...

for Olympiacos, and Milan were eliminated as the 3–1 result held, their first group stage elimination in Europe since 2001. Zapata's

season debut came on 7 October, at home to

Chievo Verona Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo , is a former professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, a ...

. However, Zapata would not play regularly until Musacchio picked up an injury against Real Betis on 8 November. Musacchio missed five games due to the injury, but did not regain his place in the Serie A team following his return to fitness. Zapata started seven of Milan's final eight Serie A matches in 2018 following Musacchio's injury, and also started the club's

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

extra-time win over

and their Supercoppa Italiana defeat to Juventus in 2019. Zapata's run in the team came to an end as he picked up an injury early in Milan's first Serie A game of 2019, away to

. He would not be named to a match-day squad for two months, and by the time he returned, Musacchio had cemented his place in the back line alongside Romagnoli. Zapata would get two more starts the rest of the campaign, finishing the season with 20 appearances in all competitions as his contract with the club expired.

Genoa

On 2 July 2019, Zapata signed a two-year contract with

club

on a free transfer. Upon his arrival, he became the first Colombian player to sign for Genoa.

San Lorenzo

On 29 July 2021, Zapata joined Argentine side San Lorenzo, signing a contract until the end of the 2022 season.

Atlético Nacional

On 2 December 2022, Zapata returned to Colombia after 17 years, signing with

on a free transfer.

International career

Zapata was a member of Colombian U-20 team that won the 2005 South American Youth Championship and the team that played at

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Wor ...

, who lost to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the round of 16. Zapata was unavailable in the first 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match. In the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match, Zapata finally got his first spot chance since under new coach Jose Pekerman against South American leaders Argentina. In the 26th minute, while defending the ball inside Colombia's box from

Gonzalo Higuaín Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (; born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''El Pipita'' or ''Pipa'', Higuaín was a prolific striker, known for his eye for goal, strong physique, and o ...

, Higuain fell to the side while losing balance and kicked the thigh of Zapata in anger. In reaction, Zapata questioned him and kicked him back, resulting in him receiving a red card along with Higuain. Zapata was later criticized for not controlling himself and allowing the referee to give Higuain the red card while simply walking away, which would have allowed Colombia an 11 men advantage over a 10 men Argentina. In May 2018 he was named in Colombia's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. On 30 May 2019, Zapata was included in the 23-man final Colombia squad for the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and ...

Personal life

Zapata's aunt Limbaina Zapata was kidnapped on 1 May 2013. The kidnappers demanded $150 million in ransom. The following day, the

National Police of Colombia The National Police of Colombia (Spanish: ''Policía Nacional de Colombia'') is the national police force of the Republic of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military Forces of Colombia (Army, Navy, and Air Force), it ...

located the

thieves Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

Miranda, Cauca Miranda is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia. History It was on May 7, 1899 when Don Julio Fernández Medina founded the city, since then the community mixed among Afro-Descendant, Indigenous people Indigenous pe ...

, Colombia, and Limbaina Zapata was released with no harm.Liberan a tía del jugador Cristian Zapata
(in Spanish). ''rcnradio.com''. 1 May 2013.Aunty of AC Milan’s Cristian Zapata kidnapped in Colombia
''fanatix.com''. 1 May 2013. He is the cousin of fellow professional footballer

Duván Zapata Duván Esteban Zapata Banguero (; born 1 April 1991) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Atalanta and the Colombia national team. After starting his career with Colombian club América de Cali, he later pla ...

. On 7 November 2020 he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''As of match played 10 November 2017. Colombia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Zapata goal.''

Honours

AC Milan * Supercoppa Italiana:

Atlético Nacional * Superliga Colombiana:

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Colombia U20 *

South American Youth Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American f ...

: 2005 Colombia * Copa América third place:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zapata, Cristian 1986 births Living people Colombian men's footballers Colombian expatriate men's footballers Colombian people of African descent Footballers from Cauca Department Men's association football central defenders Colombia men's under-20 international footballers Colombia men's international footballers 2011 Copa América players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 Copa América players Deportivo Cali footballers Atlético Nacional footballers Udinese Calcio players Villarreal CF players AC Milan players Genoa CFC players San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Categoría Primera A players Serie A players La Liga players Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Spain