Cristián Zapata

Cristián Zapata, 2013

Cristián Eduardo Zapata Valencia ( born September 30, 1986 in Padilla ) is a Colombian football player. He plays the position of defender.

Career

Clubs

Zapata joined the 2005/06 season by the Colombian club Deportivo Cali along with his national team -mates Abel Aguilar, with whom he was in the squad of the U -20 World Cup, to Europe. Both signed in Italy at the Serie A club Udinese Calcio. In Udine he came in his first season already regularly used. He made his debut on the 12th match day, 19th November 2005 against FC Messina. He also scored in the home game the next game against Sampdoria, scoring his first in Serie A. International he made his debut in the UEFA Cup against Levski Sofia on 16 March 2006. In October 2007, Zapata signed a new contract until June 2012. Preparing for the 2008/09 season he was injured so badly that it turned six months. So he stood again until Round 19 for against Cagliari Calcio the team.

For the 2011/12 season Zapata moved to Spain with Villarreal; he signed a contract until 2016. The transfer fee was nine million euros. In summer 2012, Zapata was loaned for one year for AC Milan. AC Milan also secured an option to purchase Zapata. This was withdrawn after the season and Zapata, who signed a contract until 30 June 2016, firmly committed. His first league goal for Milan Zapata scored on matchday 16 of the 2013/2014 season, in a 2-2 draw against AS Roma.

National

Before Zapata made ​​his debut in the senior national team of Colombia, he had already played in the youth teams of his native country. In 2003 he was in the squad of the team that penetrated at the U -17 World Cup in Finland to the semifinals. In the match for third place they lost on penalties to Argentina. In this competition, the defender in the group match against Mexico or departs against Brazil in the semifinals was used.

In 2005 he took part with the U- 20 at the World Cup in the Netherlands. In the group phase, the team placed in three games through against Italy, Canada and Syria, by winning all the games. In the second round, the team had to retire against the eventual champions Argentina with 1:2. The team was honored after the tournament concludes with the Fair Play Award. Zapata came in all four games for use.

His debut in the senior team gave Zapata in a friendly on 29 May 2008 against the national team of Ireland. At the time, coach Jorge Luis Pinto offered him in the starting lineup and led him to the full 90 minutes on the field.