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Zidane Iqbal

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Zidane Iqbal
Personal information
Full name Zidane Aamar Iqbal[1]
Date of birth (2003-04-27) 27 April 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth Manchester, England[2]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Manchester United
Number 73
Youth career
2007–2012 Sale United
2012– Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021– Manchester United 0 (0)
International career‡
2021– Iraq U23
2022– Iraq 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:11, 22 February 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 09:11, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

Zidane Aamar Iqbal (born 27 April 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United’s under-23 squad and the Iraq national team.

Born in Manchester, Iqbal joined the Manchester United youth system aged nine. He made his first-team debut in a UEFA Champions League match in December 2021. Iqbal represented Iraq at under-23 level before making his senior international debut in January 2022.

Early life

Born in Manchester to a Pakistani father and an Iraqi mother, Iqbal played for local side Sale United from the age of four before joining Manchester United at the age of nine.[3]

Club career

Iqbal signed his first professional contract with Manchester United in April 2021.[4][5] He made his first-team debut for Manchester United on 8 December 2021 as an 89th-minute substitute in a Champions League match against Young Boys.[6] Thus, he became the first British-born South Asian to play for the club, and the first ever British South Asian to play in the Champions League.[7][8]

International career

Iqbal is eligible to represent England, Iraq and Pakistan at international level.[9]

In May 2021, he received an Iraqi passport, and has represented Iraq at youth international level.[10][11] In June 2021, he was called up to the Iraq under-20 team for the 2021 Arab Cup U-20. However, he was refused to travel by Manchester United, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

In September 2021, Iqbal received his first call up to the Iraq U23s for a training camp in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He made his debut on 4 September against the UAE U23s, making the starting line-up. In October 2021, Iqbal was named as part of the 23-man Iraq U23 squad for the 2021 WAFF U-23 Championship in Saudi Arabia.[13] On 8 October, Iqbal scored his first goal for the Iraq U23 team as the captain of his side.[14]

In January 2022, Iqbal was called up to the Iraq national team for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Iran and Lebanon.[15] He made his debut in the game against Iran on 27 January.[16]

Style of play

A midfielder with a lot of flair, Iqbal plays in either a box-to-box or number 10 role.[11][17]

Personal life

As one of a small number of British Asians in association football, Iqbal was part of an FA content series to support South Asian Heritage Month.[18]

Iqbal is Muslim and cites footballer Mesut Özil as an inspiration to him.[19][20]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 December 2021[21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United U21 2021–22 — — — — — 3[a] 1 3 1
Manchester United 2021–22 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 0 0 1 0
Career total 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 4 1
  1. ^ Appearances in the EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearance in the UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 1 February 2022[22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Iraq 2022 2 0
Total 2 0

References

  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2020/21 retained lists". premierleague.com. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b Zidane Iqbal at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ "Who is Zidane Iqbal? Manchester United teenager profiled after Champions League call-up". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  4. ^ Luckhurst, Samuel (7 April 2021). "Manchester United teenager Zidane Iqbal signs professional contract". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  5. ^ Kumari, Priyanca (9 April 2021). "Sports: Pakistani-Origin Zidane Iqbal Signs Professional Contract with Manchester United". britasia.tv. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  6. ^ Stone, Simon (8 December 2021). "Man Utd 1-1 Young Boys: Youthful United side held in final Champions League group game". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  7. ^ Varley, Ciaran (9 December 2021). "Zidane Iqbal becomes Manchester United's first British South Asian player". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Zidane Iqbal becomes first British South Asian to play in the UEFA Champions League". skysports.com.
  9. ^ "Zidane Iqbal: Manchester United youngster called up by Iraq". BBC Sport. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  10. ^ "لاعب مانشستر يونايتد "زيدان إقبال" يتسلم الجواز العراقي" [Manchester United player Zidane Iqbal receives Iraqi passport]. shafaq.com (in Arabic). 20 May 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  11. ^ a b Feliciano, Daniel (10 July 2021). "Manchester United video suggests Zidane Iqbal may be the next David Beckham in the making". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  12. ^ "مانشستر يونايتد يرفض التحاق زيدان بمنتخب الشباب" [Manchester United refuse Zidane to join the youth team]. ina.iq (in Arabic). 10 June 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  13. ^ "3 لاعباً في قائمة منتخبنا الأولمبي لبطولة غرب آسيا" [Iraqi Olympic team squad]. Iraq FA (in Arabic). 1 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Zidane Iqbal captains Iraq under-23s and scores". United In Focus. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Zidane Iqbal: Iraq set to hand Manchester United teenager international debut away in Iran". Sky Sports. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Zidane Iqbal becomes 32nd international player in Manchester United squad". Manchester Evening News. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  17. ^ Egerton, Nathan (28 April 2021). "Man Utd literally have their own Zidane – and he even scores goals like Zizou". planetfootball.com. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  18. ^ "A New Content Series will be Released to Support South Asian Heritage Month". thefa.com. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  19. ^ Holt, Matthew (3 August 2021). "Iqbal Enjoying the 'Rollercoaster Ride'". manutd.com. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  20. ^ Wood, Liam (3 August 2021). "Manchester United academy star Zidane Iqbal names his football idol". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  21. ^ Zidane Iqbal at Soccerway. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Iqbal, Zidane". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
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