Dayot Upamecano

Dayotchanculle Oswald Upamecano (born 27 October 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the France national team.

Dayot Upamecano
Upamecano with RB Leipzig in 2020
Personal information
Full name Dayotchanculle Oswald Upamecano
Date of birth (1998-10-27) 27 October 1998
Place of birth Évreux, France
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Bayern Munich
Number 2
Youth career
2004–2007 Vaillante S. Angers
2008–2009 FC De Prey
2009–2013 Évreux
2013–2015 Valenciennes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 FC Liefering 16 (0)
2016–2017 Red Bull Salzburg 17 (0)
2017–2021 RB Leipzig 112 (4)
2021– Bayern Munich 55 (1)
International career‡
2014 France U16 3 (0)
2014–2015 France U17 12 (0)
2015–2016 France U18 10 (1)
2016–2017 France U19 6 (0)
2018–2021 France U21 16 (1)
2020– France 14 (2)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  France
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up2022
UEFA Nations League
Winner2021
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner2015
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:22, 13 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:43, 27 March 2023 (UTC)

Early life and career

Dayotchanculle Oswald Upamecano[2] was born on 27 October 1998[3] in Évreux, Normandy[4] and is of Bissau-Guinean descent.[5] He was raised in La Madeleine, a neighbourhood with many African immigrants.[6][7] He was named after his great-grandfather, who was king of the village on the island of Jeta in Guinea-Bissau, which his parents are from.[8] He is the first son after four daughters, and has one younger brother.[7] As a 15-year-old, he followed speech therapy sessions to overcome dyslexia and stuttering disorders, which caused shyness and certain difficulties in expressing himself.[8]

Upamecano began playing football with local club Évreux, alongside the likes of Ousmane Dembélé, Rafik Guitane and Samuel Grandsir.[7] He covered a variety of positions in his youth, before being fixed on the centre-back position.[7] He joined the youth academy of Valenciennes in 2013.[9] Described during the time as a youth in an adult body, Upamecano shaped his play after Sergio Ramos, and developed into a physically imposing defender.[7]

Club career

Red Bull Salzburg
Upamecano with Red Bull Salzburg in 2016

After attracting the attention of a number of major European clubs, including Manchester United, Upamecano joined Red Bull Salzburg in July 2015 for a reported fee of €2.2 million.[10] He was an unused substitute in Red Bull's UEFA Champions League game against Malmö FF on 29 July 2015.[11] He made his professional debut for Red Bull's farm team, FC Liefering, two days later, in a 2–1 league win against St. Pölten.[12] On 19 March 2016, he made his league debut with Red Bull Salzburg in a 2–1 win over SV Mattersburg.[13]

In the first half of the 2016–17 season, Upamecano earned a regular place with the first team in both league and Europa League matches.[14]

RB Leipzig

On 13 January 2017, Upamecano joined RB Leipzig on a 4+1⁄2-year deal, for a reported €10 million fee.[15] On 4 February 2017, he made his Bundesliga debut under coach Ralph Hasenhüttl in a 1–0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund.[9] On 13 September 2017, he made his Champions League debut in a 1–1 draw against Monaco.[16] On 9 February 2018, he scored his first goal in a 2–0 win over Augsburg.[17] On 2 July 2018, he was shortlisted for the 2018 Golden Boy award.[18]

On 31 July 2020, Upamecano signed a new deal until 2023.[19] In the 2019–20 season, he reached with RB Leipzig the Champions League semi-finals under coach Julian Nagelsmann.[20]

Bayern Munich

On 14 February 2021, Bayern Munich announced an agreement for the signing of Upamecano on a five-year deal, to be effective as of 1 July 2021.[21] The club reportedly met his release clause from Leipzig, set at €42.5 million.[22][23] Upamecano's first game as a Bayern player came in a pre-season friendly on 16 July 2021 against fellow Bundesliga side 1. FC Köln that saw Bayern lose 3–2 after fielding a side largely consisting of reserve and youth players.[24][25]

He made his competitive debut on the opening day of the 2021–22 Bundesliga season, starting at centre-back alongside Niklas Süle in a 1–1 away draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach.[26] He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win over VfL Wolfsburg on 17 December, heading in a cross from Thomas Müller.[27] An Arabic commentator likened him to Manchester United United’s Harry Maguire, bizarrely calling him “UpaMaguire” on air during Champions League broadcast of 2023 quarter final against Manchester City.[28]

International career

Upamecano played for the France under-16 team that finished third in the 2014 Aegean Cup.[29] He played in three of his country's four games and was named the competition's best defender.[30][31] He subsequently moved up to the France under-17 squad, making his debut in a European Championship qualifier against Cyprus on 27 October 2014.[30] France won the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, with Upamecano playing in all six of his country's matches and being named in the team of the tournament.[32][33] He made his debut for France under-18 in a 0–0 friendly draw with United States under-18 on 4 September 2015.[34]

Upamecano made his debut for the France national football team, on 5 September 2020, starting in a UEFA Nations League group-stage match against Sweden.[35] Three days later on 8 September, he scored his first international goal in a 4–2 win against Croatia.[36]

Upamecano played a pivotal role in France's 2022 FIFA World Cup, starting five of France's seven matches. This includes playing the entire 120 minutes in the final in an eventual 3-3 loss in penalties to Argentina.[37]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 13 May 2023[38]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Liefering 2015–16 Austrian First League 160———160
Red Bull Salzburg 2015–16 Austrian Bundesliga 200000—20
2016–17 Austrian Bundesliga 150105[lower-alpha 1]0—210
Total 1701050—230
RB Leipzig 2016–17 Bundesliga 12000——120
2017–18 Bundesliga 2832011[lower-alpha 2]0—413
2018–19 Bundesliga 150304[lower-alpha 3]0—220
2019–20 Bundesliga 280208[lower-alpha 4]0—380
2020–21 Bundesliga 291507[lower-alpha 4]0—411
Total 1124120300—1544
Bayern Munich 2021–22 Bundesliga 281108[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 5]0381
2022–23 Bundesliga 2703110[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 5]0411
Total 5514118020792
Career total 2025171530202736
  1. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. Appearance in DFL-Supercup

International
As of match played 27 March 2023[38]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 202031
202130
202260
202321
Total142
As of match played 27 March 2023
Scores and results list the France's goal tally first. Score column indicates score after each Upamecano goal[38]
List of international goals scored by Dayot Upamecano
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
18 September 2020Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France2 Croatia3–24–22020–21 UEFA Nations League A
224 March 2023Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France13 Netherlands2–04–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours

Bayern Munich

France U17

France

Individual

References
  1. "Dayot Upamecano". FC Bayern Munich. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. "Squad List: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: France (FRA)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 12. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  3. "Dayot Upamecano: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  4. "Dayot Upamecano". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  5. Udoh, Colin (9 September 2020). "Africa's If Only kids Starlets who could have played at Afcon instead of the Nations League". ESPN. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  6. "Dayot Upamecano, l'autre Français de Leipzig". leprogres.fr. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  7. Jucha, Nicolas (2 March 2019). "Dayot Upamecano: J'ai toujours eu un corps d'adulte". SOFOOT.com (in French).
  8. Crépin, Timothé (15 May 2020). "Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig), la douce puissance". France Football (in French). Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  9. "Dayot Upamecano: The RB Leipzig defender with the world at his assured feet". Bundesliga. 2018.
  10. "Manchester United target Dayot Upamecano signs for FC Red Bull Salzburg". International Business Times. 11 July 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  11. "Red Bull Salzburg 2–0 Malmö FF". Eurosport. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  12. "FC Liefering gewinnt zu neunt gegen St. Pölten" (in German). FC Red Bull Salzburg. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  13. "Salzburg 2–1 Mattersburg". Soccerway. 19 March 2016.
  14. "Europas Wunderkinder: Dayot Upamecano" (in German). UEFA. 13 January 2017.
  15. "RB Leipzig sign Dayot Upamecano from Red Bull Salzburg". Goal.com. 13 January 2017.
  16. "Leipzig 1–1 Monaco". UEFA. 2018.
  17. "Verdienter Erfolg von RB gegen Augsburg". Sky Sport (in German). 10 February 2018.
  18. "Pulisic, Upamecano and more: Meet the Bundesliga's 5 Golden Boy nominations for 2018". Bundesliga. 2018.
  19. "Arsenal dealt major blow as transfer target signs new RB Leipzig contract". Talksport. 31 July 2020.
  20. "RB Leipzig 0–3 Paris Saint-Germain UEFA Champions League semi-final: as it happened!". Bundesliga. 2020.
  21. "FC Bayern sign Dayot Upamecano". FC Bayern Munich. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  22. "Upamecano's €42.5m release clause confirmed with Bayern target to choose between Bundesliga and Premier League". Goal.com. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  23. "Bayern Munich confirm Dayot Upamecano signing". ESPN. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  24. "Bayern boss Nagelsmann won't panic over transfer activity". Goal.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  25. "Dayot Upamecano had "good feelings" during his Bayern Munich debut in 3–2 friendly loss vs. FC Koln". Bavarian Football Works. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  26. "Lewandowski sets opening-day record". BBC Sport. 13 August 2021. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021.
  27. "Lewandowski breaks Muller goals record". BBC Sport. 17 December 2021. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021.
  28. ""UpaMaguire" - Arabic commentator likens Dayot Upamecano to Manchester United's Harry Maguire, video goes viral on social media". Sportskeeda. 20 April 2023.
  29. "Dayot Upamecano: Who is the Man Utd, Man City and Arsenal target?". Sky Sports. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  30. "Dayot Upamecano" (in French). French Football Federation. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  31. "USA win 2014 Mercedes-Benz Aegean Cup". Turkish Football Federation. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  32. "Dayot Upamecano". UEFA. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  33. "Team of the Tournament". UEFA. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  34. "France – Etats-Unis" (in French). French Football Federation. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  35. "Sweden-France Line-ups". UEFA. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  36. "France 4–2 Croatia: Les Bleus win replay of 2018 World Cup final". Yahoo! Sports. 8 September 2020.
  37. "Argentina-France Line-ups". FIFA.
  38. "D. Upamecano". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  39. "Dayot Upamecano". Bundesliga. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  40. "Robert Lewandowski double as Bayern Munich overcome Borussia Dortmund to win the Supercup". Bundesliga Official. Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  41. "Sadio Mane debut goal helps Bayern Munich to Supercup win over RB Leipzig". Bundesliga. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  42. "Upamecano ready to take another giant leap at RB Leipzig". Bundesliga. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  43. Harrison, Wayne (22 May 2015). "Édouard treble gives France second U17 title". UEFA. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  44. "France beat Spain to win Nations League". UEFA. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  45. McNulty, Phil (18 December 2022). "Argentina 3–3 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  46. "Team of the Tournament". UEFA. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  47. "UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season". UEFA. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  48. "ESM reveal Team of the Year for 2019/20". Marca. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
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