Manuel Akanji

Manuel Obafemi Akanji (born 19 July 1995) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Manchester City and the Switzerland national team.

Manuel Akanji
Akanji with Switzerland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Manuel Obafemi Akanji[1]
Date of birth (1995-07-19) 19 July 1995
Place of birth Neftenbach,[2] Switzerland
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Manchester City
Number 25
Youth career
2004–2007 FC Wiesendangen
2007–2014 Winterthur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Winterthur II 18 (0)
2014–2015 Winterthur 35 (1)
2015–2016 Basel II 3 (0)
2015–2018 Basel 42 (5)
2018–2022 Borussia Dortmund 119 (4)
2022– Manchester City 28 (0)
International career‡
2014 Switzerland U20 2 (0)
2014–2015 Switzerland U21 6 (0)
2017– Switzerland 49 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:23, 14 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:38, 28 March 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Youth football and early career

Born in Neftenbach,[2] Akanji began his youth career with the local club in Wiesendangen. In May 2007, Akanji changed clubs and was a youth-team player for FC Winterthur, featuring for their Under-18 team and later with their second team. In the 2014–15 Challenge League, he became a regular starter for Winterthur having played two games for them during the second half of the 2013–14 season.

Basel

On 15 April 2015, it was announced that Akanji would transfer to Basel for the 2015–16 Super League season.[4] He made his Swiss Super League debut on 26 September 2015 being substituted in against FC Lugano. Under trainer Urs Fischer, Akanji won the Swiss Super League championship at the end of the 2015–16 Super League season[5] and at the end of the 2016–17 Super League season for the second time. For the club this was the eighth title in a row and their 20th championship title in total. They also won the Swiss Cup for the twelfth time, which meant they had won the double for the sixth time in the club's history.[6]

As Swiss Champions, Basel qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League and started in the Group stage. Akanji played in all six games over the full 90 minutes and helped the team finish in second group position, thus qualifying for the next round. On 15 January 2018, Basel announced that Akanji had transferred to Borussia Dortmund.[7]

Borussia Dortmund

Akanji transferred to Borussia Dortmund on 15 January 2018 during the winter transfer window for a reported fee of 18 million euros.[8] He signed a four and a half year contract dated until June 2022.[9] On 27 September, Akanji scored his first goal for the club and his first Bundesliga goal in a 7–0 victory over 1. FC Nürnberg.[10] Akanji was widely criticised for his costly errors during Dortmund's failed challenge to Bayern during the 2019–20 season. Akanji was one of the main players singled out as a weak link in the team.[11]

Manchester City

On 1 September 2022, Akanji joined Premier League champions Manchester City, signing a contract until 2027[12] for a reported fee of £15 million.[13] He made his debut for City five days later, starting in a 4–0 away win over Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League group stage.[14] He made his Premier League debut on 17 September, starting in a 3–0 away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.[15] He was voted the Etihad player of the month for October.[16]

International career

Akanji made two appearances for the Switzerland U-20 national team. His debut was on 7 September 2014 in the 0–0 draw against the German U-20 national team. From 2014, he was a member of the Switzerland U-21 team and made his debut for them on 26 March in the 0–3 defeat by the Italian U-21 team. Akanji made his debut in the senior team in the 2–0 win against Faroe Islands in the 2018 World Cup qualification match on 9 June 2017. He played the entire 90 minutes.[17] He was included in the Swiss team's 23 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

In May 2019, Akanji played in 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished fourth.[18] In 2021, he was called up to the national team for UEFA Euro 2020.[19]

Akanji scored his first senior international goal against Spain in a 2–1 UEFA Nations League victory on 24 September 2022.[20]

Akanji scored the only goal for Switzerland in a 6–1 loss to Portugal in the FIFA World Cup 2022 on 7 December 2022.[21]

Personal life

Akanji was born in Neftenbach,[2] Switzerland to a Swiss mother and a Nigerian father.[22] He has two sisters, one of which (Sarah) is a football player and politician for the Social Democrats.

In 2017, already a professional player, he completed his vocational training as a tradesman (″Kaufmann″). In Swiss TV in 2018 he showed excellent skills at mental calculation.[23][24]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 14 May 2023[25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Winterthur U21 2013–14 1. Liga Classic 180————180
Winterthur 2013–14 Swiss Challenge League 2000———20
2014–15 Swiss Challenge League 33120———351
Total 35120—0000371
Basel U21 2015–16 Swiss Promotion League 30————30
2016–17 Swiss Promotion League 10————10
Total 40————40
Basel 2015–16 Swiss Super League 8030—1[lower-alpha 3]0—120
2016–17 Swiss Super League 15431—00—185
2017–18 Swiss Super League 19131—6[lower-alpha 4]0—282
Total 42592—7000587
Borussia Dortmund 2017–18 Bundesliga 11000—0000110
2018–19 Bundesliga 25110—5[lower-alpha 4]0—311
2019–20 Bundesliga 29030—6[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 5]0390
2020–21 Bundesliga 28250—7[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 5]0412
2021–22 Bundesliga 26130—6[lower-alpha 6]01[lower-alpha 5]0361
Total 1194120—240301584
Manchester City 2022–23 Premier League 28050209[lower-alpha 4]0—440
Career total 24610282204003031912
  1. Includes Swiss Cup, DFB-Pokal, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. Appearance in DFL-Supercup
  6. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 28 March 2023[26]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Switzerland 201740
201890
201990
202030
2021130
202292
202320
Total492
Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Akanji goal.[26]
List of international goals scored by Manuel Akanji
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
124 September 2022La Romareda, Zaragoza, Spain Spain1–02–12022–23 UEFA Nations League A
26 December 2022Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, Qatar Portugal1–41–62022 FIFA World Cup

Honours

FC Basel

Borussia Dortmund

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of Players: Switzerland" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2019.
  2. Manuel Akanji. In: Munzinger-Archiv, retrieved 15. September 2022.
  3. "Manuel Akanji: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  4. Ein neuer Verteidiger für den FCB: Manuel Akanji kommt vom FC Winterthur TagesWoche dated 15. April 2015
  5. Marti, Casper (2016). "Es ist vollbracht ! Der FCB ist zum 19. Mal Meister". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  6. Marti, Casper (2017). "Der Saisonabschluss im Zeitraffer". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  7. FC Basel 1893 (2018). "Manuel Akanji wechselt zu Borussia Dortmund". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  8. "Wechsel perfekt! BVB bekommt Akanji sofort" kicker, 15 January 2018. Retrieved on 15 January 2018.
  9. Borussia Dortmund (2018). "BVB verpflichtet Schweizer Nationalspieler Manuel Akanji". Borussia Dortmund. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  10. "Marco Reus stars as breathtaking Borussia Dortmund put seven past Nuremberg". Bundesliga. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  11. "Three Borussia Dortmund players who need to improve". 11 November 2019.
  12. "City seal Akanji signing". ManCity.com. Manchester City. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  13. "Man City sign defender Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund for £15m". Sky Sports. 1 September 2022.
  14. Sutcliffe, Steve (6 September 2022). "Sevilla 0-4 Man City: Erling Haaland scores twice in comfortable Champions League opening win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  15. Stone, Simon (6 September 2022). "Wolves 0-3 Manchester City: Erling Haaland scores again in dominant win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  16. Clayton, David. "Akanji voted Etihad Player of the Month for October". www.mancity.com. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  17. "Färöer Inseln 0:2 Schweiz". football.ch. Schweizerischer Fussballverband. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  18. "Pickford the hero in England shootout win". BBC Sport.
  19. https://www.uefa.com / uefaeuro-2020 / match / 2024485 - switzerland-vs-spain / lineups /? iv = true
  20. "Zwei Eckbälle für ein Halleluja: Nati überrascht in Spanien" (in Swiss High German). SRF. 24 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  21. "Portugal vs. Switzerland - Football Match Summary - December 7, 2022 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  22. "Manuel Akanji: 10 things on Borussia Dortmund's new Swiss international defender". Bundesliga. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  23. BVB-Profi schneller als der Taschenrechner, sport.sky.de, retrieved 29 June 2021
  24. Fussball: Manuel Akanji als Studiogast, www.srf.ch, retrieved 29 June 2021
  25. "M. Akanji". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. "Manuel Akanji". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  27. "Swiss football: FC Basel wins 3-0 over Sion in Geneva; police extra vigilant after game". allaboutgeneva.com. 25 May 2017. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
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