Stoppila Sunzu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 07/2016
Personal information
Date of birth
22 June 1989
Place of birth
Chingola, Zambia
Height
1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position
Defender / Midfielder
Club information
Current team
Lille
Number
13
ZAMBIA
LILLE OSC Season 2016-
ARTICLE
Senior career
Konkola Blades
2005-2007
Afrisports
2007-2008
Zanaco Lusaka
2008-2010
7x apps / 0x goal
→ Châteauroux (loan)
2008-2009
0x apps / 0x goal
TP Mazembe
2010-2014
Sochaux
2014
27x apps / 4x goals
Shanghai Shenhua
2015-2016
13x apps / 1x goal
→ Lille OSC (loan)
2015-2016
12x apps / 1x goal
→ Lille OSC B (loan)
2015-2016
3x apps / 0x goal
Lille OSC
2016-
0x apps / 0x goal
National team
Zambia U20
2007
Zambia
2008-
61x apps / 4x goals
(* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:24, 7 April 2016 (UTC) - National team caps and goals correct as of 23:27, 23 February 2016 (UTC)
Stoppila Sunzu, also known as Stophira Sunzu, is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ligue 1 club Lille OSC. He scored the winning penalty kick for Zambia in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Final.
Early life
Stopilla Sunzu was born in Chingola and is the younger brother of Felix Sunzu and the son of Felix Sunzu Sr, a goalkeeper who was originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Club career
He began his career with Afrisports of Kitwe.
He was discovered at a U-16 tournament in Chambeshi, Zambia and he was referred to Afrisports.
He then joined Konkola Blades under a loan arrangement.
He was a prominent member of the Zambian under-20 squad that played at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
In that tournament, Zambia defeated an Uruguayan side that featured Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani.
After this the 19-year-old was invited for trials at the English side Reading.
The Championship side was keen on securing him on a longer deal but due to work permit problems the move did not materialise.
He signed a loan contract for Châteauroux in September 2008 and after the end of the season end on 30 June 2009 returned to Zanaco FC.
In 2010, Sunzu transferred to TP Mazembe of Democratic Republic of Congo.
His registration to Zanaco was a loan from Afrisports and there was some initial dispute regarding his move to TP Mazembe but it was eventually resolved.
He was sent off in their opening 2010 FIFA Club World Cup game.
In January 2013, he trained with Reading in the English Premier League with a view to being offered a contract.
He returned to the 2013 African Cup of Nations without any contract being signed.
Sunzu came to Reading on the premise of being a free agent, with his three-year contract expiring in December 2012.
Moses Katumbi, president of TP Mazembe, accused Sunzu's handlers of lying to Reading about his contract stating that it does not expire until 2015.
On 6 January 2014, Sunzu joined French Ligue 1 club Sochaux-Montbéliard along with his teammate Nathan Sinkala.
He scored important goals to ensure the team survived relegation.
On 29 December 2014, Sunzu transferred to Chinese Super League side Shanghai Greenland Shenhua.
He made his debut and scored his first goal for Shanghai Greenland Shenhua on 8 March 2015, in a 6:2 victory against city rivals Shanghai Shenxin.
Sunzu was loaned to Lille on 28 July 2015.
International career
Sunzu represented his country at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.
He made his full international debut against Botswana in a 2009 African Championship of Nations qualifier.
Sunzu scored the winning penalty of the penalty shoot-out in the final of the 2012 African Cup of Nations against Ivory Coast, which Zambia won 8:7.
In October 2013, due to a disagreement between their club TP Mazembe and the Zambian Football Association over international call-ups, Sunzu and two other players (Nathan Sinkala and Rainford Kalaba) were the subject of a Zambian arrest warrant.
All three players later had their passports confiscated by Zambian immigration authorities, before being pardoned by the Zambian government.