Zeki Amdouni

Zeki Amdouni
Personal information
Full name Mohamed Zeki Amdouni[1]
Date of birth (2000-12-04) 4 December 2000 (age 24)[2]
Place of birth Geneva, Switzerland
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, forward
Team information
Current team
 Benfica
(on loan from Burnley)
Number 7
Youth career
2008–2013 Servette
2013–2018 Meyrin
2017–2018 → Étoile Carouge (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Étoile Carouge 38 (14)
2019–2021 Stade Lausanne Ouchy 56 (14)
2021–2023 Lausanne-Sport 34 (12)
2022–2023 → Basel (loan) 32 (12)
2023– Burnley 36 (5)
2024– → Benfica (loan) 12 (5)
International career‡
2019 Switzerland U20 2 (0)
2021 Turkey U21 1 (0)
2021–2023 Switzerland U21 15 (9)
2022– Switzerland 25 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:07, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:38, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Mohamed Zeki Amdouni (born 4 December 2000) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Primeira Liga club Benfica, on loan from EFL Championship club Burnley, and the Switzerland national team.

Club career

Early years

Amdouni is a youth product of Servette, Meyrin, and Étoile Carouge. He began his career with Étoile Carouge, playing in the 1. Liga the fourth tier of the Swiss football league system, before moving to Stade Lausanne Ouchy in the Swiss Challenge League in 2019. On 9 June 2021, he transferred to Lausanne-Sport in the Swiss Super League.[4] He made his professional debut with Lausanne-Sport in a 2–1 Swiss Super League defeat against FC St. Gallen on 24 July 2021.[5] At the end of the 2021–22 season Lausanne-Sport suffered relegation, but Amdouni was the team's top scorer with 12 goals.[6]

Basel

On 24 June 2022, Amdouni joined Basel's first team for their 2022–23 season under head coach Alexander Frei signing a two-year loan with an option for the club to buy.[7] After playing in two test games, in each of which he had scored a goal, Amdouni played his domestic league debut for his new club in the away game in the Schützenwiese on 16 July 2022 as Basel drew 1–1 with Winterthur.[8] He played his first European match in the second qualifying round of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 21 July, it was the home game in the St. Jakob-Park as Basel won 2–0 against Northern Ireland team Crusaders.[9] Amdouni scored his first goal for the club on 28 August in the away game in the Letzigrund against Zürich as Basel won 4–2.[10]

Basel finished the Conference League group stage in second position and advanced to the Knockout round. It was here that Amdoumi showed his goal scoring flair, with seven goals in eight outings, during Basel's run to the semi-finals, where they lost to Fiorentina after extra time in the second leg.[11] These seven goals made Amdouni the competition's joint top goal scorer together with Arthur Cabral of Fiorentina.[12] On 2 May 2023, Basel's option to buy the player was activated, with Amdouni signing a four-year contract.[13] On 17 July 2023, Basel confirmed that although Amdouni had joined the club permanently, he was in talks for a move to another team and two days later he left the club.[14]

During his one season with them, Amdouni played a total of 58 games for Basel scoring a total of 25 goals. 32 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, three in the Swiss Cup, 17 in the UEFA Europa Conference League, and six were friendly games. He scored 12 goals in the domestic league, three in the cup, seven in the European games and the other three were scored during the test games.[15]

Burnley

On 19 July 2023, Amdouni signed for newly-promoted Premier League club Burnley on a five-year contract, for an undisclosed fee.[16][17]

Loan to Benfica

On 29 August 2024, Amdouni signed for Portuguese club Benfica on a year-long loan.[18] He made his competitive debut for his new club on 14 September in a 4–1 home league victory over Santa Clara,[19] and scored his first goal in a 5–1 win against Gil Vicente on 28 September.[20]

International career

Amdouni was born in Switzerland to a Turkish father and Tunisian mother.[21] He represented Switzerland U20, before switching to represent Turkey U21 in May 2019. That same month, he again switched over to Switzerland U21.[22]

He was called up by the senior Switzerland squad for the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches against Czech Republic, Portugal and Spain in June 2022.[23] He made his debut on 27 September 2022 in a Nations League match against the Czech Republic, replacing Ruben Vargas as a 79th-minute substitute.[24]

On 25 March 2023, Amdouni scored his first international goal against Belarus, as Switzerland won 5–0 in a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match.[25] He went to make his first start for the national team against Israel three days later, scoring the second goal of a 3–0 win. He ended the Euro qualifying campaign with six goals from ten appearances, scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 win away to Andorra, both goals of a 2–2 draw at home to Romania, and a 90th minute equaliser in a 3–3 draw in Belarus.[26]

On 7 June 2024, Amdouni was named in Switzerland's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals in Germany.[27] He appeared as a substitute in the team's first match, replacing opening goalscorer Kwadwo Duah in the 68th minute of the 3–1 win over Hungary in Cologne.[28]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Étoile Carouge 2017–18[29] Swiss 1. Liga 13 4 — — 13 4
2018–19[29] Swiss 1. Liga 25 10 — — 25 10
Total 38 14 — — 38 14
Stade Lausanne Ouchy 2019–20[30] Swiss Challenge League 24 3 3 1 — — 27 4
2020–21[31] Swiss Challenge League 32 11 1 0 — — 33 11
Total 56 14 4 1 — — 60 15
Lausanne-Sport 2021–22[31] Swiss Super League 34 12 4 3 — — 38 15
Basel (loan) 2022–23[31] Swiss Super League 32 12 3 3 — 17[c] 7 52 22
Burnley 2023–24[31] Premier League 34 5 1 0 2 1 — 37 6
2024–25[31] Championship 2 1 — 0 0 — 2 1
Total 36 6 1 0 2 1 — 39 7
Benfica (loan) 2024–25[31] Primeira Liga 12 5 2 1 1 0 6[d] 1 21 7
Career total 208 63 14 8 3 1 23 8 248 80
  1. ^ Includes Swiss Cup, FA Cup, Taça de Portugal
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup, Taça da Liga
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 18 November 2024[29]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Switzerland 2022 1 0
2023 10 6
2024 14 4
Total 25 10
Switzerland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Amdouni goal.
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 25 March 2023 Karađorđe Stadium, Novi Sad, Serbia 2  Belarus 5–0 5–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
2 28 March 2023 Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland 3  Israel 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
3 16 June 2023 Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra 4  Andorra 2–0 2–1 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
4 19 June 2023 Swissporarena, Lucerne, Switzerland 5  Romania 1–0 2–2 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
5 2–0
6 15 October 2023 Kybunpark, St Gallen, Switzerland 8  Belarus 3–3 3–3 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
7 4 June 2024 Swissporarena, Lucerne, Switzerland 14  Estonia 2–0 4–0 Friendly
8 8 September 2024 Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland 21  Spain 1–2 1–4 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A
9 15 October 2024 Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland 23  Denmark 2–1 2–2 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A
10 15 November 2024 Stadion Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland 24  Serbia 1–0 1–1 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ "2023/24 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  2. ^ UEFA.com. "Zeki Amdouni - Switzerland - European Qualifiers". UEFA.com. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Zeki Amdouni". FC Basel. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Zeki Amdouni au Lausanne-Sport". 9 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Lausanne Sport vs. St. Gallen - 24 July 2021 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  6. ^ Rohrer, Niklaus; Stokkermans, Karel (2022). "Switzerland 2021/22". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  7. ^ FC Basel 1893 (24 June 2022). "Amouni leihweise von Lausanne-Sport zum FCB". Amouni on loan from Lausanne-Sport to FCB. FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 24 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ FC Basel 1893 (16 July 2022). "FC Winterthur - FC Basel 1:1 (1:0)". FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 16 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (21 July 2022). "FC Basel - Crusaders FC 2:0 (1:0)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  10. ^ FC Basel 1893 (28 August 2022). "FC Zürich - FC Basel 2:4 (1:1)". FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 28 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (18 May 2023). "FC Basel - ACF Fiorentina 1:3 n.V. (1:2, 0:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  12. ^ "2022/23 Europa Conference League top scorers: Cabral and Amdouni". UEFA. 7 June 2023.
  13. ^ FC Basel 1893 (2 May 2023). "Der FCB Verpflichet Zeki Amouni und Andy Diouf definitiv" [FCB sign Zeki Amouni and Andy Diouf definitely] (in German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Scrafton, Matt (18 July 2023). "'Another club': Basel release statement on Zeki Amdouni's future amid Burnley links". Burnley Express. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  15. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2023). "Zeki Amdouni - FCB statistics". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  16. ^ "ZEKI AMDOUNI HAS ARRIVED!". Burnley Football Club. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  17. ^ "Burnley sign Switzerland forward Amdouni from Basel". BBC Sport. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Burnley attacker Zeki Amdouni completes Benfica loan move". Yahoo Sports. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Benfica goleia Santa Clara no regresso de Bruno Lage ao clube" (in Portuguese). RTP. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  20. ^ "Zeki Amdouni estreia-se a marcar pelo Benfica com golo de fora da área". Bola na Rede (in European Portuguese). 28 September 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  21. ^ "Mohamed Zeki Amdouni kimdir, nereli? Mohamed Zeki Amdouni kaç..." Fanatik. 30 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Mohamed Zeki Amdouni' İsviçre'yi seçti, TFF açıklama yaptı". www.sozcu.com.tr. 18 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Switzerland 1-0 Portugal". BBC. 12 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Switzerland v Czechia game report". UEFA. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  25. ^ UEFA.com. "Belarus-Switzerland | European Qualifiers 2024". UEFA.com. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  26. ^ "ZEKI AMDOUNI". UEFA. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  27. ^ "Switzerland announce 26-man squad for Euro 2024". Reuters. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Hungary 1-3 Switzerland LIVE: UEFA Euro 2024 - score, updates & reaction". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  29. ^ a b c "Zeki Amdouni". National Football Teams. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  30. ^ "Amdouni's Career Statistics". footballdatabase.eu.
  31. ^ a b c d e f Zeki Amdouni at Soccerway. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  32. ^ ""Best Player" im Februar ist: Zeki Amdouni" (in German). Swiss Football League. 11 March 2023.
  33. ^ "Das SFL-Team der Saison 2022/23" (in German). Swiss Football League. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.