page_title: Steve Zakuani
section_title: Seattle Sounders FC
hierarchical_section_title: Steve Zakuani / Career / Professional / Seattle Sounders FC
caption_attribution_description: Steve Zakuani menaces the Philly defense in the first half
context_page_description: Steve Zakuani is a Congolese former footballer. He was born in Zaire—now the Democratic Republic of the Congo—and grew up in London. He had a successful college career before playing for Seattle Sounders FC and the Portland Timbers.
  Zakuani played for the Arsenal youth academy but as a teenager he struggled finding a team. He attended the University of Akron on a soccer scholarship and excelled as a forward. In 2009, Seattle selected Zakuani first overall in the MLS SuperDraft. He quickly became a fan favorite as a winger who had the speed and ability to take on opposing defenders.
  He had success in 2010, scoring ten goals and debuting for the Congo DR national football team in a friendly. However, in 2011, he suffered a leg injury that almost ended his career. He returned in 2012 but failed to recapture his early success, and retired after playing the 2014 MLS season with the Portland Timbers. After his retirement from soccer, Zakuani has pursued helping young athletes through charity work. He joined the Sounders' game-day broadcast team and published a memoir in 2015. Zakuani is also the coach of the boy's soccer team at Bellevue High School.
context_section_description: Zakuani was selected by expansion side Seattle Sounders FC as the number-one pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft on a Generation Adidas program contract. He declined offers from two English clubs so he could sign with Major League Soccer; the deal allowed him to set money aside for future college tuition. He started 24 of 30 regular season games in 2009 and played in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final, when the Sounders became the second MLS team to win the tournament in their inaugural season. Zakuani provided a much-needed attacking presence from the wing; he was the third-best scorer with four goals throughout the regular season. The press considered him a candidate for Rookie of the Year because he had the highest number of goals and assists of all new players. The award eventually went to Omar Gonzalez. A local reporter praised him for improving his assistance to the defence and making better offensive runs as the season progressed. Although Zakuani was already known as a top young player, coach Sigi Schmid wanted him to improve his on-field decision making and increase his fitness before the next year.
  In 2009, a shoulder injury that had limited Zakuani's ability to play the full 90 minutes per game forced him to undergo surgery during the off-season. In his second professional year, Zakuani scored ten goals, equalling the score of striker Fredy Montero for the team lead. He also made six assists. Zakuani was named MLS Player of the Week twice; the first was after recording both goals in a 2–1 win over Colorado, and the second was awarded for both a goal and an assist in a 2–1 victory over Chivas USA. Fans around the league voted the strike against Chivas as the Goal of the Week. Zakuani also won the award for his perfectly timed break past the defensive back line for a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper while scoring a goal against Toronto FC. He also recorded the fastest-scored goal in club history with a fourth-minute tally against Columbus Crew, beating the previous record he had set the season before. Zakuani was again in the starting line-up for the 2010 U.S. Open Cup final, which Seattle won to become the first team since 1983 to repeat as Open Cup champions. On 7 November 2010, he scored the Sounders' first ever playoff goal in a 2–1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy. He received his green card after the season; this helped the team because MLS limits the number of international players available to each team and receiving permanent resident status exempted him from the cap.
  Zakuani scored two goals and had two assists in his first six appearances of the 2011 season. On 22 April 2011, a harsh challenge by Brian Mullan led to Zakuani fracturing his tibia and fibula three minutes into a game against the Colorado Rapids. He was airlifted to hospital and underwent surgery the same day. During recovery, doctors feared that his leg would require amputation because of compartment syndrome. The concern was caused by a lack of blood flow that hurt the nerves connecting the area to his foot. Mullan initially defended the tackle, saying he would make the challenge again. He later apologized in the face of increasing scrutiny and received a 10-game suspension (matching the longest ban in MLS history to date) and a $5,000 fine. Nelson Rodriguez, an executive vice president of MLS, said in a statement that the disciplinary committee "felt the egregious nature" of Mullan's foul justified the punishment. 'Mullan's tackle is the type of play we need to eliminate from our game, and the level of discipline is consistent with our efforts to do so.' Zakuani missed the remainder of the season, and this injury marked the beginning of the end of his career as a starter in pro soccer. Zakuani's injury was one of several to key players throughout the league that year, leading to criticism that MLS play was aggressive to the point of "thuggery".
  On 7 July 2012, after 15 months away, Zakuani returned in a match against Mullan and the Rapids. His return as a substitute with five minutes left in the game met provoked emotional cheers fro
caption: Zakuani against Philadelphia in 2010.
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