Ariza Makukula facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 March 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Kinshasa, Zaire | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1992 | Vitória Setúbal | ||
| 1992–1993 | Chaves | ||
| 1993–2000 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
| 1996–1997 | → Brito (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2002 | Salamanca | 40 | (20) |
| 2001 | → Leganés (loan) | 13 | (4) |
| 2002–2004 | Nantes | 18 | (1) |
| 2003–2004 | → Valladolid (loan) | 18 | (8) |
| 2004–2008 | Sevilla | 13 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | → Gimnàstic (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | → Marítimo (loan) | 13 | (7) |
| 2008–2010 | Benfica | 3 | (0) |
| 2009 | → Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | → Kayserispor (loan) | 29 | (21) |
| 2010–2012 | Manisaspor | 39 | (5) |
| 2012–2013 | Karşıyaka | 10 | (3) |
| 2013 | Vitória Setúbal | 10 | (2) |
| 2013 | OFI | 9 | (2) |
| 2014 | BEC Tero Sasana | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 233 | (75) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001–2002 | Portugal U21 | 14 | (4) |
| 2007–2008 | Portugal | 4 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ariza Makukula (born on March 4, 1981) is a former professional footballer. He played as a centre-forward, which means he was a main attacker for his team.
Ariza Makukula played in Portugal for teams like Marítimo, Benfica, and Vitória de Setúbal. He also played in many other countries, including Spain, England, Turkey, Greece, and Thailand. He won the UEFA Cup with Sevilla in 2006. He was also the top scorer in the Süper Lig (Turkey's top league) with Kayserispor in the 2009–10 season.
Even though he was born in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Makukula played four games for the Portugal national team.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting His Football Journey
Ariza Makukula's father was also a footballer from Congo who played in Portugal. Ariza was born in Kinshasa, Zaire. He moved to Portugal when he was five years old. He started playing football in the youth teams of Vitória de Setúbal.
Later, he joined Vitória de Guimarães for his youth development. He then began his professional career in Spain. He played for UD Salamanca and CD Leganés. In the 2001–02 season, he scored 20 goals for Salamanca, which was the second-highest in the league!
Playing in France and Spain
In 2002, Makukula moved to France to play for FC Nantes. He scored one goal for them in the top French league. After that, he was loaned to Real Valladolid in Spain. He scored eight goals for Valladolid, but the team was unfortunately relegated from La Liga, Spain's top division. He also suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the game for almost a year.
Winning with Sevilla
In 2004, Sevilla FC bought Makukula. Even though he was still recovering from his injury, he eventually made his debut in January 2005. He scored his first goal for Sevilla in a cup match. A few days later, he scored his only league goal for them.
He also scored an important goal in the UEFA Cup against Panathinaikos F.C.. In the 2005–06 season, he continued to struggle with injuries. However, he was part of the Sevilla team that won the UEFA Cup in 2006, which was a big achievement!
He was then loaned to Gimnàstic de Tarragona in 2006. He scored one goal for them before the team was relegated.
Time with Benfica
In 2007, Makukula was loaned to C.S. Marítimo in Portugal. He had a great start, scoring two goals in his first game! He scored seven goals in just 13 games for Marítimo.
Because of his good performance, S.L. Benfica, one of Portugal's biggest clubs, signed him in January 2008. He scored an important goal for Benfica in the UEFA Cup against 1. FC Nürnberg.
In 2009, he was loaned to Bolton Wanderers F.C. in the English Premier League. He played six games for them.
Later Career Adventures
In 2009, Makukula was loaned to Kayserispor in Turkey. This was a very successful move for him! He became the top scorer in the Süper Lig for the 2009–10 season, scoring 21 goals.
After that, he signed with Manisaspor, another Turkish team. He later moved to Karşıyaka S.K. in Turkey's second division. In 2013, he returned to Portugal to play for Vitória de Setúbal again.
He then played for OFI Crete F.C. in Greece and BEC Tero Sasana F.C. in Thailand. After his time in Thailand, he returned to his birth country, Congo, and became a sporting director and ambassador for their national team.
Playing for His Country
Representing Portugal
Ariza Makukula chose to play for Portugal. He first played for the under-21 team.
He later wanted to play for the DR Congo, but a rule from FIFA (the world football governing body) at the time prevented him. This rule said that a player could only change which country they represented if they were under 21 and hadn't played for the senior national team yet. Makukula was older than 21 when he wanted to switch.
In October 2007, because he was playing so well for Marítimo, he was called up to the senior Portugal squad. He made his debut against Kazakhstan and scored his first goal for Portugal in an away win!
Personal Life
Ariza Makukula met his wife while playing for Nantes, and they had four children. He named his first son Aziz Del Nido, showing thanks to the president of Sevilla FC at the time.
Once, when buying a house, an agent took some money from Makukula's bank account. However, the money was recovered after a court case.
Honours
Sevilla
- UEFA Cup: 2005–06
See also
In Spanish: Ariza Makukula para niños
