Zion_Suzuki
Zion Suzuki
Japanese footballer
Zion Suzuki (鈴木 彩艶, Suzuki Zaion, born 21 August 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Belgian Pro League club Sint-Truiden. Born in the United States, he represents the Japan national team.
 Suzuki with Japan in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zion Suzuki[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2002-08-21) 21 August 2002 (age 21) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Little Rock, Arkansas, United States | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Sint-Truiden | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2020 | Urawa Red Diamonds | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2024 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | → Sint-Truiden (loan) | 22 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Sint-Truiden | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Japan U15 | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Japan U16 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Japan U17 | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Japan U18 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Japan U23 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Japan | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 March 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Suzuki was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, to a Ghanaian American father and a Japanese mother.[3][4] His family later moved to Japan, settling in Urawa, Saitama, where Suzuki was raised.[5]
Suzuki's professional career began with the Urawa Red Diamonds when he was sixteen years and five months old, making him the youngest player in the history of the club to sign a professional contract. His first appearance in the J1 League came in May 2021 in a match against Vegalta Sendai.[4]
In August of 2023, Suzuki was sent on loan from the Urawa Red Diamonds to Sint-Truidense V.V., a mid-table team in the Belgian Pro League. He served as the understudy for Japanese goalkeeper Daniel Schmidt before he was named the starter.
During Suzuki's stint at Sint-Truidense, he was reportedly offered the position as a backup goalkeeper at Manchester United. However, he turned down the offer, wanting to stay at Sint-Truidense.[6]
On 1 February 2024, it was announced that Suzuki's loan with Sint-Truiden will be converted into permanent transfer for next season on 1 July 2024.[7]
Suzuki has represented Japan at multiple levels in youth football. On 19 July 2022, he earned his first cap with the senior Japan national team, playing the full match against Hong Kong in the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, which his side won 6–0.[8] He played in Japan's opening match of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, a 4–2 win against Vietnam. He also played in their following 1–2 defeat to Iraq, logging one save.
Club
- As of match played 17 March 2024[9]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2021 | J1 League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| Sint-Truiden (loan) | 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 51 | 0 | ||
- Appearances in AFC Champions League
International
- As of match played 21 March 2024[10]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 0 | |
Urawa Red Diamonds
Japan
Individual
- Japan Pro-Footballers Association Best XI: 2023
- "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: Japan" (PDF). FIFA. 31 October 2019. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2019.
- "Zion Suzuki – Player Profile – Football". Japan Football Association. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- "Profile of Zion Suzuki" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- 日本放送協会. "鈴木彩艶のプロフィール｜サッカー｜東京オリンピックパラリンピック". www3.nhk.or.jp. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- "浦和ＧＫ鈴木彩艶、シントトロイデン移籍を発表「世界で闘ってきます」マンＵの獲得打診断り決断". Hochi Shimbun. 6 August 2023. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- "Zion Suzuki explains why he rejected Manchester United transfer". Metro Uk. 29 September 2023.
- "Announcement of permanent transfer of Zion Suzuki to Sint-Truiden VV". www.urawa-reds.co.jp (in Japanese). Urawa Red Diamonds. February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- "Z. Suzuki". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- Zion Suzuki at Soccerway
- Zion Suzuki at National-Football-Teams.com
- "Urawa Reds edge Al Hilal for historic third title". AFC. 6 May 2023. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- Orlowitz, Dan (6 May 2023). "Urawa beats Al Hilal to capture third Asian Champions League title". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- Zion Suzuki at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)