Marco Zoro
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| Marco Zoro | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marco André Zoro Kpolo | |
| Date of birth | December 27, 1983 | |
| Place of birth | Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire | |
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 111⁄2 in) | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | S.L. Benfica | |
| Number | 17 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1999-2003 2003-2007 2007- |
Salernitana Messina S.L. Benfica |
55 (1) 95 (4) 2 (1) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2003- | Cote d'Ivoire | 13 (1) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Marco André Zoro Kpolo (born December 27, 1983 in Abidjan) is an Ivorian football player who currently plays as a defender for Benfica.
[edit] Career
Although he is not a native of the country, Zoro has played in Italy throughout his entire career. He started his career in the 1998/1999 season, joining Salernitana, but never broke into the first team. The next season, instead, Zoro made his debut for the Campania team in the Serie B league. He played for Salernitana until June 2003, when he then joined Messina on loan, and helped the Sicilian team to promotion to Serie A the following year [1]. Messina signed him permanently in 2004, on a three year deal.
Several month's prior to the expiration of Zoro's deal with Messina, he and his agent had been locked in talks with the club for a contract extension. "For Zoro, his contract is coming up to expiration and there are difficulties in getting him to renew," said Messina president Pietro Franza in October 2006. "We will see over the coming days when we meet with his agent if we can find a possible understanding." Four months later, however, Zoro blasted, "I've read that some of the management won't talk to me about a new contract because they want to leave me hanging. I find this an insult to my professionalism. I have always trained hard and never let outside things influence me. I will also leave them hanging and see if the right club comes in for me." Two days later, he attempted to make amends: "When one of your family is treated poorly, it's normal for that person to be upset. I don't want to air our dirty linen in public. We'll talk about my contract at the end of the season. My priority right now is keeping Messina in Serie A."
On May 15th, Marco Zoro signed a four-year deal with the Portuguese side Benfica. Francis Kakou, the player's manager, stated his happiness regarding Zoro's new challenge.
[edit] Racist incidents
Zoro, a regular for the Ivorian national football team, garnered heavy interest when, on November 27, 2005, he attempted to stop the Messina-Inter Milan match by leaving the field with the ball, after being tormented by racist taunts from some Inter supporters. He was eventually convinced to keep playing by other players, notably Adriano. These facts then brought strong and unanimous condemnations by the whole football community within Italy, and even a 5-minute delay for an anti-racism display for all the matches to be played in the next week in the country. The actions of the Inter supporters were also brought to the attention of the European football governing body UEFA as well as that of the European Union.
[edit] References
- BBC News: "Zoro suffers more racist abuse"
- International Herald Tribune: "Fans' racism returns to taint games in Italy and Spain"
- Kick It Out article
- Guardian: "Zoro storms off after Inter supporters' racist chanting"
- Uefa: "Zoro takes a stand on racism"
- Franza unsure over Zoro's Messina deal - Tribalfootball.com, 10/24/06
- Zoro furious with Messina contract delays - Tribalfootball.com, 2/26/07
- Zoro: Don't question my Messina commitment - Tribalfootball.com, 3/2/07
- Zoro agent set for Messina contract talks - Tribalfootball.com, 3/4/07
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