Zander Mateo Cassierra Cabezas (born 13 April 1997) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg and the Colombia national team.
 Cassierra with Zenit St. Petersburg in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zander Mateo Cassierra Cabezas | ||
| Date of birth | 13 April 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Barbacoas, Colombia | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Zenit Saint Petersburg | ||
| Number | 30 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2016 | Deportivo Cali | 43 | (12) |
| 2016–2018 | Jong Ajax | 46 | (29) |
| 2016–2019 | Ajax | 21 | (3) |
| 2018 | → FC Groningen (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2019 | → Racing (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Belenenses SAD | 63 | (14) |
| 2021–2022 | Sochi | 22 | (14) |
| 2022– | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 72 | (29) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Colombia | 3 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 March 2024 | |||
Career
editDeportivo Cali
editCassierra made his debut for Deportivo Cali in 2015. Despite having played at Deportivo Cali with a jersey displaying "Casierra", his official name is spelled "Cassierra" (with two s's).[2]
Ajax
editOn 17 June 2016, Cassierra signed a five-year contract with Dutch club Ajax, lasting until 2021.[3] The club paid Deportivo Cali €5.5 million to complete the transfer.[4] Cassierra is the third Colombian player to play for Ajax after Daniel Cruz (2000–2003) and Davinson Sánchez.[5] He scored a goal in his Eredivisie debut against Sparta Rotterdam in a 1–3 win.
Cassierra spent the majority of the 2017–18 season playing for the reserves' team Jong Ajax, in the Eerste Divisie. He finished as top scorer of the reserves team with 18 goals scored, helping his side to clinch their first championship since joining the professional ranks and competing in the second tier of Dutch football.[6]
Groningen loan
editOn 2 June 2018, Ajax announced its loan, for one season, to FC Groningen. However, he returned after only half a season.[7]
Racing loan
editIn January 2019, he joined Racing on loan until July 2020.[8]
Sochi
editOn 26 August 2021, he signed a two-year contract with an additional one-year option with Russian Premier League club PFC Sochi.[9] Cassierra finished 2021–22 Russian Premier League as the second-best goal scorer with 14 goals, behind Gamid Agalarov who scored 19, as Sochi finished in 2nd place, club's historical best position.[10]
Zenit St. Petersburg
editOn 30 June 2022, Zenit St. Petersburg announced the signing of Cassierra to a three-year contract, with the option of an additional year.[11]
After scoring only twice in the 2022–23 Russian Premier League, Cassiera started the 2023–24 season with 6 goals in the first 6 games, taking the top spot in the scoring race. He went into the winter break of the season in December with 14 goals, 6 goals ahead of the second-highest scorers.[12] On 2 February 2024, Cassiera extended his contract with Zenit to June 2027.[13]
On 19 May 2024, Cassiera scored 5 goals in a 5–1 victory over Akhmat Grozny. He became the first player to score 5 goals in a game since Russian Premier League was formed in 2002, and the third overall player to do so in the history of the Russian top-tier championship (following Viktor Panchenko in 1994 and Oleg Veretennikov in 1998).[14] He finished the season as league's top scorer with 21 goals as Zenit came back on the last match day to claim their sixth consecutive title.[15]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 7 December 2024[16]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Deportivo Cali | 2015 | Categoría Primera A | 23 | 8 | 10 | 3 | — | — | 33 | 11 | ||
| 2016 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 26 | 6 | |||
| Total | 43 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 17 | ||
| Ajax | 2016–17 | Eredivisie | 17 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 0 | — | 29 | 4 | |
| 2017–18 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | |||
| Total | 21 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 5 | ||
| Jong Ajax | 2016–17 | Eerste Divisie | 17 | 11 | — | — | — | 17 | 11 | |||
| 2017–18 | 29 | 18 | — | — | — | 29 | 18 | |||||
| Total | 46 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 29 | ||
| Groningen | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 1 | ||
| Jong Groningen | 2018–19 | Derde Divisie | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | |||
| Racing | 2018–19 | Argentine Primera División | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Belenenses SAD | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 4 | ||
| 2020–21 | 32 | 10 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 11 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 63 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 69 | 15 | ||
| Sochi | 2021–22 | Russian Premier League | 22 | 14 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 14 | ||
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 2022–23 | 26 | 2 | 6 | 3 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 33 | 5 | ||
| 2023–24 | 28 | 21 | 9 | 3 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 38 | 24 | |||
| 2024–25 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 1 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 23 | 7 | |||
| Total | 72 | 29 | 19 | 7 | – | 3 | 0 | 94 | 36 | |||
| Career total | 279 | 103 | 39 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 339 | 118 | ||
- ^ Includes Copa Colombia, KNVB Cup, Taça de Portugal, Russian Cup
- ^ Appearances in Copa de la Superliga
- ^ Appearance in Taça da Liga
- ^ a b c Appearance in Russian Super Cup
International
edit- As of match played 22 March 2024[17]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 2023 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 1 | |
Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first.[18]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 16 June 2023 | Mestalla Stadium, Valencia, Spain |  Iraq |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Honours
editAjax
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2016–17[19]
Jong Ajax[19]
Racing Club[19]
Zenit Saint Petersburg
- Russian Premier League: 2022–23,[20] 2023–24[21]
- Russian Cup: 2023–24[22]
- Russian Super Cup: 2022,[23] 2023,[24] 2024[25]
Individual
edit- Russian Premier League Forward of the Season: 2021–22[26]
- Russian Premier League Top scorer: 2023–24 (21 goals).[15]
References
edit- ^ "Mateo Cassierra". FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Ajax rondt transfer Colombiaan Cassierra af" (in Dutch). NU.nl. 17 June 2016.
- ^ "Ajax sign Mateo Cassierra". Ajax. 17 June 2016.
- ^ "Ajax rondt komst miljoenenaankoop Casierra af" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 17 June 2016.
- ^ "Cassierra tweede Colombiaan bij Ajax" (in Dutch). Ajax. 17 June 2016.
- ^ "Cassierra laat zich uit over 'eeuwige rol' bij Jong Ajax" (in Dutch). SoccerNews.nl. 2 May 2018.
- ^ Ajax laat Sierhuis en Matusiwa in kelder Eredivisie minuten maken (Dutch). Voetbal International. 27 December 2018.
- ^ "Ajax verhuurt Mateo Cassierra aan Racing Club". AFC Ajax. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ "Ряды "Сочи" пополнил латиноамериканский форвард!" (in Russian). PFC Sochi. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ "Агаларов — лучший бомбардир РПЛ сезона-2021/2022. Дзюба и Смолов — в топ-5" (in Russian). Championat. 21 May 2022.
- ^ "Матео Кассьерра — в «Зените»!". fc-zenit.ru (in Russian). FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ^ "14-й гол Кассьерры в сезоне принёс «Зениту» победу над «Пари НН»" [14th goal of the season by Cassiera brings Zenit a victory over Pari NN] (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 9 December 2023.
- ^ "«Зенит» продлил контракт с Матео Кассьеррой" (in Russian). Zenit St. Petersburg. 2 February 2024.
- ^ "Матео Кассьерра – автор первого пента-трика в истории РПЛ" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 19 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Матео Кассьерра – лучший бомбардир Мир РПЛ-2023/24" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 25 May 2024.
- ^ Mateo Cassierra at Soccerway
- ^ "Cassierra, Mateo". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Mateo Cassierra at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ a b c "2016/17: United win it for Manchester". UEFA. 30 May 2017.
- ^ ""Зенит" обеспечил 5-е чемпионство подряд благодаря победе над "Спартаком"" [Zenit secured 5th title in a row thanks to a win over Spartak]. Russian Premier League. 7 May 2023.
- ^ ""Зенит" завоевал золотые медали Мир РПЛ в шестом сезоне подряд!" [Zenit won the gold medals of MIR RPL for the sixth season in a row!] (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Суперфинал FONBET Кубка России LIVE. Гол Алипа приносит "Зениту" победу" [Russian Cup Superfinal: Alip goal gives Zenit the victory] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 2 June 2024.
- ^ "«Зенит» обыграл «Спартак» в Петербурге и завоевал третий OLIMPBET Суперкубок подряд" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 9 July 2022.
- ^ "2023 Russian Super Cup game report" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 15 July 2023.
- ^ ""Зенит" – обладатель OLIMPBET Суперкубка России-2024" [Zenit is the winner of OLIMPBET Russian Super Cup 2024] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 13 July 2024.
- ^ "Агаларов, Сафонов и Захарян – в списке «33 лучших футболистов» сезона". Российский футбольный союз (in Russian). Retrieved 14 September 2023.
External links
edit- Mateo Cassierra at WorldFootball.net
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