Stoppila Sunzu


Stoppila Sunzu, also known as Stophira Sunzu, is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Shijiazhuang Ever Bright. He scored the winning penalty kick for Zambia in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Final.

Early life

Stopilla Sunzu was born in Chingola and is the younger brother of Felix Sunzu and the son of Felix Sunzu Sr, a goalkeeper who was originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Club career

Early career

He began his career with Afrisports of Kitwe. He was discovered at a U-16 tournament in Chambeshi, Zambia and he was referred to Afrisports.
He then joined Konkola Blades under a loan arrangement. After representing Zambia at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 19-year-old was invited for trials at the English side Reading. The Championship side was keen on securing him on a longer deal but due to work permit problems the move did not materialise. He signed a loan contract for Châteauroux in September 2008 and after the end of the season on 30 June 2009 returned to Zanaco FC.

TP Mazembe

In 2010, Sunzu transferred to TP Mazembe of Democratic Republic of Congo. His registration to Zanaco was a loan from Afrisports and there was some initial dispute regarding his move to TP Mazembe but it was eventually resolved. With Mazembe, he won domestic titles as well as the 2010 CAF Champions League. He was sent off in the club's opening 2010 FIFA Club World Cup game. In November 2012, he was shortlisted for the 2012 Africa-based Player of the Year award. In January 2013, he trained with Reading in the English Premier League with a view to being offered a contract. He returned to the 2013 African Cup of Nations without any contract being signed. Sunzu came to Reading on the premise of being a free agent, with his three-year contract expiring in December 2012. Moses Katumbi, president of TP Mazembe, accused Sunzu's handlers of lying to Reading about his contract stating that it does not expire until 2015.

Stints in France and China

On 6 January 2014, Sunzu joined French Ligue 1 club Sochaux-Montbéliard along with his teammate Nathan Sinkala. He scored important goals but could not prevent the relegation of the French side to Ligue 2.
On 29 December 2014, Sunzu transferred to Chinese Super League side Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. He made his debut and scored his first goal for Shanghai Greenland Shenhua on 8 March 2015, in a 6–2 victory against city rivals Shanghai Shenxin.
Sunzu was loaned to Lille for one year on 28 July 2015. In his first season there, he made 16 appearances scoring twice. On 10 July 2016, he joined Lille permanently on a three-year contract, for an undisclosed fee.

Arsenal Tula loans

On 3 February 2017, Sunzu signed a loan deal with the Russian Premier League club FC Arsenal Tula until the end of the 2016–17 season. At the time of the signing, Arsenal Tula claimed his player rights still belong to Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, and that is the club Arsenal loaned him from, despite earlier reports on him signing a permanent deal with Lille.
In July 2017, he re-joined Arsenal Tula on loan for the 2017–18 season.

Metz

On 9 July 2018, he returned to France, signing a two-year contract with FC Metz. He made his league debut for the club on 30 July 2018, playing all ninety minutes in a 1–0 away victory over Stade Brest. He scored his first competitive goal for the club on 19 October 2018 in a 3–0 league victory over Chamois Niortais. His goal, assisted by Marvin Gakpa, was scored in the 80th minute.

Shijiazhuang Ever Bright

In the 2019–20 winter transfer period, Sunzu left Metz to join Chinese Super League side Shijiazhuang Ever Bright.

International career

Sunzu represented his country at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. In that tournament, Zambia defeated an Uruguayan side that featured Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani.
He made his full international debut against Botswana in a 2009 African Championship of Nations qualifier.
Sunzu scored the winning penalty of the penalty shoot-out in the final of the 2012 African Cup of Nations against Ivory Coast, which Zambia won 8–7.
In October 2013, due to a disagreement between their club TP Mazembe and the Zambian Football Association over international call-ups, Sunzu and two other players were the subject of a Zambian arrest warrant. All three players later had their passports confiscated by Zambian immigration authorities, before being pardoned by the Zambian government.

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.12 August 2009Brisbane Stadium, London, England1–21–4Friendly
2.25 October 2009Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo, Zambia1–01–02009 COSAFA Cup
3.11 January 2012Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa1–01–1Friendly
4.4 February 2012Estadio de Bata, Bata, Equatorial Guinea1–03–02012 Africa Cup of Nations
5.10 October 2018Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia1–02–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Zanaco
TP Mazembe
Zambia