Leonardo Yassir Zabala Zeballos (born 23 May 2003) is a Bolivian football player who plays as
central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for Brazilian club
Santos and the
Bolivia national team.
Club career
Zabala began playing football at the age of four with local side .
In September 2019, after representing
Club Calleja, he joined
Palmeiras
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...
after standing out in a local tournament.
On 23 September 2021, Zabala signed a contract with
Santos until December 2022, being initially assigned to
the under-20s. On 7 June of the following year, he further extended his deal until December 2023.
On 16 March 2023, after already being involved in first team trainings, Zabala further extended his link until the end of 2025. Late in the month, he suffered a
knee
In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...
injury while on international duty, being sidelined for the remainder of the year.
International career
On 9 October 2020, Zabala debuted for the
Bolivia national team in a 5-0
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Parallel tour ...
loss to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
Personal life
Zabala is the nephew of the Bolivian international footballer
Wilder Zabala
Wilder Zabala (born 31 December 1982) is a Bolivian international footballer who plays for Oriente Petrolero, as a defender.
Club career
Zabala has played for Real Potosí, Blooming and Oriente Petrolero.
International career
He made his intern ...
.
Career statistics
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabala, Leonardo
2003 births
Living people
Footballers from Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Bolivian men's footballers
Bolivia men's international footballers
Bolivia men's under-20 international footballers
Bolivia men's youth international footballers
Men's association football defenders
Bolivian expatriate men's footballers
Bolivian expatriates in Brazil
Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil