Siyanda Xulu (born 30 December 1991) is a South African professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a

centre-back 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 Turan-Tovuz and the South Africa national team.

Club career

Xulu was born in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. During his formative years, he spent time in the

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Chie ...

academy before being released in 2009 whereafter he joined Mamelodi Sundowns. In May 2010 Xulu was offered a trial by

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, before having a two-week trial with

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in September 2010, which he also failed to do enough to win a contract. In September 2012 Xulu joined Russian Premier League side FC Rostov, signing a four-year contract. At Rostov, Zulu won the Russian Cup of the 2013–14 footballing season. He was released by

Maritzburg United Maritzburg United is a South African football club based in the city of Pietermaritzburg that currently plays in the Premier Soccer League. Honours *First Division Coastal Stream champions: 2007–08 *First Division Championship Play-offs: 2 ...

at the end of the 2019–20 season. On 29 July 2020, Xulu signed for Israeli Premier League club

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

International career

Xulu made his debut for the South Africa national team on 15 June 2012 in the match against

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

, he substituted

Morgan Gould Morgan Leonard Gould (born 23 March 1983) is a South African international footballer who plays professionally for Sekhukhune United as a defender. Club career Born in Soweto, Gould began his senior career with Jomo Cosmos in 2001, before m ...

at the 80th minute. On 28 May 2018, he was named captain for the nation's

2018 COSAFA Cup The 2018 COSAFA Cup was the 18th edition of the COSAFA Cup, an international football competition consisting of national teams of member nations of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA). In July 2017, it was reported that i ...

campaign.

Career statistics

Club

International

. :''Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Xulu goal.''

Honours

Rostov * Russian Cup: 2013–14

Notes

References

External links

* 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Durban South African soccer players Association football defenders Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. players Kaizer Chiefs F.C. players FC Rostov players Maritzburg United F.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. players South Africa international soccer players Russian Premier League players Israeli Premier League players South African expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in Russia Expatriate footballers in Israel South African expatriate sportspeople in Russia South African expatriate sportspeople in Israel {{SouthAfrica-footy-bio-stub