Yohan Salwan Zetuna ( ar, يوهان زيتونة; born 31 May 2000) is an Iraqi professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

ethnicity who currently plays for

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

Early life

Born in

Tel Keppe Tel Keppe ( syr, ܬܸܠ ܟܹܐܦܹܐ ', ar, تل كيف ', alternatively spelled Tel Kaif or Telkef) is an Assyrian town in northern Iraq. It is located in the Nineveh Governorate, less than 8 mi (13 km) northeast of Mosul.Welcome to Te ...

in the

Nineveh Governorate Nineveh Governorate ( ar, محافظة نينوى, syr, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ, Hoparkiya d’Ninwe, ckb, پارێزگای نەینەوا, Parêzgeha Neynewa), also known as Ninawa Governorate, is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an ...

of Iraq, Zetuna is one of four brothers, including fellow footballer Yousuf Zetuna, and has one sister. Due to the family being

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, they faced religious persecution in Iraq, and fled initially to Turkey, living in a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

refugee camp. After ten months in Turkey, the family moved to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

in the United States on 15 May 2009. In 2016, the family relocated to

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

, Mexico, as one of Zetuna's uncles was living there.

Club career

Alebrijes de Oaxaca

Having initially played football in the refugee camp in Turkey, and then in

Sterling Heights, Michigan Sterling Heights is a city in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan, and one of Detroit's core suburbs. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a total population of 134,346. It is the second largest suburb in Metro Detroit, and the fourth la ...

, Zetuna and his brother Yousuf joined the academy of professional side

Alebrijes de Oaxaca Alebrijes de Oaxaca Fútbol Club is a Mexican football team based in the city of Oaxaca, state of Oaxaca. They play in the second tier of Mexican football league, Liga de Expansión MX. The team was created when the Tecamachalco franchise won ...

in 2017, following their move to Mexico. Having signed professional contracts in February 2019, both were added to the senior squad ahead of the Clausura 2019. He was given the chance to move to Spain, training with

Águilas Águilas () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality and seaport of southeastern Spain, in the province of Region of Murcia, Murcia. It is situated at the southern end of Murcia's Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastline, otherwise known as the ...

, but returned to Mexico shortly after, claiming that he did not enjoy the experience. His return to Mexico coincided with the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and the Mexican second division league, the

Ascenso MX Ascenso MX was the second tier of professional football in Mexico of the Mexican football league system. The champion of the competition was promoted to Liga MX (top-flight tier). The bottom team was relegated to Liga Premier (the third tier). ...

, was renamed as the

Liga de Expansión MX The Liga de Expansión MX, also known as Liga de Desarrollo (Liga BBVA Expansión MX for sponsorship reasons), is a Mexican football league founded in 2020 as part of the Mexican Football Federation's "Stabilization Project", which has the prima ...

, with Oaxaca officials unsure what would happen to foreign players under the new structure. Zetuna would go on to make his debut the following year, playing seventy minutes in a 2–0 away win against

Pumas Tabasco Pumas Tabasco is a Mexican professional football club based in Villahermosa. Founded in 2020, Pumas Tabasco is the official reserve team of Club Universidad Nacional and is part of the Liga de Expansión MX, the second professional football div ...

, before being replaced by . Following his next game, a 2–1 home loss to Atlante, Oaxaca accused Atlante player Ronaldo González of racially abusing Zetuna, condemning the act on the club's official

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account. Later in the season, he suffered a inflammation of the spleen, keeping him out of action after four appearances.

Municipal Grecia

Having briefly played for Atlante without making a professional appearance, Zetuna was announced as a new player for Costa Rican side

Municipal Grecia Municipal Grecia is an association football club based in Grecia, Costa Rica. Founded in 1998, the club will make their debut in the Liga FPD after being promoted from the Liga de Ascenso. The team plays in the Estadio Allen Riggioni. History I ...

at the end of 2021. After half a year with the side, in which he made one appearance, he was announced as one of four players to depart the club in May 2022.

International career

Zetuna was called up to training camps with the Iraq under-17 side in 2017. In late August 2021, he was called up to the Iraq under-23 side for a friendly tournament in Saudi Arabia. He featured in one game for the side, but was sent off in the first half as Iraq lost 4–1 to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zetuna, Yohan 2000 births Living people Assyrian footballers Iraqi men's footballers Iraq men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Liga de Expansión MX players Liga FPD players Alebrijes de Oaxaca players Atlante F.C. footballers Municipal Grecia players Al-Karkh SC players Tlaxcala F.C. players Iraqi expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Costa Rica Iraqi refugees