Stéphane Zubar
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Stéphane Zubar (born 9 October 1986) is a Guadeloupean former 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 lea ...
who played as a defender. He is the younger brother of Ronald Zubar and cousin of Claude Dielna, both of whom are footballers. Zubar began his career at
Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...
but never made a first-team appearance and was released from the club after spells on
loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...
at
Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...
club Pau and
Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...
club
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
. He spent the 2009–10 season with Romanian
Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
club Vaslui, where he experienced European football after helping the club to the 2010 Cupa României final. Zubar signed with English club Plymouth Argyle in November 2010 and moved on to
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...
in September 2011. He was loaned out to Bury in January 2013 and to Port Vale in September 2014. He joined League Two club York City in November 2014, where he played for the rest of 2014–15. Zubar returned to York on loan in August 2015 but returned to Bournemouth after he suffered a
cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...
injury. He joined Weymouth on non-
contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
terms in August 2016 before returning to full-time professional football with Yeovil Town in June 2017, but after suffering another knee injury left without making an appearance. He returned to Weymouth and helped the club to two successive promotions: winning the Southern League Premier Division South title in 2018–19 and the
National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...
play-offs in 2020, before joining A.F.C. Totton via Gosport Borough in October 2020. He later played for Sporting Club Baie-Mahault in his native Guadeloupe.


Club career


Caen

Born in
Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; , , or simply , ) is the second most populous commune of Guadeloupe (after Les Abymes). Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a ''Subprefectu ...
, Guadeloupe, Zubar began his career with
Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...
at the start of the 2003–04 season, following in the footsteps of his older brother
Ronald Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'',#H2, Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; #H1, Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English ''Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised ...
. He signed a three-year professional
contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
with Caen in the summer of 2006. He spent time on
loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...
with
Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...
club Pau in 2007 and
Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...
club
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
in 2008, but did not make a first-team appearance for Caen.


Vaslui

Zubar was transferred to Romanian
Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
club Vaslui in 2009, where he made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Steaua București on 27 February. He scored his first goal for the "Yellow-Greens" in a 2–2 draw with
Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...
at the
Municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...
. He helped the club to finish third in
Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
and reach the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
of the
Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...
during 2009–10, where Zubar was not used in the substitute bench, only to lose to
Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
5–4 on penalties in the final.


Plymouth Argyle

He joined English League One club Plymouth Argyle on a trial during the summer of 2010, following a recommendation from
Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional Manager (association football), football manager, pundit and former Association football, footballer. He was most recently the head coach of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool. McCarthy b ...
. His trial at Plymouth was successful and he signed for club after international clearance was granted on 16 November. He made his debut four days later as the "Pilgrims" lost 2–1 to
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...
at Home Park. Initially played at right-back, he went on to form a successful centre-back partnership with Curtis Nelson. On 28 December, Zubar scored his first goal in England as Plymouth drew 1–1 with
Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...
. Seven days later he scored his second goal for Plymouth in a 3–2 win over Bristol Rovers. On 11 January 2012, Zubar received a
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...
after a second bookable offence in a 3–2 defeat to
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...
. At the end of 2010–11 Argyle were
relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
to League Two and Zubar was the only player to be offered a new (two-year) contract by a club, which he signed in July. However, he had his contract with the club terminated at the end of August, citing "personal reasons"; club chairman Peter Ridsdale said that "Stephane will remain a friend of the club and leaves with our best wishes".


AFC Bournemouth

In September 2011, Zubar joined
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...
on a free transfer, signing a one-year contract with the option for a second, having spent time with the club on trial. He made his League One debut for the club on 24 September in a 2–1 defeat to Hartlepool United at
Dean Court Dean Court, currently known as Vitality Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England, and is the home ground of AFC Bournemouth. The stadium has a capacity of 11,307. History I ...
. He scored an
own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...
on 25 October which cost the "Cherries" two points in a 1–1 draw at
Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...
. On 12 November, Zubar scored his first goal for Bournemouth in a 3–3 draw with Gillingham in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
. Some impressive performance for the club kept him in the first-team at the expense of Adam Barrett and led manager Lee Bradbury to offer him a new three-and-a-half-year contract, which was signed in February 2012. He fell out of favour under new manager
Eddie Howe Edward John Frank Howe (born 29 November 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Premier League club Newcastle United. A centre-back during his playing career, Howe spent most of his playing ...
, and signed for Kevin Blackwell's Bury on loan until the end of 2012–13 on 24 January 2013. Howe agreed to loan Zubar out to league rivals as he felt he needed to get game time in order to "get his career back on track". Despite only playing six games for the "Shakers" Blackwell said that the
Gigg Lane Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, Gi ...
faithful had appreciated Zubar's contribution and "have become massive Zubar fans". However, he picked up an anterior cruciate knee injury in March and was ruled out of action for nine months. Bournemouth were promoted to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
at the end of 2012–13, and the higher standard of football and his injury effectively ruled him out of action throughout 2013–14. He was expected to join Bury on a free transfer in July 2013, but a deal was never completed. Zubar had trials with
Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...
and
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...
in August/September 2014. He joined League One club Port Vale on a one-month loan on 29 September. He made three appearances for the "Valiants", and was sent off in the last of these games for striking out at
Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...
's Joe Garner in a 2–0 defeat at
Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England that is the home ground of Preston North End. Built in 1875 and in use since 1878, Deepdale is recognised as being one of the oldest continuously used football stadium ...
. He did not return to the starting line-up and manager
Rob Page Robert John Page (born 3 September 1974) is a Welsh Manager (association football), football manager and former association football, player who was most recently the manager of the Wales national football team, Wales national team. In an 18-yea ...
elected not to extend his loan spell at
Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...
. Zubar instead joined Russ Wilcox's York City on a two-month loan. The loan was extended to the end of 2014–15 and he impressed in his performances at
Bootham Crescent Bootham Crescent in York, England, was the home of York City F.C., York City Football Club and York City Knights, York City Knights rugby league club. With a capacity of 8,256, it was near the city centre, just over a mile from York railway sta ...
enough to warrant speculation in the local press that he would be offered a contract by York in the summer. Despite having not played for Bournemouth for more than two-and-a-half-years, the club's promotion to the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
in May 2015 triggered a one-year extension to his contract. Zubar rejoined York on a one-month loan on 7 August 2015, and made his debut a day later in a 3–0 away defeat to
Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...
, the opening match of 2015–16. He suffered
cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...
damage during York's 0–0 away draw with
Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
on 22 August 2015, which was expected to rule him out for the season. He returned to Bournemouth for treatment, ending his loan at York on five appearances.


Weymouth

Zubar had a trial with
Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
, playing two closed-door friendlies in June and July 2016. He joined Southern League Premier Division club Weymouth on non-contract terms in August 2016. He made 46 appearances across the 2016–17 season, scoring five goals.


Yeovil Town

On 28 June 2017, Zubar joined League Two club Yeovil Town on a one-year contract. After failing to make a competitive appearance due to injury Zubar was released by Yeovil, on 8 August 2017.


Later career

Having recovered from his knee injury Zubar returned to Southern League Premier Division club Weymouth in November 2017, and made his second debut for the Terras in a 2–0 victory over Biggleswade Town. Weymouth ended the season in fifth-place, losing to King's Lynn Town in the play-off semi-finals. He signed a new one-year contract in May 2018. He scored seven goals in 45 appearances during the 2018–19 season, helping
Mark Molesley Mark Clifford Molesley (born 11 March 1981) is an English football manager and former professional player. He played in the Football League for AFC Bournemouth, Aldershot Town, Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City, and the Football Conference fo ...
's side to win promotion as champions. He scored one goal in 22 appearances in the 2019–20
National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...
season, which was permanently suspended on 26 March due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England were NHS England and Public ...
, with Weymouth in the play-offs in third-place. Weymouth went on to secure promotion after beating
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
on penalties in the play-off final; Zubar was an unused substitute in the game. He announced his retirement on 17 September 2020. However, two days later he signed for Gosport Borough. On 2 October 2020, he joined Southern League Division One South club A.F.C. Totton. He made seven appearances before the 2020–21 season was curtailed early due to the ongoing pandemic. He signed on for the 2021–22 season and played 19 games, though was not in a matchday squad after December. He joined Guadeloupe side Sporting Club Baie-Mahault of the Guadeloupe Division of Honour in October 2022.


International career

Zubar made his international debut for
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
at the
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the 21st CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's 50 years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition started on Jun ...
. He played in the 1–0 defeats to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and eventual runners-up the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.


Style of play

Zubar was a pacey and strong defender, able to play at centre-back and right-back. Speaking in February 2012, Bournemouth manager Lee Bradbury stated that Zubar "works very hard, is really passionate about the game and is a deep thinker".


Personal life

He is the younger brother of Ronald Zubar and cousin of Claude Dielna, both of whom are footballers.


Career statistics


Club


International

:Source:


Honours

Weymouth *
Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...
Premier Division South: 2018–19 *
National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...
play-offs:
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zubar, Stephane 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Pointe-à-Pitre Guadeloupean men's footballers Guadeloupe men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Stade Malherbe Caen players Pau FC players R.W.D.M. Brussels F.C. players FC Vaslui players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Bury F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players York City F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Gosport Borough F.C. players A.F.C. Totton players Championnat National 2 players Championnat National players Belgian Pro League players Liga I players English Football League players Southern Football League players National League (English football) players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Guadeloupean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Romania 21st-century French sportsmen