Cristián Zapata
Colombian association football player
Cristián Eduardo Zapata Valencia (born 30 September 1986) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. A quick and physically powerful defender, known for his hard marking of opponents and strength in the air, he usually played as a centre back. Although naturally right footed, he can also play as a full-back on either side of the pitch, as he is comfortable with both feet.
Zapata began his career in Colombia with Deportivo Cali in 2004, moving to Serie A club Udinese the following year. After spending several seasons with Udinese, Zapata signed for Spanish club Villarreal. In 2012, he returned to Italy, joining AC Milan. Following the expiration of his contract with the Rossoneri, he joined Italian top-flight counterpart Genoa in 2019, departing in 2021 to join Argentine Primera División side San Lorenzo.
A Colombian international since 2008, he has represented his nation at the 2011, 2015, 2016, and 2019 editions of the Copa América, as well at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups.
Club career
Early career and Udinese
A product of Deportivo Cali's youth academy, Zapata was quickly promoted to the first team in 2004. In his first season, Zapata played a total of 25 games with Los Azucareros while also consolidating himself as a key component of the team's defensive end.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q316762. VIAF identifies the subject as 250197444. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1986, 2004, 2012 and 2019.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cristián Zapata” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.