Dario Zanatta

Dario Zanatta (born 24 May 1997) is a Canadian football player who plays for Ayr United. Zanatta has previously played for Heart of Midlothian, Queen's Park, Raith Rovers, Alloa Athletic and Partick Thistle. He has also represented the Canadian national team at youth level.

Dario Zanatta
Zanatta with Vancouver Whitecaps FC in 2013
Personal information
Full name Dario Zanatta
Date of birth (1997-05-24) 24 May 1997
Place of birth Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Ayr United
Youth career
2002–2007 Gorge FC
2008–2011 Victoria Capitals
2011–2015 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2015 Heart of Midlothian
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2019 Heart of Midlothian 15 (1)
2016–2017 → Queen's Park (loan) 24 (6)
2017–2018 → Raith Rovers (loan) 25 (7)
2018–2019 → Alloa Athletic (loan) 34 (6)
2019–2020 Partick Thistle 23 (3)
2020- Ayr United 0 (0)
National team‡
2013 Canada U16 2 (2)
2014 Canada U18 1 (0)
2015–2017 Canada U20 7 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 March 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:01, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Youth

Zanatta grew up playing for Gorge Soccer Association and Lower Island Metro[1] during his childhood years.[2] As a teenager, he played for the Victoria Capitals youth program before joining Vancouver Whitecaps Residency in 2011, aged 14.[3] Zanatta was offered a spot in the academy and slowly worked his way up the academy ranks. He left Vancouver in February 2015, having been unable to agree to terms on a contract and set his ambitions on Europe[4] and went on trial with several European clubs, including Ipswich Town,[5] IFK Göteborg and Heart of Midlothian.[6]

Heart of Midlothian

Zanatta signed his first professional contract on 6 August 2015, signing with Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian, on a two-year contract,[7] initially joining up with the club's under-20 side.[1] Zanatta made his first team debut on 31 October, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute in a Scottish Premiership match against Partick Thistle at Firhill Stadium, replacing Sam Nicholson in a 4–0 win.[8] In January 2016, Zanatta was originally expected to be loaned to a lower division club, but he impressed Hearts coach Robbie Neilson enough to stay with the first team.[9]

Loans to Queen's Park

In September 2016, Hearts announced they had loaned Zanatta to Queen's Park of the Scottish League One on a one-month emergency loan.[10][11] He made his debut for Queen's Park on 24 September 2016 against Albion Rovers, impressing after only being with the squad for one training session.[12] In November 2016, Zanatta scored his first goal as a professional in a match against Stranraer.[13]

Zanatta returned from loan in December 2016, and made his Hearts season debut against Kilmarnock, drawing and missing a penalty.[14] On 31 January 2017, Zanatta joined Queen's Park on another loan, this time, until the end of season.[15]

Loans to Raith Rovers

On 31 August 2017, it was revealed that Zanatta had joined Raith Rovers on a loan deal until the end of the season.[16] After impressing in his loan spell, Zanatta was recalled by Hearts in January 2018, and his departure was considered a significant blow to Rovers' promotion battle with Ayr United.[17][18] In his first appearance with Hearts after his recall, Zanatta would score his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win over Hamilton Academical.[19] At the end of January 2018, Zanatta was loaned again to Raith Rovers for the rest of the 2017–18 season.

Loan to Alloa Athletic

In August 2018, Zanatta moved on loan to Scottish Championship club Alloa Athletic until January 2019.[20] He would be named Championship player of the month for December 2018.[21] After a strong first half of the season with Alloa, Zanatta was rewarded with a one year contract extension with Hearts,[22] with his loan being extended to the end of the 2018-19 season.[23]

Partick Thistle

Zanatta left Hearts in August 2019 and signed a two-year contract with Partick Thistle.[24] Zanatta made his Jags debut on the 31st of August against Ayr United, winning a penalty for the opener before assisting Shea Gordon after dribbling past 5 opposition players. He was named man of the match on his debut appearance.[25] Zanatta scored his first goal for the Jags in a 3-1 away league win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[26] Following Thistle’s early relegation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Zanatta invoked a release clause in his contract and he left the club on June 7, 2020.[27]

Ayr United

On July 21st 2020, Zanatta signed for Championship club Ayr United on a one year deal. [28]

International career

In August 2016, Zanatta was called up to the Canada U-20 team for a pair of friendlies against Costa Rica[29] and scored a goal in the first match.[30] In February 2017, Zanatta was named to Canada's roster for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship[31]

Zanatta was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on February 26, 2020.[32]

Career statistics
As of 10 March 2020 [33]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Heart of Midlothian 2015–16[34] Scottish Premiership 130100000140
2016–17[35] 1020000030
2017–18[36] 1100000011
2018–19 0000000000
2019–20 0000400040
Total 151304000221
Queen's Park (loan) 2016–17[35] Scottish League One 246000000246
Raith Rovers (loan) 2017–18[36] 257000020277
Alloa Athletic (loan) 2018–19[37] Scottish Championship 346210031398
Partick Thistle 2019–20 233200000253
Total 1212271405113724

Personal life

Zanatta grew up in Victoria, British Columbia[1] and attended Prospect Lake Elementary School, Royal Oak Middle School, then Holy Cross Regional High School in Surrey, British Columbia and graduated from Burnaby Central Secondary School.[2]

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References
  1. "Victoria teenager signs for Scottish soccer club Hearts". timescolonist.com. Times Colonist. 16 August 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  2. "Dario Zanatta Biography". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  3. "Hearts set to snap up Canada U18 cap Dario Zanatta". heraldscotland.com. The Herald. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  4. "Canadian U18 international Dario Zanatta leaves Whitecaps to explore opportunities in Europe". Canadian Soccer News. AFTN.ca. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  5. "Gerks stakes first-team claim after 90 minutes in comeback game at Portman Road". itfc.co.uk. Ipswich Town. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  6. "Hearts bring in Canadian youth cap Dario Zanatta". heraldscotland.com. The Herald. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  7. "Hearts deal for Canadian kid Dario Zanatta". edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Edinburgh Evening News. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  8. "Hearts moved up to second place in the Premiership with a clinical and impressive victory over Partick Thistle". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  9. "Dario Zanatta forces Hearts boss Neilson into loan rethink". Edinburgh News. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  10. Heart of Midlothian Football Club (23 September 2016). "Loan Moves for Duo".
  11. Queen's Park FC Football Club (23 September 2016). "Signing News- Dario Zanatta".
  12. Murray Spooner (30 September 2016). "Albion Rovers v Queen's Park: Loan signing Dario Zanatta boosts Spiders' attacking options". Daily Record.
  13. Queens Park FC (5 November 2016). "What a difference a week makes!". Queens Park FC.
  14. Ricahrd Wilson (27 December 2016). "Heart of Midlothian 4 0 Kilmarnock". BBC.
  15. Hearts Media (31 January 2017). "DARIO HEADS TO QUEEN'S PARK". heartsfc.co.uk.
  16. "DARIO LOAN MOVE Heart of Midlothian | News". www.heartsfc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  17. Neil Robertson (10 January 2017). "Raith dealt big blow ahead of crunch clash after Hearts recall Dario Zanatta from loan spell". The Courier.
  18. Matthew Elder (10 January 2018). "Blow for Raith as Hearts recall Zanatta on eve of big game". Fife Today.
  19. "Hamilton 0 Hearts 3 as Jambos secure eighth clean sheet on the spin with teens starring again - 3 talking points". Daily Record. 24 January 2018.
  20. "Hearts attacker Dario Zanatta joins Alloa on loan". edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Edinburgh Evening News. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  21. Lindsay Herron (11 January 2019). "Dario Zanatta believes extending Alloa stay will help him make grade at Hearts". Edinburgh Evening News.
  22. Ross Pilcher (12 January 2019). "Dario Zanatta and Lewis Moore handed Hearts contract extensions". Edingburh Live.
  23. "Hearts' Malaury Martin and Aidan Keena recalled from Dunfermline loans". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  24. Anderson, Barry (27 August 2019). "Hearts forward Dario Zanatta signs two-year deal with Partick Thistle". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  25. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49456692
  26. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49778642
  27. "Dario Zanatta leaves the Club". 7 June 2020.
  28. https://ayrunitedfc.co.uk/zanatta-joins-the-squad/?fbclid=IwAR2jW8hudHgt2GG4o16HvsYwPs_rbuQ2YOwvE9NFEWrMRmvsKHOow5TRgDc
  29. "Canada m20 announces squad and matches against Costa Rica". Canada Soccer Association. 24 August 2016.
  30. Canada Soccer (1 September 2016). "21' Zanatta finishes from a nice passing combo between Brault, Borges and Tabla 1:0 #CanM20". Twitter. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  31. Neil Davidson (9 February 2017). "Canada names young squad for CONCACAF U-20 Championship". Sportsnet.
  32. "Canada Soccer announces Provisional List for Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying". Canada Soccer. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  33. Dario Zanatta at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  34. "Games played by Dario Zanatta in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  35. "Games played by Dario Zanatta in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  36. "Games played by Dario Zanatta in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  37. "Games played by Dario Zanatta in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
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