Top facts about Joshua Zirkzee, the Dutch wonderkid

Bayern Munich's latest academy graduate who's stepped into the limelight in Bavaria is actually a Dutch youth international who arrived at the club in 2017.

is a Dutch football player who was born on May 22, 2001 in Schiedam, Netherlands. The attacker left his native community at the age of 16 to join FC Bayern Munich, where he had seen a few first-team appearances since December 2019, before signing a loan deal with

of the Italian first tier in early February 2021.

Born in Schiedam to a Nigerian mother and a Dutch father, Zirkzee began his footballing career as a 5-year-old with VV Hekelingen after the family had moved to Spijkenisse.

Zirkzee shares more than his height (6'4") and easily recognizable haircut with Dutch icon Pierre van Hooijdonk. As his goal versus Freiburg demonstrated, the teenager possesses the same predatory instincts that helped van Hooijdonk score throughout 350 goals over the course of his illustrious career.

Before moving to Bavaria, Zirkzee spent time at

, aged 16. He was one of their top performers at the General CEE Cup, an Under-19 tournament, in 2017 and was rated highly by then-manager Ronald Koeman.

In

history, only three players have ever scored a Bundesliga goal at a younger age than Joshua Zirkzee, namely, Alphonso Davies (18 years and 135 days), and Roque Santa Cruz (18 years & 12 days)

Top facts about Joshua Zirkzee:

The first

fact about Joshua Zirkzee

is that he started his career as a youngster with local clubs Hekelinger and Spartaan '20 before being spotted by Den Haag. He joined Feyenoord in the Netherlands when he was 15, but Bayern came knocking a year later, and the highly-rated kid was soon carrying his belongings for Säbener Straße.

Zirkzee is officially a member of the U21 selection after several foreign appearances with the Dutch junior national teams.

Joshua Zirkzee early life

Joshua Zirkzee goes by the moniker -Josh- to begin with. Joshua Orobosa Zirkzee was born in the city of Schiedam, Netherlands, to a Dutch man, Remco Zirkzee, and a Nigerian mother.

Joshua Zerkzee’s age

is 20. He was born the oldest of two children to his parents' union.

Joshua Zirkzee's childhood was full of exciting adventures with his younger brother, Jordan. When he was three years old, his family relocated to Rotterdam, where practicing sports is usual.

Speaking about

Joshua Zirkzee’s childhood

, it should be said that little Josh was anywhere with the ball, including in the living room, like

. Because of his soccer activities, his parents had to often repaint their house's damaged walls. Zirkzee attempted to pass his mother on many occasions when she paced across the room with food in her hands.

Joshua Zirkzee’s parents

had always supported him and his brother with all they wanted since he was a kid. In addition, his family prospered as a middle-class family who didn't have to worry about finances. Remco and his wife could manage to send Joshua to a football academy because of their financial situation.

In terms of his heritage, the footballer is a Dutch national of Nigerian ancestry. The talented forward seems to have close ties to Isoko, a city in Nigeria's Delta province, based on his maternal family's origins.

Zirkzee's paternal roots, on the other hand, may be traced back to Schiedam, a historic municipality in South Holland. His hometown, which has a population of about 76,000 people, seems to have some lovely canals to cruise along. It is now famous for housing the world's tallest traditional windmills.

Joshua Zirkzee personal life

Josh, a young and hot-blooded athlete, would almost certainly have a few female admirers. It's only normal that at this point in his life, the decision about who he wants to date becomes the most important decision he'll ever make.

On a related note, Zirkzee is dating his lovely brown-skinned girlfriend. Celina Kerr is an Instagram model who is well-known. He doesn't require his father or mother's approval to brag about his girlfriend in public.

The important fact about

Joshua Zirkzee’s personal life

is that he isn't a heavy drinker. The forward, on the other hand, enjoys gulping down his carbonated beverage while socializing with his pals. Without a doubt, he puts a premium focus on his personal care. As a result, he does not smoke.

Zirkzee has turned a blind eye to the trends of the twenty-first century in the field of athletics, where inking has become a way of life for many competitors. One of the reasons he hasn't inked tattoos on his body like Memphis Depay may be that he's still young.

Joshua Zirkzee professional career

Zirkzee was only 17 by the time he linked up with the Bayern U17s team, following a one-year stint in the

youth section.

After signing with Bayern Munich in 2017, Zirkzee worked his way up through their U17s and U19s to the reserves, picking up invaluable advice from fellow countryman

.

"Bayern's plan for me sounded very good," Zirkzee told reporters. "It seemed like the best option to improve. The training is different from the Netherlands or England, there are lots of extra sessions. We work on finishing, especially, which is very important to me."

Joshua Zirkzee club career

When Joshua Zirkzee was four years old, he began to play club football for VV Hekelingen, a local community team in the south of Spijkenisse. His father, on the other hand, noticed that his son would not be fulfilled there in the long run and sought out a new club.

He noticed this with the Rooms Katholieke Sport Vereniging Spartaan 1920, or Spartaan '20 for short, a team in Rotterdam's south end with a strong reputation and about ten kilometers from Joshua's previous workplace.

He remained there for three years before joining the youth team of ADO Den Haag, a first-tier club located just under 30 kilometers from Rotterdam.

ADO Den Haag and Feyenoord

He remained there for three years as well, before returning to Rotterdam in 2016, this time to Feyenoord, one of the three major teams in the Netherlands, alongside

Amsterdam and

.

He began his career with the U16 side, but by the age of 15, he had already made appearances in the top divisions of the B-Juniors, if not the A-Juniors.

Another

fact about Joshua Zirkzee

professional club career is that he did not remain with Feyenoord for long, however, as the quick and tall attacking player was spotted outside of the Netherlands as well.

Several well-known clubs expressed interest in signing Zirkzee; Zirkzee also began training at Everton, much to Feyenoord's chagrin, and played for England in a youth tournament without Feyenoord's permission.

While all this was happening, he eventually opted not to relocate to the island, choosing instead to sign with FC Bayern Munich at the end of August 2017 (5) FC Bayern officials had seen the offensive player several times in Rotterdam and decided to sign him despite some skepticism due to Zirkzee's penchant for comfort.

Zirkzee caught the attention of a number of English Premier League clubs, including Arsenal and Manchester United, after hitting 33 goals in 27 games for the Feyenoord youth teams.

Former Netherlands player Ronald Koeman persuaded him to participate in the General CEE Cup in summer 2017, where he was one of the team's breakout players. Zirkzee eventually opted against moving to England, and Everton's loss became Bayern's advantage.

From Rotterdam to Munich

After the signing, it was quoted Zirkzee in an interview as saying, "Bayern's idea for me sounds really sweet.  It seemed to be the most cost-effective way to change.  The practice differs from that of the Netherlands or England in that it includes several additional courses. We focus on finishing, which is crucial for me."

The 18-year-old is a powerful forward with a quick change of speed who is both solid in the air and an astute game reader, making it difficult for opposition defenses to keep up with him.

Does this ring true to you? Since beginning training with the first-team squad in late November, he is certain to have picked up a few tips from the Bundesliga's ultimate goal machine, Robert Lewandowski.

A notable fact about Joshua Zirkzee career is that he made his first league appearance for the FC Bayern U17s in the B-Junioren-Bundesliga Süd / Südwest on October 29th, after waiting several weeks for permission to play. He scored a goal in the 9: 0 win over SV Elversberg, which was struggling in the league.

By the end of the season, he had scored 15 goals in 16 league games, helping his team win the South German championship. The German B-Junior Championship final was next, with two wins over RB Leipzig securing a place in the final against Borussia Dortmund.

This ended with a goal and a dismissal after an assault for Zirkzee in their own stadium, and a 2-3 defeat for the team. He also made two brief appearances for the U19s in the A-Junior Bundesliga throughout the season.

An important

fact about Joshua Zirkzee

career is that after a strong showing for the U17s, the now 17-year-old Zirkzee was allowed to participate in part of the season preparation with the professional team, including a trip to the United States under new coach Niko Kovac. He made three brief appearances, scoring one goal against Paris Saint-Germain.

He did, however, play in the league with the U19, the A-Junior team, which was coached by Sebastian Hoeneß, but he had to sit out the first four games due to a suspension following a red card in the youth B final. Between September 2018 and March 2019, he made 22 competitive appearances for FC Bayern's A-Juniors, scoring 18 goals.

After making two brief appearances for the amateur team in the fourth-class Bavarian regional league in the autumn and the Premier League International Cup in January, a tournament in England where English and continental European U23 teams meet, Zirkzee now had a full game under his belt.

After being denied playing time in the fall, he was fully integrated into this team in the spring. He ran into Holger Seitz, who had previously trained him with the U17 team the year before.

He scored four goals in the remaining games of the second half of the Regionalliga Bayern, three of them in his Regionalliga starting eleven, in a 5-1 victory over SV Schalding-Heining. Following a red card in the game in Aschaffenburg, the sometimes-unruly Dutch were once again benched, this time for three games.

With the team, he won the Regionalliga Bayern championship and promotion to the third league in the following promotion games against the second representative of VfL Wolfsburg.

However, he was only brought on in stoppage time in the decisive second leg. In May 2019, he and the Bayern amateurs won the Premier League International Cup, defeating Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 in the final.

Joshua Zirkzee in the spotlight

Zirkzee began the season in the third division as a member of the starting eleven, but he was frequently relegated to the bench as the season progressed. His contract was extended until June 2023 in September 2019.  He sat on the bench for the first team's home game against 1. FC Köln on September 21, 2019.

Zirkzee began training with the professional crew in mid-November 2019 with his three team members Oliver Batista-Meier, Leon Dajaku, and Sarpreet Singh, but he still played mostly with the amateurs or in the A-youth, according to Hansi Flick, the new head coach of the first team. He was substituted on in the closing stages of the last Champions’ League group game on December 11th against Tottenham Hotspur, and a week later at the Bundesliga away game in Freiburg.

An important fact about Joshua Zirkzee club career is that with his first Bundesliga ball contact, he scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time to make it 2-1 for FC Bayern (final score 3-1).  Three days later, he was successful as a scorer with his first ball contact in a 2-0 home win against VfL Wolfsburg.

With the professionals in the New Year, he mostly sat on the bench and was only used twice in the final stages. Otherwise, he played for the 3rd division amateurs, where he scored his first two goals after consistently missing the goal in the preliminary round.

Following the injury to Robert Lewandowski, the professional team's top striker at the time with 25 goals in 23 Bundesliga games, Joshua Zirkzee was named to the starting eleven in each of the following Bundesliga games, scoring his third goal of the season in a 6-0 away win against TSG Hoffenheim. Gaming was temporarily halted a few days later due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 18-year-old had three goals in eight competitive appearances for the professional team, two goals in 16 third-division games for the amateurs, and six goals in six appearances for the A-Juniors in all competitions at the time.

As Bayern's third-youngest Bundesliga goalscorer, he trails only Roque Santa Cruz (18 years and 12 days) and new teammate Alphonso Davis (18 years and 135 days). After Jan Wouters, Mark van Bommel, Roy Makaay, and Arjen Robben, he is the club's fifth Dutch-born Bundesliga marksman. It's possible that he'll surpass Robben's 99 goals to give Lewandowski a run for his money in the all-time scoring race.

From the bench to Italy, Parma Calcio

Games with both the professionals and the Bayern amateurs were resumed in May, but the season in the A youth area was not continued. After the break, Zirkzee made sporadic appearances for the Bundesliga team, mostly from the bench; he didn't play again for the amateurs until September. The young Dutchman, on the other hand, was not used in the professional team's big games, such as the DFB Cup final against Leverkusen or the Champions League final in Lisbon.

A fact about Joshua Zirkzee career is that even in the 2020/21 season, which began in September, Zirkzee mostly found himself on the bench or with the amateurs, especially since FC Bayern had also signed the experienced Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting from Paris Saint-Germain in October for the role of Robert Lewandowski's substitute.

Team manager Hansi Flick was dissatisfied with Zirkzee's progress, and in an interview with a Dutch newspaper, Zirkzee himself mentioned a loan to another club as a possible option for getting more match practice in the winter.

Parma Calcio of Italy's first division was eventually awarded the contract in February 2021, and the Dutchman was loaned out until the end of the season with the option of a permanent commitment.

The team was in the penultimate position at the time, with the fewest goals scored by far. Zirkzee has not progressed beyond the role of substitute there under Coach Roberto D'Aversa, and he has been injured at times.

Joshua Zirkzee's temporary Calcio club informed his parent club right away that the Dutchman had sustained a critical injury during a training session on April 1st. Bayern was immediately told of Zirkzee's ligament tear, which necessitated surgery.

""The external ligament apparatus has been injured," Parma officials said in a public statement. "The lateral ligament has also been damaged." A surgical option is currently being negotiated with FC Bayern München's medical department."

Joshua Zirkzee international career

At the age of 14, Joshua Zirkzee earned his first competitive international appearance for the U15 national team in April 2016. He appeared in six international matches for the U16 team between December 2016 and June 2017, scoring three goals in tournaments in Portugal and Japan.

An important fact about Joshua Zirkzee international career is that the striker played two games for the U17 team in October 2017 as part of their qualification for the U17 European Championship in May 2018, but did not compete in the tournament. His next international appearance came in autumn 2018, when he made seven appearances for the U18 team.

Joshua Zirkzee’s next move led him to the U19 squad, where he competed in three qualifying matches for the U19 European Championship in March 2019. However, they were unable to qualify for the EM. Zirkzee appeared in six of the seven U19 international matches in 2019, scoring eight times.

He didn't play for the U20 team at all, but since they hadn't played since November 2019, he made his first appearances for the U21s in the Netherlands in autumn 2020 as part of the qualification for the U21 European Championship 2021.

Due to the still-raging corona pandemic, the team qualified for the EM, that would take place in two stages in March and late May/early June. Zirkzee was one of the 36 players on the tournament's preliminary roster, but he did not make the final 23-player roster.

Nigerian fans would hope that Zirkzee will turn allegiance to his parents' homeland before he receives a call from the senior Netherlands squad. Given his powerful tendencies, it's doubtful that the Dutch would forget the teenager.

Despite being born in a European republic, the teen phenomenon is qualified to play with the Super Eagles on an international level. Nigeria has been dealt a setback in their pursuit of Bayern Munich striker Joshua Zirkzee, who has revealed his desire to play for the Netherlands.

Zirkzee, who was born in the Netherlands to Nigerian parents, drew attention from the three-time African champions after breaking into Bayern Munich's first team.

Despite his time with the Dutch youth teams, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr are said to have contacted Bayern Munich forward about a future with the national team.

A fact about Joshua Zirkzee is that following the postponement of the European Championship until 2021, Zirkzee is optimistic about his prospects of representing the Netherlands.

“No, I'm not really working on that yet,” he told VTBL when questioned about playing for the Netherlands in the tournament. “I'm not a daily dependent player here, so I don't think I should be thinking about it, but I've also seen how quickly it can go, so it's in the back of the mind. Oranje is a fantasy, and as a young footballer, I believe it's natural to fantasize about it.”

Quotes describing Joshua Zirkzee

After Zirkzee's score against Freiburg, Bayern coach Hansi Flick said, "He's only been with us for three weeks, but he's made incredible progress. He has a long way to go, but this is a good start."

His teammate in Bayern, David Alaba, said about him, "It's fantastic; he's well-deserved. He puts in a lot of effort and is obviously eager to learn and develop. I congratulate him on his accomplishment. The coach's decision to put him on says a ton. And, much better, he's now rewarded the coach's confidence with a goal."

Holger Seitz, head of Bayern's academy described him like this, "He's the kind of player who is in high demand: a strong scorer who maintains his composure and does not get caught off guard. He has a strong grasp of the game and is able to respond in a variety of scenarios."

Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich said, "It's a wild tale.He came to our rescue twice, hitting the game-winning goal on both occasions. There were two objectives that wanted to be met. He didn't score on an empty net, either. Instead, it was just for willpower."

Joshua Zirkzee social media

Regarding

Joshua Zirkzee social media

, it should be mentioned that he has an Instagram page (

) with 353k followers. He often posts pictures of himself next to his model girlfriend, or on the training field and during matches.

He also has a Twitter account (

) with 10k followers. He rarely posts new stuff on his Twitter page. It’s been almost a year since he posted something new in his page.

Joshua Zirkzee body measurements

Speaking about

Joshua Zirkzee body measurements

, it should be mentioned that the Dutch youngster is 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) and weighs 185 lbs (84 kg).

Joshua Zirkzee net worth and salary

There's no denying that the successful star is wealthy. With a net worth of €2 million in 2021, Zirkzee has demonstrated no interest in enjoying a lavish existence. Speaking about

Joshua Zirkzee net worth

, the young but wealthy player prefers to ride his compact bicycle through the streets on certain days.

According to our review of Zirkzee's income at Bayern Munich, he earns an estimated €830,000 a year. You may be surprised to learn that a typical Dutch worker will need to labor for three and a half years to achieve what Josh earns in a month.

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