Carlos Zambrano

Schalke 04

Born in Callao, Peru, Zambrano started his football career at AD Cantolao since he was eleven. Zambrano joined Bundesliga club Schalke 04 at the age of 16 after playing in the U-17 World Cup in 2005, with Peru as hosts. He previously went on a trial with the club and made an impression that Schalke 04 signed him. He later reflected on leaving Peru for Germany, saying: "It was very difficult for me at the start because I had to leave my family behind. I wanted to make them proud by moving to Germany and becoming a pro. It gave me drive and made me stronger." Zambrano has been compared with Brazilian defender Lúcio for his style of play and great defense, offense, and speed. Zambrano immediately became a cornerstone in defence and an undisputed starter for the U-19 team and scored a large number of goals. He also became a captain for the U-19 team. In November 2007, he was promoted to the Schalke 04 first team and appeared as an unused substitute against Hamburger SV on 10 November 2007. Following his good performance at the U19 side, Zambrano signed a four–year contract with the club at the end of the 2007–08 season. However, he spent the whole 2008–09 season on the substitute bench. In the 2009–10 season, Zambrano finally got a big breakthrough when he made his Schalke 04’s first team debut, starting the whole game and scored his first goal, in a 4–0 win against Germania Windeck in the first round of the DFB Pokal. Zambrano made his league debut for the…

Youth career

In September 2005, Zambrano was called up to the Peru U17 squad for the FIFA U-17 World Championship. He made three appearances, as the U17 side were eliminated in the Group Stage. He later made three appearances for the Peru U20 side.

Senior career

On 26 March 2008, Zambrano made his senior international debut for the Peru national team in a friendly match against Costa Rica. Zambrano started the match and scored a goal in the 45th minute. He later started three more World Cup Qualifying matches for the national side by the end of the year. Zambrano was chosen to participate in the 2011 Copa América, but an injury suffered against Senegal in a friendly game, days before the tournament began, kept him out. A year later on 11 September 2012, Zambrano scored his first goal in the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers against Argentina on the 22nd minute, making it a one-goal lead over Argentina. The game would later end as a tie. After the match, Spanish speaking media around the world praised his performance. However, this was overshadowed over claims from Peruvian media that Zambrano made a slur to Lionel Messi during the match, a claim he denied. In a 2–0 loss against Colombia on 11 June 2013, Zambrano was sent–off for a second bookable offence. Three months later on 11 September 2013, he scored the national side's second goal of the game, in a 3–2 loss against Venezuela. It was announced on 4 November 2013 that Zambrano would be away from playing for the…

Club

As of match played 25 August 2025

International

As of match played on 9 September 2025

International goals

Growing up in Callao, Peru, Zambrano revealed his childhood, saying: "As a child, I was always on the street, playing with friends with a glass ball. Usually we played right on the ground. When I come to Peru, I visit my friends — we no longer live in that dangerous area, but in a more peaceful place — we often play this game. We feel like children." He also supported Alianza Lima growing up and hoped to play for the club one day. In addition to speaking Spanish, Zambrano speaks German, having learnt the language during his time in Germany. He also began learning Russian since moving to Rubin Kazan. In December 2017, Zambrano announced on social media his marriage to Marcia Succar. Together, they have three children. Zambrano is good friends with Jefferson Farfán, having become teammates at Schalke 04 and the national side. In November 2017, during his time at PAOK, he escaped unhurt following collision with a truck.