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Axel Witsel
Axel Witsel · Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Person

Axel Witsel

b. 1989

Belgian association football player (born 1989)

Born
12 Jan 1989 · Liège
Part ofBelgium54 BCE – today

Life timeline

Their life from birth to death. On the timeline, world events of the time are shown faintly.

Showing 43 years
  1. 12 Jan 1989BornBorn in Liège
  2. 2004TeamBelgium national under-15 association football team
  3. 2005TeamBelgium national under-16 association football team
  4. 2005 – 2006TeamBelgium national under-17 association football team
  5. 2006 – 2007TeamBelgium national under-18 football team
  6. 2006TeamBelgium national under-19 football team
  7. 2006 – 2011TeamStandard Liège
  8. 2007 – 2009TeamBelgium national under-21 football team
  9. 2008AwardBelgian Golden Shoe
  10. 2008TeamBelgium men's national football team
  11. 2011 – 2012TeamS.L. Benfica
  12. 2012 – 2016TeamFC Zenit Saint Petersburg
  13. 2014Took part2014 FIFA World Cup
  14. 2017 – 2018TeamTianjin Tianhai F.C.
  15. 2018Took part2018 FIFA World Cup
  16. 2018 – 2022TeamBorussia Dortmund
  17. 2022Took part2022 FIFA World Cup
  18. 2022 – 2025TeamAtlético Madrid
  19. 2025 – 2026TeamGirona FC
  20. 2026Took part2026 FIFA World Cup
  21. 2026TeamOGC Nice

Loading from Wikipedia and Wikidata…

Meanwhile in the world

Major world events during their lifetime (1989 – today).

  1. 19891989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
  2. 1989Fall of the Berlin Wall
  3. 19901990 FIFA World Cup
  4. 1991Dissolution of the Soviet Union
  5. 19941994 FIFA World Cup
  6. 1994 – 1996First Chechen War
  7. 19981998 FIFA World Cup
  8. 2001 – 2021War in Afghanistan
  9. 2003 – 2011Iraq War
  10. 20042004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
  11. 20062006 FIFA World Cup
  12. 20082008 Summer Olympics
  13. 2008Russo-Georgian War
  14. 20102010 Haiti earthquake
  15. 2010 – 2012Arab Spring
  16. 20112011 Norway attacks
  17. 2011Libyan civil war
  18. 2011 – 2024Syrian civil war
  19. 20122012 Summer Olympics
  20. 2014Russo-Ukrainian war
  21. 2015Paris Agreement
  22. 2020COVID-19 pandemic
  23. 20212020 Summer Olympics
  24. 2022Russo-Ukrainian war
  25. 2023Gaza war
  26. 20242024 Summer Olympics
  27. 20262026 Iran war

Biography

Axel Laurent Angel Lambert Witsel (French pronunciation: [akˈsɛl vɪtˈsɛl]; born 12 January 1989) is a Belgian professional footballer for Ligue 1 club Nice. A versatile midfielder, Witsel is known for his defensive intelligence, vision, playmaking ability, ball retention, and capacity to control the tempo of matches. He has primarily played as a defensive midfielder or central midfielder, but has also been deployed as a centre-back.

Witsel began his career at hometown club Standard Liège, making 183 appearances and scoring 42 goals while winning five domestic trophies. He was awarded the Belgian Golden Shoe in 2008. After a season in Portugal with Benfica, he signed for Zenit Saint Petersburg for a €40 million fee in 2012. Witsel won four honours during his time in Russia, before leaving for Tianjin Tianhai in January 2017. He returned to Europe with Borussia Dortmund in August 2018. With the Bundesliga side, Witsel won the 2019 DFL-Supercup and the 2020–21 DFB-Pokal.

Witsel made his senior international debut for Belgium in 2008, and earned his 100th cap on 15 November 2018. He represented the country at the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026, and the UEFA European Championship in 2016, 2020 and 2024, helping them to third place in the 2018 tournament. He retired from the national team in 2026 with 140 total appearances, making him Belgium's second-highest appearance maker.

Text from the Wikipedia article Axel Witsel, CC BY-SA 4.0

About this information

Dates and life events come from this person’s Wikidata entry.

We only show events that the sources give a date for. Anything without a date is left out rather than guessed.