Zachary Athekame
RBRWB
Switzerland21 years
Showing2026/27 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
RB
Right-backMain
3,502 min · 68 apps · 33 starts
RWB
Right wing-back
409 min · 6 apps · 6 starts
Squad importance
Current squad importance over the club’s last 40 recorded competitive games in this spell, including previous seasons. Starts and minutes contribute 70%; performance contributes 30%. Absences reduce the score gradually, with less weight when a player is outside the matchday squad.Current role at Lyon · independent of the season filter
Important
Involvement77%
Performance50%
Through the match on 5 Nov 2026. Refreshed daily.
Profile
Career & playing style
Zachary Athekame is a right-footed full-back whose game is built around covering ground on the right. His quick first steps and one-on-one defending serve two demands: getting forward when space opens, then recovering quickly enough to confront a winger. Athekame has also described the difference between playing right-back in a back four and covering the whole flank as a wing-back in a three-centre-back system.
His route into senior football began in Switzerland. After youth football with Servette and Meyrin, he made his professional debut with Neuchâtel Xamax, then moved to Young Boys. The Bern club gave him a European stage: he played in the 2024/25 Champions League league phase, including matches against Barcelona, Atalanta and Inter. Those games tested a developing defender against opponents who could make the space behind an advancing full-back costly.
AC Milan signed him from Young Boys in August 2025. At his presentation, Athekame said he liked joining attacks but stressed the need to contribute in both phases. His forward runs are useful only if his side can still protect the channel he leaves. Milan's own assessment highlighted his speed and strength in individual defending while acknowledging that his game still had room to develop.
A moment of attacking impact came on 17 May 2026, when Milan won 2–1 away to Genoa in Serie A. Playing on the right of a 3-5-2, Athekame struck from the edge of the box in the 81st minute after a pass from Christian Pulisic. It was a match-winning contribution from a wide defender.
In August 2026, Milan announced a loan to Olympique Lyonnais. The move followed his first season in Italy. It also extended a career path that had already taken him from Swiss second-tier football through Young Boys' Champions League campaign and into Serie A.
Switzerland called him into the senior squad from the under-21s in October 2025, but he did not play in that qualifier against Slovenia. His debut came on 26 September 2026, when he played at right-back in a 3–0 Nations League win away to North Macedonia.
Latest stats & form
Zachary Athekame currently plays for Lyon as a right-back. He has represented Switzerland internationally.