Dayot Upamecano

About

Dayotchanculle Oswald Upamecano (French: [upamekano]; born 27 October 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the France national team.

Dayotchanculle Oswald Upamecano was born on 27 October 1998 in Évreux, Eure, and is of Bissau-Guinean descent. He was raised in La Madeleine, a neighbourhood with many African immigrants. He was named after his great-grandfather, who was king of the village on the island of Jeta in Guinea-Bissau, where his parents are from. His mother is Senegalese. He is the first son after four daughters, and has one younger brother. He acquired French nationality on 19 November 2002, through the collective effect of his mother’s naturalization. As a 15-year-old, he followed speech therapy sessions to overcome dyslexia and stuttering disorders, which caused shyness and certain difficulties in expressing himself.

Upamecano began playing football with local club Évreux, alongside the likes of Ousmane Dembélé, Rafik Guitane and Samuel Grandsir. He covered a variety of positions in his youth, before being fixed on the centre-back position. He joined…