Danny Phiri

Danny Phiri (born 25 July 1989) is a Zimbabwean professional footballer, who plays as a defensive midfielder for Golden Arrows and the Zimbabwe national team.

Danny Phiri

Personal information
Full name	Danny Phiri
Date of birth	(1989-07-25) 25 July 1989 (age 36)
Place of birth	Norton, Zimbabwe[1]
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder[1]
Team information
Current team	Golden Arrows
Youth career
	Amazulu
–2008	Railstars
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2010	Bantu Rovers
2011–2016	Chicken Inn
2016–2021	Golden Arrows	86	(3)
International career‡
2014–2019	Zimbabwe	40	(2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12 November 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 12 November 2022

Club career

Phiri's youth career included spells with the junior sides of Amazulu and Railstars. In 2009, Phiri made the move into senior football when he agreed to join Bantu Rovers. He stayed with Bantu for two years before joining Chicken Inn. In 2015, he and Chicken Inn won the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League and Phiri subsequently won the Soccer Star of the Year award.^[2]

In April 2016, Phiri, along with teammates Tafadzwa Kutinyu and Moses Demera, left Zimbabwe to attend a trial at Lamontville Golden Arrows.^[3][4]

International career

In January 2014, coach Ian Gorowa, invited him to be a part of the Zimbabwe squad for the 2014 African Nations Championship.^[5][6] He played in all six of Zimbabwe's matches and helped the team to a fourth-place finish after being defeated by Nigeria by 1–0. Since the 2014 African Nations Championship, Phiri has made a further seven appearances for his nation, with five of them coming in qualifying for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. He has scored twice.^[7][8]

Career statistics

International

As of 17 July 2019.^[1]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Zimbabwe	2012	1	0
	2013	2	0
	2014	10	1
	2015	9	1
	2016	7	0
	2017	4	0
	2018	3	0
	2019	4	0
Total		40	2

International goals

As of 19 June 2016. Scores and results list Zimbabwe's goal tally first.^[1]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	1 June 2014	National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe	Tanzania	1–0	2–2	2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2	18 October 2015	Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe	Lesotho	3–1	3–1	2016 African Nations Championship qualification

Honours

Individual

• Soccer Star of the Year: 2015^[2]