Richairo Zivkovic, forward of Curaçao national team moved from Lion City Sailors to join True Bangkok United, a club in the Thai League season 2024/25
Zivkovic, nicknamed ‘Richie’ began his career as a youth player with Dutch Eredivisie side Groningen. He made a significant impact early on, making his first-team debut in the 2012/2013 season and playing alongside Virgil van Dijk. Zivkovic became the youngest player in Groningen’s history to debut and score his first goal at 16 years, 10 months, and 29 days, breaking the record previously held by Arjen Robben.
In the following season, Zivkovic continued his impressive form, scoring 10 goals in 29 matches, which led to his transfer to Ajax Amsterdam for a fee of 90 million baht. Although he mainly played for Ajax’s under-21 team, he had loan spells at Willem II and Utrecht.
Zivkovic’s career then took him abroad, playing for KV Oostende in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, Changchun Yatai and Guangzhou City in the Chinese Super League, and Red Star Belgrade in the Serbian Super League. He also had a brief stint with Sheffield United in the English Premier League during the 2019/2020 season, making five appearances.
In the 2022/2023 season, Zivkovic returned to the Netherlands with FC Emmen, where he scored seven goals in 38 matches. He then moved to Lion City Sailors in the Singapore Premier League, where he played 19 matches, scoring 15 goals and providing three assists. He also participated in the AFC Champions League, scoring three goals in six matches.
At the youth international level, Zivkovic represented the Netherlands from Under-18 to Under-21 before switching to the Curaçao senior national team in 2023, following his father’s lineage. He has played two matches for Curaçao, including a CONCACAF Nations League group stage game against Canada and a warm-up match against World Cup champions Argentina.
Credit Photo : LCS
