Sal Zizzo

Salvatore (Sal) Zizzo (born April 3, 1987 in San Diego, California, California) is an United States soccer midfielder/striker, who plays for German side Hannover 96 along with fellow San Diego high school alumnus Steve Cherundolo.

Playing career

He played for the United States U-20 team in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and was a regular starter, helping the team make it to the quarterfinal round. After the tournament concluded, on July 25, 2007 he was signed to German Bundesliga club Hannover 96, for a three-year contract. This was his first professional contract, after having played for UCLA, and simultaneously to that and U-20 duty, a United Soccer Leagues Premier Development team. He made his debut for the senior national team in a friendly against Sweden on August 22.

Personal

Sal holds both American and Italian citizenship, a fact that facilitated negotiating a contract in Europe with Hannover 96. He attended Patrick Henry High School (San Diego, California) in San Diego, California, and was prolific at both soccer and baseball there. As a baseball centerfielder, he was a four-year letterman and voted first team All-CIF his Junior year, and for soccer was voted All-CIF honors three years straight (2003-05). He became a member of the USA under-18 national team, and also in 2005 was voted an NCSAA/adidas All-American.