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Steve Zakuani has granted Seattle Sounders fans immense access to his life. His book, 500 Days, details his recovery from the injury suffered at the foot of Brian Mullan. In Winging it with Zakuani he talks to former teammates and other Sounders about the game. He’s been at YachtCon, SonarFeed and other fan events. He’s approachable on social media.
With all that access there are still stories to tell about Seattle’s first ever MLS draft pick. On February 9 fans can watch a documentary about his life. Unbreakable is the story of a Congolese refugee who grew up on the streets of North London, loved soccer, lost soccer, rediscovered it via Akron and became a legend in two years. His career was then dramatically cut short. After hard work he returned to the field, played for his mentor and our rival and then retired.
In 2009 I turned pro & arrived in Seattle, a dream come true. In 2011 my worst fear came true - a career-ending injury. I bounced back, but ultimately had to walk away from the game. On my bday, we’ll be telling the story on the big screen. For tickets https://t.co/dm92gXknNb pic.twitter.com/AAbkA6dqn9
— Steve Zakuani (@Zakuani11) November 8, 2018
Sounder at Heart was granted an early cut of the film to preview prior to the showing. It was not the final edit.
There are lessons in Steve’s life, and Unbreakable hits on several key moments prior to the incident. The first 2/3rds of the film is about Steve before he is a Sounder. For Seattle fans there are new tales in this section, you may especially appreciate his former schoolmates telling you that they were surprised that he got the necessary SAT results to go to college. As we know Zakuani as an erudite and educated man his youth friends knew him as the kid who only pursued soccer, nothing else.
That motivation to play the game is what helped him come back from his first major injury. The game helped him adapt to college in the Midwest. The game is what sparked his professional career and his love for the game is what took him from devastating injury to recovery.
It is through the filming of Unbreakable that Steve first started thinking about ‘what if.’ It’s through Unbreakable that you will be reminded that home is right where you are, as long as you are surrounded by friends and family. At every step — Congo, North London, Akron, Seattle, Portland and Seattle again — Zakuani is home.
In Unbreakable he and the crew find a way to welcome you into those spaces.
Steve talked about Unbreakable, Osvaldo Alonso, Nouhou v Brad Smith and more during his appearance on SonarFeed Monday night.