Axel Laurent Angel Lambert Witsel (born 12 January 1989) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for La Liga club Atletico Madrid and the Belgium national team. He originally also played in more offensive roles such as central or attacking midfielder.
Witsel began his career at hometown club Standard Liege, making 183 appearances and scoring 42 goals while winning five domestic trophies. He was awarded the Belgian Golden Shoe in 2008. After a season in Portugal with Benfica, he signed for Zenit Saint Petersburg for a €40 million fee in 2012. Witsel won four honours during his time in Russia, before leaving for Tianjin Quanjian in January 2017. He returned to Europe with Borussia Dortmund in August 2018. With the Bundesliga side, Witsel won the 2019 DFL-Supercup and the 2020–21 DFB-Pokal.
Witsel made his senior international debut in 2008 and earned his 100th cap for Belgium on 15 November 2018. He represented the country at the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018 and 2022, and the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2020, helping them to third place in the 2018 tournament.
Prior to making his international debut for the senior side, Witsel played for the under-21 side in 2007, earning nine caps as well as helping his side reach the semi-finals of the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
On 26 March 2008, Witsel made his senior international debut for Belgium during a friendly game against Morocco. The match resulted in a 1–4 loss, but Witsel scored his first goal.
Witsel's first goal in a competitive international match came a day short of three years after the Morocco goal, in the sixth minute against Austria in Group A of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying process, and his second would come in the second half. However, Belgian hopes of qualifying for UEFA Euro 2012 were dashed on 11 October 2011, by defeat to Germany coupled with Turkey's victory over Azerbaijan.
On 13 May 2014, Witsel was named in Belgium's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He started in midfield in the team's first game of the tournament, a 2–1 win against Algeria in Belo Horizonte.
Witsel also featured in the Belgian squad at UEFA Euro 2016, announced on 31 May 2016. He scored his first tournament goal during the Championships, in a Group E match against the Republic of Ireland.
He scored twice in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, both in wide victories over Gibraltar. Manager Roberto Martinez named him in the squad for the final tournament in Russia. Witsel was part of the Belgian squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where the team performed badly, failing to make it out of the group stage. On 17 March 2023, new Belgian coach Domenico Tedesco dropped Witsel from the squad for European Championship qualifying games, citing the player's lack of playing time.
On 12 May 2023, Witsel announced his retirement from the national team on Instagram, having made 130 appearances for Belgium. However, Witsel would later reverse his decision and on 28 May 2024, he was included in Belgium's squad for UEFA Euro 2024. |
