Born in Vannes, Zanko started his playing career with Laval, and made his debut for the reserve team in the 1980–81 season.
He made a total of 37 league and cup appearances during his first season at the club, and scored his first goal for Dunkerque in the 3–1 away win over Le Mans on 22 April 1989.
The following season, he played 28 matches, again scoring once, as the team finished fifth in their group to secure their place in the new nationwide Ligue 2.
Zanko went on to spend seven seasons on the staff at Laval, before being hired as a youth-team coach by Le Mans in June 2008.
[6] In January 2020, he took over the first team who were last-placed in Ligue 1, having lost ten consecutive games under Antoine Kombouaré.