Joseph Yobo
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| Joseph Yobo | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Ikpo Yobo | |
| Date of birth | 6 September 1980 | |
| Place of birth | Port Harcourt, Nigeria | |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Everton | |
| Number | 4 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1998–2001 2001–2003 2001–2002 2002–2003 2003– |
Standard Liège Olympique de Marseille → CD Tenerife (loan) → Everton (loan) Everton |
46 (2) 23 (0) ? (?) 24 (0) 152 (6) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2001– | Nigeria | 57 (3) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Joseph Ikpo Yobo (born 6 September 1980 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria) is a Nigerian football player currently with English Premier League club Everton. He is the current vice-captain of the Nigeria national football team and of Everton.
He is the younger brother of former Nigeria international Albert Yobo.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Club career
Joseph Yobo grew up in Port Harcourt and is close friends with Crewe Alexandra's George Abbey with whom he grew up with and consulted when deciding whether to move to England or not.
Yobo left Nigeria for Europe to join Standard Liège in 1998. He made his first team debut in 2000, and went on to make 46 appearances for the Belgian club. In 2001 he was bought by French club, Olympique de Marseille. Soon after making his debut, Yobo was loaned to CD Tenerife in Spain. After around 9 months Yobo retuned to Marseille, before joining English club Everton, again on loan, in July 2002. A £1M fee required to register the player, becoming the first signing of new manager David Moyes. An option to make the move permanent was taken up and completed in 2003 after a dispute between Yobo and Marseille was settled, with Everton agreeing a fixed additional fee of £4M.
Joseph for both Everton and the national team has shown outstanding composure and excellent leadership. Many blues fans acknowledge Yobo's effortless grace on the ball, capable passing and excellent tackling skills and great pace and acceleration, as well as effortless heading of the ball. He was often seen as an exciting player who was yet to live up to his potential and remove the errors from his game. However he has become one of the most consistent players in the Everton squad, and was one of only seven players in the entire league to play every minute of every game throughout the 2006-2007 Premier League season.
In 2006 delay in signing a new contract with Everton lead to rumours of a move to Arsenal,[citation needed] but on July 22 Yobo committed himself to Goodison Park until 2010. As of April 15, 2007 Joseph Yobo is the record appearance holder for an overseas player at Everton. He is also the first African captain of the club.
For the UEFA Cup match against AE Larissa of Greece in October 2007, Yobo was named as captain in the absence of Phil Neville.
[edit] International career
The Nigerian international played in the Super Eagles' three matches in Japan and South Korea and even provided the assist for his side's only goal of the tournament.
After passing a medical, Joseph signed a 12-month contract with the Blues, with an option for a further four years, which was taken up by Moyes in November 2002.
However, it took until May 2003 to make the deal permanent following a dispute between Yobo and his former club, Marseille.
Yobo's pace and versatility (he can play at right back and in central defence as well as midfield) was also a factor in his switch from the French giants as the Blues boss sought to bring the best young talent to Goodison.
His composure both on the ball and when under pressure belied his tender years. Good in the air, strong in the tackle and difficult to hassle off the ball, the defender also possesses tremendous vision - attributes which helped him earn Everton's Young Player of the Year Award for the 2003/4 season.
He was one of the most consisten performers early on in the 2005/6 campaign, before goin on African Nations duty with Nigeria. He found things more difficult on his return but managed to recapture his place and continue his assured yet assertive style of defending.
He signed a long-term five year contract in the summer of 2006 and went on to play every second of every Premiership game during the 06/07 season, matching a record last achieved 20 years earlier by Kevin Ratcliffe.
Yobo wouldn't achieve such a feat in 2007/08 with the defender missing the trip to Reading in August through injury.
Nevertheless, he was a vital part in the Blues defence throughout the campaign, and nothched his only goal of the campaign in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa in April.
[edit] Charity Work
In 2007 Joseph Yobo set up the Joseph Yobo Charity Foundation, to help under-privileged children in Nigeria. As of July 18, 2007 he has handed out over 300 scholarship awards ranging from primary to university level. Yobo has started a football academy in the Ogoni region of Nigeria. He also runs football camps in Lagos., in conjunction with Everton Lagos F.C.
[edit] External links
- Joseph Yobo career stats at Soccerbase
- Joseph Yobo Foundation Charity founded by Joseph Yobo
- BBC Coverage of Joseph Yobo Foundation
- International appearances
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