Celestine Babayaro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Celestine Babayaro

Babayaro in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Celestine Hycieth Babayaro
Date of birth	(1978-08-29) 29 August 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth	Kaduna, Nigeria
Height	1.76 m
Playing position	Left-back, midfielder
Youth career
	Plateau United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1997	Anderlecht	76	(8)
1997–2005	Chelsea	132	(5)
2005–2008	Newcastle United	47	(0)
2008	LA Galaxy	0	(0)
Total		255	(13)
National team
1996–2000	Nigeria Olympic	7	(2)
1995–2004	Nigeria	27	(0)
Honours Representing  Nigeria Men's Football Gold 1996 Atlanta Team Competition
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Celestine Hycieth Babayaro (born 29 August 1978) is a former professional footballer from Nigeria. He mostly played as a left-back but could also play as a midfielder.

Babayaro spent most of his career playing in the Premier League in England. He played for Chelsea from 1997 to 2005. After that, he joined Newcastle United from 2005 to 2008. He also had a short time with the MLS club LA Galaxy. He officially retired from football in 2010.

Celestine Babayaro also played for the Nigeria national football team from 1995 to 2004. He was part of Nigeria's teams in two Summer Olympics, two World Cups, and three African Cup of Nations tournaments.

Club Career

Starting Out in Football

Celestine Babayaro was born in Kaduna, Nigeria. He started his football journey at a Nigerian team called Plateau United. In 1994, he moved to Belgium to play for Anderlecht. He quickly became a key player there, even though he was still a teenager.

Babayaro made history in the UEFA Champions League. He became the youngest player to ever play in the competition. He also became the youngest player to receive a red card. This happened when he was just 16 years and 86 days old in a match against Steaua Bucuresti.

Playing for Chelsea

In April 1997, Chelsea signed Babayaro. They paid £2.25 million for him, which was a record amount for a teenager at that time. He played his first game for Chelsea in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

Sadly, an injury in December 1997 kept him out for the rest of that season. This meant he missed Chelsea's wins in the 1998 Football League Cup final and the 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final. However, he later helped Chelsea win other big trophies. These included the 1998 UEFA Super Cup, the FA Cup, and the Charity Shield in 2000. He also played a big part in Chelsea's journey in the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League.

Babayaro was known for his exciting goal celebrations. He would often do backflips after scoring, which fans loved. During his seven years at Chelsea, he played over 200 games for the club. By the 2004–05 season, under new manager José Mourinho, Babayaro played fewer games. Chelsea went on to win the Premier League title that season.

Time at Newcastle United

In January 2005, Babayaro moved from Chelsea to Newcastle United. He quickly became their main left-back. He scored his only goal for Newcastle in an FA Cup match against Coventry City, which Newcastle won 3–1.

Babayaro in 2007

In February 2007, Newcastle's manager Glenn Roeder shared that Babayaro had played a match against Liverpool just hours after his younger brother, David, had passed away. Despite this sad news, Babayaro insisted on playing and put in a strong performance.

On 10 December 2007, Babayaro left Newcastle United by agreement. This was due to several injury problems he had faced.

Later Career and Retirement

In January 2008, Babayaro agreed to join the LA Galaxy in the United States. He reunited with coach Ruud Gullit, who had also brought him to Chelsea years before. However, his time with LA Galaxy was very short. He played only 45 minutes in one friendly match and was released by the club in March 2008.

Before the 2008–09 season, Babayaro trained with Premier League club Portsmouth. However, the manager decided not to offer him a contract.

On 8 July 2010, Celestine Babayaro officially announced that he was retiring from professional football.

International Career

Celestine Babayaro had a successful international career playing for Nigeria. He was part of the Nigerian team that won the Under-17 World Championships in 1993. He made his senior debut for the national team in 1995.

A big highlight of his career was winning a gold medal with the Nigeria Olympic team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He even scored a goal in the gold medal match against Argentina.

Babayaro also played for Nigeria in two World Cups: France 98 and Korea/Japan 2002. He was also the captain of the Nigeria Olympic team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He was part of Nigeria's squad for the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia. His last game for the national team was against Morocco in 2004.

Personal Life

Celestine Babayaro's brother, Emmanuel Babayaro, was also a footballer. Emmanuel was a goalkeeper and was part of the same Nigerian team that won the 1996 Olympics gold medal.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Anderlecht

• Belgian First Division: 1994–95
• Belgian Super Cup: 1995

Chelsea

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98
• UEFA Super Cup: 1998
• FA Cup: 1999–2000
• FA Charity Shield: 2000

Nigeria U17

• FIFA U-17 World Championship: 1993

Nigeria U23

• Olympic Gold Medal: 1996

Nigeria

• African Cup of Nations third place: 2004

Individual

• Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year: 1994–95, 1995–96
• Ebony Shoe Award: 1996