Yakubu (footballer) facts for kids
.jpg)
Yakubu with Guangzhou R&F in 2013
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yakubu Ayegbeni | ||
| Date of birth | 22 November 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Benin City, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1997 | Gateway | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–1999 | Julius Berger | ||
| 1998 | → Gil Vicente (loan) | ||
| 1999–2003 | Maccabi Haifa | 49 | (38) |
| 1999–2000 | → Hapoel Kfar Saba | 23 | (6) |
| 2003 | → Portsmouth (loan) | 14 | (7) |
| 2003–2005 | Portsmouth | 67 | (28) |
| 2005–2007 | Middlesbrough | 73 | (25) |
| 2007–2011 | Everton | 82 | (25) |
| 2011 | → Leicester City (loan) | 20 | (11) |
| 2011–2012 | Blackburn Rovers | 30 | (17) |
| 2012–2013 | Guangzhou R&F | 43 | (24) |
| 2014–2015 | Al-Rayyan | 10 | (5) |
| 2015 | Reading | 7 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Kayserispor | 12 | (0) |
| 2017 | Coventry City | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 424 | (170) | |
| International career | |||
| 2000–2012 | Nigeria | 58 | (21) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Yakubu Ayegbeni, born on November 22, 1982, is a famous Nigerian former professional footballer. He was a powerful striker and was often called "The Yak."
Yakubu became well-known for his amazing skills and goals. He played in over 250 matches in the Premier League, which is England's top football league. He is one of the highest-scoring African players in Premier League history. Yakubu also played a big role for the Nigeria national football team, scoring many goals for his country. He represented Nigeria in four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He also played in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out in Football
Yakubu was born in Benin City, Nigeria. He began his football journey as a teenager with Julius Berger in the Nigerian Premier League. He even had a chance to play in Portugal for a short time with Gil Vicente.
Playing for Maccabi Haifa
Yakubu then moved to Israel to play for Maccabi Haifa. He had a fantastic season in 2001–02, scoring 19 goals in 22 league games. He also showed his talent in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League, scoring seven goals in eight matches. This included scoring three goals in one game (a hat-trick) against Olympiakos.
Time at Portsmouth
In January 2003, Yakubu joined the English club Portsmouth on loan. He quickly helped them win the First Division title, scoring 7 goals in 14 games. His loan move became permanent in May 2003.
In the Premier League, Yakubu was Portsmouth's top scorer in the 2003–04 season with 16 goals. He even scored four goals in one match against Middlesbrough on the last day of that season! In the 2004–05 season, his goals helped Portsmouth stay in the Premier League. He is still Portsmouth's highest-ever scorer in the Premier League.
Moving to Middlesbrough
After the 2004–05 season, Yakubu joined Middlesbrough for a club record fee. He helped Middlesbrough reach the 2006 UEFA Cup Final against Sevilla. Although they lost the final, it was a great achievement for the team.
Playing for Everton
In August 2007, Yakubu moved to Everton for a club record fee of £11.25 million. He scored in his very first game for the club. In December 2007, he scored his first hat-trick for Everton against Fulham.
Yakubu had a brilliant first season with Everton, scoring 15 Premier League goals and 21 goals in all competitions. He was the first Everton player in a long time to score 20 goals in a single season. In the 2008–09 season, he scored his 100th goal in English football. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury in November 2008, which kept him out for a long time.
Loan to Leicester City
In January 2011, Yakubu joined Leicester City on loan. He scored on his debut and continued to score many goals for them, including a hat-trick against his former club, Middlesbrough.
Time at Blackburn Rovers
On August 31, 2011, Yakubu signed with Blackburn Rovers. He made an immediate impact, scoring two goals in his Premier League debut for them against Arsenal. Blackburn fans even started chanting "Feed the Yak and he will score!"
On December 3, 2011, Yakubu scored all four goals for Blackburn in a 4–2 win over Swansea City. He also scored two goals in a famous 3–2 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Despite his 18 goals that season, Blackburn was unfortunately relegated from the Premier League.
Playing in China and Qatar
After leaving Blackburn, Yakubu moved to China to play for Guangzhou R&F in June 2012. He scored the winning goal in his first game, ending Guangzhou Evergrande's long unbeaten home run. He later played for Al-Rayyan in Qatar.
Later Career in England and Turkey
In February 2015, Yakubu returned to England to play for Reading. He scored a winning goal in the FA Cup against Derby County. He then played for Kayserispor in Turkey. His final club was Coventry City in 2017, but injuries limited his playing time. Yakubu officially announced his retirement from football on November 22, 2017.
International Career
Yakubu played 58 times for the Nigeria national football team and scored 21 goals. This makes him the fourth-highest goalscorer in Nigeria's history.
Olympic Games and Africa Cup of Nations
In September 2000, Yakubu played for Nigeria at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia. He scored an important equalizer in their first match. He also played in the 2002 African Cup of Nations, where he scored the winning goal in the third-place play-off match against Mali.
Yakubu also represented Nigeria in the 2004 African Cup of Nations. He helped Nigeria qualify for the tournament by scoring two goals against Malawi.
FIFA World Cup Appearance
Yakubu played for Nigeria in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. In their final group game against South Korea, he famously missed an open goal but later scored a penalty to tie the match 2–2. However, this result was not enough for Nigeria to move past the group stages.
Personal Life
In 2008, Yakubu married Yvonne Lameen Ikhana. Her father, Kadiri Ikhana, was also a famous Nigerian international footballer. Yakubu and Yvonne have two daughters. When he was a child, Yakubu used to play football barefoot on the streets of Benin, Nigeria, until his brother gave him his first pair of boots at age 12.
Career Statistics
Club
- Source:
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Maccabi Haifa | 1999–2000 | Israeli Premier League | ||||||||||
| 2000–01 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2001–02 | 22 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 27 | 24 | ||||||
| 2002–03 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 16 | ||||||||
| Total | 49 | 38 | 5 | 5 | 54 | 43 | ||||||
| Hapoel Kfar Saba (loan) | 1999–2000 | Israeli Premier League | 23 | 6 | 23 | 6 | ||||||
| Portsmouth | 2002–03 | First Division | 14 | 7 | – | – | – | 14 | 7 | |||
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 37 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | 43 | 19 | ||
| 2004–05 | 30 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | – | 35 | 16 | |||
| Total | 81 | 35 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 42 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2005–06 | Premier League | 34 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 57 | 19 |
| 2006–07 | 37 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 45 | 16 | |||
| 2007–08 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 73 | 25 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 104 | 35 | ||
| Everton | 2007–08 | Premier League | 29 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 39 | 21 |
| 2008–09 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 5 | ||
| 2009–10 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 36 | 6 | ||
| 2010–11 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | ||
| Total | 82 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 107 | 33 | ||
| Leicester City | 2010–11 | Championship | 20 | 11 | – | – | – | 20 | 11 | |||
| Blackburn Rovers | 2011–12 | Premier League | 30 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 33 | 18 | |
| Guangzhou R&F | 2012 | Chinese Super League | 14 | 9 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 15 | 10 | ||
| 2013 | 29 | 15 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 15 | ||||
| Total | 43 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 25 | ||
| Al-Rayyan | 2013–14 | Qatar Stars League | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 4 |
| 2014-15 | Qatari Second Division | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 2 | |||
| Total | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 6 | ||
| Reading | 2014–15 | Championship | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 11 | 1 | ||
| Kayserispor | 2015–16 | Süper Lig | 12 | 0 | 5 | 3 | – | – | 17 | 3 | ||
| Coventry City | 2016–17 | League One | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 424 | 170 | 33 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 42 | 12 | 516 | 207 | ||
International Goals
- Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yakubu goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 June 2001 | Independence Stadium, Windhoek, Namibia |  Namibia |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2002 African Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 2 | 1 July 2001 | Al-Merrikh Stadium, Omdurman, Sudan |  Sudan |
2–0 | 4–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 3 | 4–0 | ||||||
| 4 | 9 February 2002 | Stade Baréma Bocoum, Mopti, Mali |  Mali |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2002 African Cup of Nations | |
| 5 | 30 May 2003 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria |  Ghana |
1–1 | 3–1 | Friendly | |
| 6 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 7 | 1 June 2003 | National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria |  Cameroon |
2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly | |
| 8 | 7 June 2003 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria |  Malawi |
1–1 | 4–1 | 2004 African Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 9 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 10 | 5 September 2004 | National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe |  Zimbabwe |
3–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 11 | 9 October 2004 | Stade Omar Bongo, Libreville, Gabon |  Gabon |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 12 | 2 September 2006 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria |  Niger |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 13 | 8 October 2006 | Setsoto Stadium, Maseru, Lesotho |  Lesotho |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 14 | 17 June 2007 | Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey, Niger | Niger |
3–1 | 3–1 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 15 | 29 January 2008 | Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana |  Benin |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations | |
| 16 | 3 February 2008 | Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana | Ghana |
1–0 | 1–2 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations | |
| 17 | 21 June 2008 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria |  Equatorial Guinea |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 18 | 14 November 2009 | Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Kenya |  Kenya |
2–1 | 3–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 19 | 16 January 2010 | Ombaka National Stadium, Benguela, Angola | Benin |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2010 African Cup of Nations | |
| 20 | 6 June 2010 | Makhulong Stadium, Thembisa, South Africa |  North Korea |
1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | |
| 21 | 22 June 2010 | Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa |  South Korea |
2–2 | 2–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
Honours and Achievements
Maccabi Haifa
- Israel Premier League: 2000–01, 2001–02
Portsmouth
- Football League First Division: 2002–03
Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations third-place: 2002, 2004, 2010
See also
In Spanish: Yakubu Aiyegbeni para niños
