.JPG) Job in 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1977-12-01)1 December 1977 (age 48)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Vénissieux, France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Vénissieux | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1996 | Lyon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1999 | Lyon | 41 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Lens | 24 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2006 | Middlesbrough | 94 | (19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | →Metz (loan) | 13 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | →Al-Ittihad (loan) | 28 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Sedan | 28 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Nice | 12 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Al-Kharitiyath | 23 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Diyarbakırspor | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Lierse | 10 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 281 | (71) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2008 | Cameroon | 51 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joseph-Désiré Job (born 1 December 1977) is a former professionalfootballer who played as aforward. Born in France, he played for theCameroon national team.
After starting his career in France, Job moved to English teamMiddlesbrough, where he spent six years and is most remembered for scoring one of the two goals in the2004 League Cup Final, where Middlesbrough won their first ever trophy.
He also played for clubs in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Belgium. While playing for Saudi clubAl-Ittihad, he won the2005 AFC Champions League and scored in the final.
Job was born in the French city ofLyon and began training with theOlympique Lyonnais youth academy at the age of ten.[3] He made his debut for the club in theIntertoto Cup when he was nineteen years old in1997, scoring a hat-trick as the club beat Polish clubOdra Wodzisław 5–2.
Job joinedRC Lens on 1 August 1999.
He scored a number of goals for Lens in the1999–2000 UEFA Cup as they reached the semi-final stage.
Middlesbrough's then managerBryan Robson signed Job in 2000 for £3 million,[4][5] where he scored 19 goals in 94 appearances for the club. He also scored 20 minutes into his debut againstCoventry City.[6] After struggling to hold down a regular place in the team, he was sent on loan to French Ligue 1 clubFC Metz in December 2001, until the end of the season.[7]
On 30 November 2002, Job cracked his skull in a clash of heads withWest Bromwich Albion playerDarren Moore and was knocked unconscious on the pitch.[8] On 29 September 2003, Job twisted his knee in training and was expected to be out of action for four months, just after scoring the clubs winning goal againstEverton with then Middlesbrough manager,Steve McClaren saying, "It's a huge blow for Joseph because he has been playing well lately and he also got our winner against Everton. We'll miss him. The highlight of his career at Middlesbrough came in the2004 Football League Cup Final on 29 February 2004 when he scored a second minute goal to help the club to win their first ever major trophy, in a 2–1 win overBolton Wanderers at theMillennium Stadium,Cardiff, a result which also saw the club qualify for theUEFA Cup.[9]
On 15 December 2004, Job scored Middlesbrough's second goal in a 3–0UEFA Cup Group E win over Serbian clubFK Partizan at theRiverside Stadium as they qualified, as winners of the group, for the knockout stages. Middlesbrough went out of the competition in the Round of 32 to Portuguese club,Sporting CP, with Job again scoring in the home leg on 10 March 2005. During his time at Middlesbrough he was the subject of one of the more memorable fan chants, being serenaded by the words "there's only one Job on Teesside!", due to a lot of unemployment in the area at the time.[10]
In the 2005–06 season, he was again sent on loan, this time to Saudi Arabia on 31 August 2005, where he played forAl-Ittihad on a season-long loan. He helped the club win theAFC Champions League in2005, scoring in the second leg of the final against United Arab Emirates club,Al Ain FC on 5 November 2005 inJeddah. Job's struggle to win a first-team place became even more difficult, following the signings of established PremiershipstrikersMark Viduka,Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink andYakubu. His contract with Middlesbrough expired after his loan spell with Al-Ittihad. He spent part of the2006–07 pre-season training withWatford, but was not offered a contract.
Job joined Ligue 1 clubCS Sedan on 19 September 2006 on a one-year contract. He capped 28 times and scored 10 goals.
Job moved to Ligue 1 clubOGC Nice in summer 2007, signing a two-year contract.
In summer 2008, he was linked with a move to EnglishFootball League Championship clubBlackpool.[11][12]
On 15 March 2010,Lierse SK signed the Cameroonian 32-year-old forward as free agent.[13] At the start of the 2009–10 Season, Lierse SK were the major favorites to win the championship in the Belgian second division (EXQI League) but when Job arrived, they were struggling in the deciding moments. Job played his first game againstKV Turnhout. He entered the game in the second half, when Lierse was behind 0–1 at home and playing badly. He scored 2 goals and gave 1 assist to help Lierse win the match 3–1 and ultimately helped them win the championship, as he also scored the second goal in the deciding match at home againstRed Star Waasland (2–0 win).
Job signed a new contract for Lierse for two seasons on 21 June 2010.[14]
Job was tipped early on to be a futureFrench International player, however he instead accepted a call-up to the Cameroon national team, and made his debut in a 2–0 defeat toEngland atWembley Stadium in November 1997.
Job has played at two FIFA World Cup finals, in1998 and2002. He also played for Cameroon at the victorious2000 African Cup of Nations and in theFIFA Confederations Cup in2001 and2003. However, his next call up to the Cameroon squad came five years later, in March 2007, when he was called up to the squad for a2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier againstLiberia.
In January 2008 he scored three goals in two games, scoring once as Cameroon beatSudan 2–0 in a friendly match and twice as Cameroon beatZambia 5–1 in a 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifying match. He was also in theCameroon squad for the2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
Job is the cousin ofMarvin Matip and formerLiverpool defenderJoël Matip.[15]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | 1997 | 3 | 1 |
| 1998 | 12 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 3 | 2 | |
| Total | 51 | 9 | |
Middlesbrough
Al-Ittihad
Cameroon
Cameroon squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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