.jpg) Yakubu withGuangzhou R&F in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yakubu Ayegbeni[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1982-11-22)22 November 1982 (age 43)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Benin City, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[3] | ||
| Position | 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 (loan) | 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 22 November 1982), knownmononymously asYakubu, is a Nigerian football agent and former professionalfootballer who played as astriker. He is nicknamed "TheYak".[4]
His performances in the2002–03 UEFA Champions League forMaccabi Haifa earned a loan move to English clubPortsmouth which became permanent as they were promoted to thePremier League in 2003. He has since appeared in over 250 Premier League matches for Portsmouth,Middlesbrough,Everton, andBlackburn Rovers, and is the fourth highest African goalscorer in Premier League history with 96 goals.[5] He is the fourth highest scorer in the history of theNigeria national football team, and represented them at fourAfrican Cup of Nations finals, the2010 FIFA World Cup and the2000 Summer Olympics.
Yakubu was born inBenin City,Edo State.[6] He started his career withJulius Berger in Lagos as a teenager in theNigerian Premier League. He was later loaned to Portuguese clubGil Vicente.[7]
Israeli sideMaccabi Haifa paid Julius Berger $300,000 for his signature.[8] Yakubu's highest scoring season at Haifa was 2001–02, when he scored 13 times in 22 games (League season was 33 matches). He came to England and trained withDerby County but could not obtain a work permit at the time.[9] He scored seven goals in eight European Cup appearances in the 2002–03UEFA Champions League, (includinga hat-trick againstOlympiakos and a penalty in the 3–0 win overManchester United).[10]
Yakubu moved to English clubPortsmouth of theFirst Division (now theChampionship) on loan on 6 January 2003. Signed byHarry Redknapp, Yakubu helped Portsmouth win the2002–03 First Division title, scoring at a rate of one goal in every two games (7 in 14 matches). He made his debut as a 57th-minutesubstitute forVincent Péricard in a 1–1 away match versusBrighton & Hove Albion on 18 January. On 1 February he started for the first time and scored after 4 minutes at home toGrimsby Town. The match ended 3–0 with Yakubu substituted for Péricard after 89 minutes. Seven days later, Yakubu scored a goal in each half of a 6–2 victory overDerby County for his first brace in English football. He gained his second brace of the season with two first-half goals in a 5–0 away victory atMillwall on 1 March.[11]
Yakubu made his loan spell at Portsmouth permanent in May 2003[12] for a fee of £4 million. He played 37 of Portsmouth's 38 Premier League matches in 2003–04, starting all but two. Yakubu's 16 goals made him the club's leading goal-scorer, and joint-sixth highest scorer in the entire league.[13]
Yakubu scored his first Premier League goal in his second match, opening a 1–1 draw versusManchester City on 23 August 2003. After eight consecutive league matches without a goal, he scored a brace in aLeague Cup match away toNottingham Forest on 29 October, one of which was in extra time of the 4–2 win. Yakubu scored the final goal of a 6–1 home win overLeeds United on 8 November. On 3 January 2004, he scored an 89th-minute winner in the FA Cup third round match at home toBlackpool. Three days later he scored an equaliser in the Premier League as Portsmouth lost 2–1 away toAston Villa. On 10 January he scored his first Premier League brace with two goals in the second half of a 4–2 home win over Manchester City. He played at the2004 African Cup of Nations.[14]
Yakubu ended the season with 11 goals in his last 10 Premier League matches, starting with one each in four straight games, the first being the only goal in theSouth Coast derby versus Southampton on 21 March. This was followed by a late winner againstBlackburn Rovers in a 2–1 away victory, and an equaliser away toCharlton Athletic.[15] On the final day of the season, he scored four goals as Portsmouth defeatedMiddlesbrough 5–1.[16]
In the 2004–05 season he scored 13 goals. His final goal for Portsmouth in May 2005 before he left the club – the equaliser in a 1–1 home draw toBolton Wanderers in the penultimate league game of the season – was the goal that ensured Portsmouth would not be relegated from Premiership in the 2004–05 season.[17]
Yakubu's 28 Premier League goals between his two seasons make him Portsmouth's highest ever scorer in the Premier League, with nine more than their second-highest scorerBenjani Mwaruwari.[18][unreliable source?]
After the 2004–05 season, he transferred from Portsmouth toMiddlesbrough for a £7.5 million record fee, the highest for a Nigerian ever.[19] Yakubu scored the only goal of the game with a penalty in the first leg of theUEFA Cup last 16 round at home againstRoma, giving Middlesbrough a 1–0 victory, who later went through on away goals. His performances were rewarded, as he helped Middlesbrough reach the2006 UEFA Cup Final againstSevilla, in which they lost 4–0.[20]
His transfer from Portsmouth to Middlesbrough in July 2005 is one of those about which theStevens inquiry[21] report in June 2007 expressed concerns because of the lack of co-operation from agentsPinhas Zahavi andBarry Silkman.[22]
Yakubu was transferred toEverton in August 2007 for a fee of £11.25 million on a five-year contract,[4] which was at the time the most the club had ever paid for a player.[23] Shunning the traditional centre-forwards' number 9, Yakubu asked to be assigned number 22, setting this number as a goal-scoring target for his first season,[24] a feat he fell one goal short of achieving.[25] He scored 11 minutes into his debut for the club, the first goal in a 2–1 win againstBolton Wanderers at theReebok Stadium in September 2007.[26] His first hat-trick for the club came againstFulham in a 3–0 home league win in December 2007.[27]
Yakubu travelled to Ghana in early 2008 to compete in theCup of Nations. Following Nigeria's exit from the competition, he was late in returning to his club, and as a result was dropped by managerDavid Moyes once back in England.[4] His double againstNewcastle United in a 3–1 win atGoodison Park on the last day of the 2007–08 season helped theToffees clinch fifth place and a place in the2008–09 UEFA Cup competition. He finished his first season with 15 Premier League goals to his name, and 21 goals in all competitions for Everton.[28] Yakubu achieved his highest goal tally for a single season, and also became the first Everton player sincePeter Beardsley to net 20 goals in a season.[29]
Yakubu scored his 100th goal in English football in a league game atWest Bromwich Albion early in thePremier League 2008–09 season.[30] He scored a goal againstStandard Liège in theUEFA Cup and got back on the scoresheet with a goal against Middlesbrough, his first goal in 10 games. He ruptured hisachilles tendon in the 1–0 away win atTottenham Hotspur on 30 November, ruling him out for the rest of the season. Yakubu played his first competitive game after the Achilles tendon injury againstBurnley Reserves, and in his first start for the first team in almost a year, he scored within 11 minutes againstHull City in the League Cup. He came on forJô in first-half injury time and scored an equaliser with his first touch to bring Everton level atStamford Bridge againstChelsea. He later scored the winning goal against Stoke.[31]
Yakubu joinedLeicester City on loan until the end of the season on 13 January 2011, with the possibility of a permanent transfer.[32] He made his debut and scored in a 1–1 draw againstPreston North End on 15 January 2011,[33] followed by another goal in a 4–2 win overMillwall on 22 January.[34]
On 12 February 2011 he scored a left footed volley in their 2–0 win over local rivalsDerby County. On 2 April 2011, he scored his first hat-trick against his former clubMiddlesbrough. He then scored a double in Leicester's 4–2 win overWatford.[35]
On 31 August 2011, Yakubu signed a three-year contract withBlackburn Rovers for an undisclosed fee and was assigned the number 24 shirt by managerSteve Kean.[36] He scored his first and second goals for Blackburn Rovers on 17 September on his Premier League debut againstArsenal in which Blackburn won 4–3.[37] He was voted Man of the Match as he helped Blackburn to their first win of the season,[citation needed] with Blackburn fans chanting "Feed the Yak and he will score!" by the time the final whistle blew.[38] He scored his third goal in the league in the 3–3 away draw againstNorwich City. Yakubu's fourth and fifth goals of the league season came in an away 3–3 draw atWigan Athletic on 19 November 2011. He opened the scoring from long range after 65 seconds and equalised with an injury-time penalty.[39] He had earlier been behind an incident when Blackburn were 2–1 down, by dummying a short corner to allow team-mateMorten Gamst Pedersen to dribble the ball from the corner and cross forJunior Hoilett to equalise the game 2–2. At the end of the game, Yakubu admitted that he did not touch the ball and that the goal should not have stood.[40]
On 3 December 2011, Yakubuscored all four goals for Blackburn in a 4–2 home win overSwansea City. He scored two in each half, finishing with a penalty.[41] It was his first Blackburn hat-trick and his first four-goal game since the last day of the 2003–04 season, for Portsmouth against Middlesbrough. He scored 2 goals, one being a penalty, in his side's shock 2–3 victory against Manchester United atOld Trafford on 31 December 2011 which left him on 13 goals for the season in all competitions. On 15 January 2012, in a match againstFulham, Yakubu was sent off for the first time in thePremier League for a straight red.[42] On his return from suspension, he scored against QPR. On 10 April 2012, Yakubu scored twice, while missing one penalty and scoring a second, in Blackburn's 2–3 loss at home to Liverpool. In his first season at Blackburn, he scored 18 goals, but the club were relegated to the Championship by the end of the season after a 1–0 home loss to in-formWigan Athletic. After relegation was confirmed, Yakubu stated that he did not want to play Championship football and wanted to leave Blackburn.[43]
Yakubu confirmed on 28 June 2012 that he had left Blackburn and had signed for Chinese sideGuangzhou R&F,[44] on an initial three-year contract.[45] On 15 July, Yakubu made his Chinese Super League debut in a Guangzhou Derby match which Guangzhou R&F played againstGuangzhou Evergrande atTianhe Stadium. He scored the winning goal of the match in the 87th minute, ending Guangzhou Evergrande's 34-league-home-match unbeaten run.[46]
On 2 February 2015,Reading signed free agent Yakubu on a contract until the end of the2014–15 season.[47] On 14 February, Yakubu scored his first goal for theRoyals with the winner in a 2–1 defeat ofDerby County atPride Park to put the club into the quarter-finals of theFA Cup.[48] Yakubu was released by Reading on 21 May 2015.[49]
On 31 August 2015, Yakubu signed a one-year contract, with the option of an additional year, withSüper Lig sideKayserispor.[50]
On 13 February 2017, Yakubu signed forCoventry City until the end of the2016–17 season.[51] On 5 April 2017, having featured only three times due to suffering a hamstring injury, Yakubu's Coventry City contract was terminated by mutual consent.[52] He announced his retirement from football on 22 November 2017.[53]
Yakubu has scored 21 goals in his 58 appearances forNigeria since his 2000 debut. He is currently the fourth highest international goalscorer for Nigeria.
In September 2000, Yakubu featured in Nigeria's squad for the2000 Summer Olympics in Australia. Nigeria were the holders for the tournament. Then of Maccabi Haifa, the 17-year-old Yakubu wore the number 9 shirt. He scored the injury-time equaliser in Nigeria's first match, a 3–3 draw withHonduras on 13 September inAdelaide. He also played against the hosts Australia on 16 September in Sydney as his side won 3–2 but did not play on 19 September as they drew withItaly in Adelaide. He featured in the quarter-finals as Nigeria lost 4–1 toChile inMelbourne on 23 September.[54]
Yakubu made his full international debut on 22 April 2000 in a 4–0 home win inLagos againstEritrea in qualification for the 2002 African Cup of Nations.[54] He scored his first international goal in an away win against Namibia on 16 June 2001 in the same qualification campaign. On 1 July 2001, he scored his first international brace, with the second and fourth goals in a 4–0 away win overSudan in the2002 FIFA World Cup qualification stage. He was named in the squad for the2002 Africa Cup of Nations in Mali and was given the number 8 shirt by managerShuaibu Amodu. On 9 February 2002, Yakubu scored the only goal of the third-place play-off againstMali after 29 minutes. However, Yakubu was not named later in the year in the squad selected by new managerFestus Onigbinde for the2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.[citation needed]
On 7 June 2003, Yakubu scored Nigeria's first two goals as they came from behind to beatMalawi 4–1 in a qualifier for the 2004 African Cup of Nations. He retained the number 8 shirt in the squad named for the finals inTunisia by managerChristian Chukwu but did not score. Alongside Celestine Babayaro and Victor Agali, he was sent home from the tournament for indiscipline. His then manager at Portsmouth, Harry Redknapp said he cared less about the tournament and was glad to have Yakubu back.[55]
Yakubu scored the final goal in an away 3–0 victory overZimbabwe and an equaliser in an away 1–1 draw againstGabon as Nigeria were beaten to the qualification place byAngola and missed the finals for the first time since 1994. Despite having a superior goal difference of +14 to +8, Nigeria did not qualify as the tie-breaker was head-to-head matches between Nigeria and Angola.[56]
Although Nigeria gained a place at the tournament due to their performance in World Cup qualification, Yakubu decided not to play at the2006 African Cup of Nations to concentrate on his form at Middlesbrough instead. He was praised for his decision as the club defeated defending champions and league leadersChelsea 3–0.[57]
At the2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Yakubu notably missed an open goal from three yards againstSouth Korea in the last Group game[58] but later went on to score a penalty to tie the match.[59] Yakubu's penalty made sure that Nigeria earned a result of 2–2 draw, but this was not enough for his side to progress out of the group stages.[60]
In 2008, Yakubu married Yvonne Lameen Ikhana, the daughter of former Nigerian international footballerKadiri Ikhana, who is also the father-in-law to former Nigerian international footballerPatrick Ovie.[61] Yakubu and Ikhana have two daughters. Yakubu and Yvonne Lameen Ikhana legally dissolved their marriage in September 2021, citing irreconcilable differences, and subsequently parted ways.[62] He used to play barefoot on the streets of Benin, Nigeria, until his brother gave him a pair of boots aged 12.[63]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | 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[c] | 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 | – | 92 | 42 | |||
| Middlesbrough | 2005–06 | Premier League | 34 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14[d] | 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[d] | 3 | 39 | 21 |
| 2008–09 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[d] | 1 | 17 | 5 | ||
| 2009–10 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9[e] | 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 | – | – | 45 | 25 | ||||
| Al-Rayyan | 2013–14 | Qatar Stars League | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[f] | 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 | ||
| 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 | [67] |
| 2 | 1 July 2001 | Al-Merrikh Stadium,Omdurman, Sudan |  Sudan | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | [68] |
| 3 | 4–0 | ||||||
| 4 | 9 February 2002 | Stade Baréma Bocoum,Mopti, Mali |  Mali | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2002 African Cup of Nations | [69] |
| 5 | 30 May 2003 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium,Abuja, Nigeria |  Ghana | 1–1 | 3–1 | Friendly | [70] |
| 6 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 7 | 1 June 2003 | National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria |  Cameroon | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly | [71] |
| 8 | 7 June 2003 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria |  Malawi | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2004 African Cup of Nations qualification | [72] |
| 9 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 10 | 5 September 2004 | National Sports Stadium,Harare, Zimbabwe |  Zimbabwe | 3–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification | [73] | |
| 11 | 9 October 2004 | Stade Omar Bongo,Libreville, Gabon |  Gabon | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification | [74] |
| 12 | 2 September 2006 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria |  Niger | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | [75] |
| 13 | 8 October 2006 | Setsoto Stadium,Maseru, Lesotho |  Lesotho | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | [76] |
| 14 | 17 June 2007 | Stade Général Seyni Kountché,Niamey, Niger | Niger | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | [77] |
| 15 | 29 January 2008 | Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium,Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana |  Benin | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations | [78] |
| 16 | 3 February 2008 | Accra Sports Stadium,Accra, Ghana | Ghana | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations | [79] |
| 17 | 21 June 2008 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria |  Equatorial Guinea | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | [80] |
| 18 | 14 November 2009 | Moi International Sports Centre,Kasarani, Kenya |  Kenya | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | [81] |
| 19 | 16 January 2010 | Ombaka National Stadium,Benguela, Angola | Benin | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2010 African Cup of Nations | [82] |
| 20 | 6 June 2010 | Makhulong Stadium,Thembisa, South Africa |  North Korea | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | [83] |
| 21 | 22 June 2010 | Moses Mabhida Stadium,Durban, South Africa |  South Korea | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup | [84] |
Maccabi Haifa
Portsmouth
Nigeria
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