Joseph Yobo
Yobo playing for Fenerbahçe in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Phillip Yobo | ||
| Date of birth | 6 September 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Kono, Rivers State, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1996–1997 | Michellin-Harcourt | ||
| 1997–1998 | Standard Liège | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2001 | Standard Liège | 46 | (2) |
| 2001–2003 | Marseille | 23 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | → Everton (loan) | 24 | (0) |
| 2003–2012 | Everton | 196 | (8) |
| 2010–2012 | → Fenerbahçe (loan) | 69 | (2) |
| 2012–2014 | Fenerbahçe | 21 | (1) |
| 2014 | → Norwich City (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 387 | (13) | |
| National team | |||
| 2001–2014 | Nigeria | 101 | (7) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Joseph Phillip Yobo (born 6 September 1980) is a former Nigerian professional footballer who played as a centre back. He was the captain of the Nigerian national team until his international football retirement in June 2014, and he is Nigeria's record appearance holder.
Yobo's birthplace is Kono, a community in the Khana area of Rivers State, Nigeria.
Yobo left Nigeria to join Standard Liège in 1998. He made his first team debut in 2000, and went on to appear 46 times. In 2001, he was bought by Marseille.
Soon after making his debut, Yobo was loaned to Tenerife. After around nine months, Yobo returned to Marseille, before joining Everton, again on loan, in July 2002. A £1 million fee was required to register the player, and he became the first signing of 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 £4 million.
Yobo became 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 2006–07 season; his teammate Joleon Lescott also being an ever-present throughout the season.
The delay, in 2006, in signing a new contract with Everton lead to rumours of a move to Arsenal, but on 22 July, Yobo committed himself to Goodison Park until 2010. On 15 April 2007, Yobo became the record appearance holder for an overseas player at Everton, a record he held until early 2012. For the UEFA Cup match against Larissa of Greece on 25 October 2007, Yobo was named as captain in the absence of Phil Neville and thus became the first African to captain the club. On 6 May 2009, Yobo scored his first goal of the season against West Ham United to seal a 3–1 win.
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