Ayegbeni Yakubu
| Born | 22 November 1982, Benin City |
| Nationality | |
| Weight | 83 kg |
| Height | 1.84 m |
| Position | Forward |
A pacy striker with a powerful shot, Yakubu has enjoyed a varied career since his early days in Nigeria with Okomo Oil and then Julius Berger.
He moved to Israel in 1999 with Hapoel Kfar Saba (on loan) and Maccabi Haifa but also had a spell in Portugal with Gil Vicente.
He won his first full cap when he came on as a substitute in the World Cup qualifying tie against Eritrea in April 2000 and featured on several occasions towards the end of the Super Eagles’ campaign, scoring twice in the 4-0 victory over Sudan.
He was also a member of the squad for the Sydney Olympics where he netted a memorable goal in the 3-3 draw with Honduras.
His contract at Portsmouth was extended to June 2007 in August 2004 but he joined Middlesbrough in July 2005.
He joined Everton in August 2007 with a five-year contract.
Club history
| Team | Joined | Left | Loan / Trialist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Julius Berger | 01 Jul 1998 | 01 Jul 1999 | |
| Gil Vicente | 01 Jul 1999 | 01 Jan 2000 | |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | 01 Jan 2000 | 01 Jul 2000 | |
| Maccabi Haifa | 01 Jul 2000 | 30 Apr 2003 | |
| Portsmouth | 06 Jan 2003 | 29 Apr 2003 | L |
| Portsmouth | 30 Apr 2003 | 01 Jul 2005 | |
| Middlesbrough | 13 Jul 2005 | 29 Aug 2007 | |
| Everton | 29 Aug 2007 | 31 Aug 2011 | |
| Leicester City | 13 Jan 2011 | 31 May 2011 | L |
| Blackburn Rovers | 31 Aug 2011 |
Match history
| Date | Against | Score | Venue | Competition | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Jun 1999 | Namibia | 4-0 | LAGOS | Olympics | Africa 1st Round |
| 20 Jun 1999 | Namibia | 2-3 | WINDHOEK | Olympics | Africa 1st Round |
| 19 Feb 2000 | Uganda | 3-2 | KAMPALA | Olympics | Africa Group A |
| 26 Feb 2000 | Uganda | 1-0 | LAGOS | Olympics | Africa Group A |
| 25 Mar 2000 | Zimbabwe | 4-0 | LAGOS | Olympics | Africa Group A |
| 22 Apr 2000 | Eritrea | 4-0 | Stade Surulere LAGOS | World Cup | Africa 1st Round |
| 13 Sep 2000 | Honduras | 3-3 | Adelaide | Olympics | Finals Group A |
| 16 Sep 2000 | Australia | 3-2 | SYDNEY | Olympics | Finals Group A |
| 23 Sep 2000 | Chile | 1-4 | Cricket Ground MELBOURNE | Olympics | Quarter Final |
| 21 Apr 2001 | Sierra Leone | 0-1 | National FREETOWN | World Cup | Africa Group B |
| 16 Jun 2001 | Namibia | 2-0 | WINDHOEK | African Nations Cup | Group 1 |
| 01 Jul 2001 | Sudan | 4-0 | El Meriekh Stadium | World Cup | Africa Group B |
| 28 Jul 2001 | Ghana | 3-0 | Liberation Stadium PORT HARCOURT | World Cup | Africa Group B |
| 21 Jan 2002 | Algeria | 1-0 | Stade du 26 Mars BAMAKO | African Nations Cup | Finals Group A |
| 28 Jan 2002 | Liberia | 1-0 | Stade du 26 Mars BAMAKO | African Nations Cup | Finals Group A |
| 03 Feb 2002 | Ghana | 1-0 | Stade du 26 Mars BAMAKO | African Nations Cup | Finals Quarter Final |
| 09 Feb 2002 | Mali | 1-0 | MOPTI | African Nations Cup | Finals 3rd Place |
| 18 May 2002 | Jamaica | 0-0 | Loftus Road | International | |
| 08 Sep 2002 | Angola | 0-0 | Estadio da Cidadela | African Nations Cup | Group 1 |
| 29 Mar 2003 | Malawi | 1-0 | BLANTYRE | African Nations Cup | Group 1 |
| 30 May 2003 | Ghana | 3-1 | Abuja National Stadium | LG CUP | Semi Final |
| 01 Jun 2003 | Cameroon | 0-0 | LAGOS | LG CUP | Final |
| 07 Jun 2003 | Malawi | 4-1 | Abuja National Stadium | African Nations Cup | Group 1 |
| 11 Jun 2003 | Brazil | 0-3 | Abuja National Stadium | International | |
| 27 Jan 2004 | Morocco | 0-1 | Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet | African Nations Cup | Finals Group D |
| 03 Jul 2004 | Algeria | 1-0 | Abuja National Stadium | World Cup | Africa Group 4 |
| 05 Sep 2004 | Zimbabwe | 3-0 | National Stadium, Harare | World Cup | Africa Group 4 |
| 09 Oct 2004 | Gabon | 1-1 | President Omar Bongo LIBREVILLE | World Cup | Africa Group 4 |
| 26 Mar 2005 | Gabon | 2-0 | Liberation Stadium PORT HARCOURT | World Cup | Africa Group 4 |
| 18 Jun 2005 | Angola | 1-1 | Sani Abacha Stadium | World Cup | Africa Group 4 |
| 04 Sep 2005 | Algeria | 5-2 | Stade Ahmed Zabana | FIFA World Cup | Africa Group 4 |
| 02 Sep 2006 | Niger* | 2-0 | African Nations Cup | Group 3 | |
| 06 Feb 2007 | Ghana | 1-4 | Griffin Park | International | |
| 02 Jun 2007 | Uganda | 1-2 | National Stadium - Kampala | African Nations Cup | Group 3 |
| 21 Jan 2008 | Ivory Coast | 0-1 | Sekondi Stade | African Nations Cup | Finals Group B |
| 25 Jan 2008 | Mali | 0-0 | Sekondi Stade | African Nations Cup | Finals Group B |
| 29 Jan 2008 | Benin | 2-0 | Sekondi Stade | African Nations Cup | Finals Group B |
| 03 Feb 2008 | Ghana | 1-2 | Ohene Djan Stadium | African Nations Cup | Finals Quarter Final |
| 27 May 2008 | Austria | 1-1 | UPC Arena | International | |
| 30 May 2010 | Colombia | 1-1 | Stadium MK | International | |
| 06 Jun 2010 | North Korea | 3-1 | Makhulong Stadium | International | |
| 12 Jun 2010 | Argentina | 0-1 | Ellis Park | FIFA World Cup | Finals Group B |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Career stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Full apps | Subs | Goals | Yellows | Reds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 - 1999 | Nigeria | Olympics | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 1999 - 2000 | Nigeria | FIFA World Cup | 1 |
||||
| 1999 - 2000 | Nigeria | Olympics | 2 | 1 |
1 |
||
| 2000 - 2001 | Nigeria | African Nations Cup | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2000 - 2001 | Nigeria | FIFA World Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2000 - 2001 | Nigeria | Olympics | 3 | 1 |
2
|
||
| 2001 - 2002 | Maccabi Haifa | UEFA Champions League | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2001 - 2002 | Nigeria | African Nations Cup | 2 | 2 |
1 |
||
| 2001 - 2002 | Nigeria | FIFA World Cup | 1 | 1 |
2 |
||
| 2001 - 2002 | Nigeria | International | 1 | ||||
| 2002 - 2003 | Maccabi Haifa | UEFA Champions League | 3 | 1 |
|||
| 2002 - 2003 | Nigeria | African Nations Cup | 3 | 2 |
|||
| 2002 - 2003 | Nigeria | International | 1 | ||||
| 2002 - 2003 | Nigeria | LG Cup | 2 | 3 |
|||
| 2002 - 2003 | Portsmouth | League Division 1 | 11 | 2 |
7 |
||
| 2003 - 2004 | Nigeria | African Nations Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2003 - 2004 | Portsmouth | Carling Cup | 1 | 1 |
2 |
||
| 2003 - 2004 | Portsmouth | FA Cup | 4 | 1 |
2
|
||
| 2003 - 2004 | Portsmouth | Premier League | 35 | 2 |
16 |
2
|
|
| 2004 - 2005 | Nigeria | FIFA World Cup | 4 | 1 |
2 |
||
| 2004 - 2005 | Portsmouth | Carling Cup | 1 | 2 |
2 |
||
| 2004 - 2005 | Portsmouth | FA Cup | 2 | 2 |
|||
| 2004 - 2005 | Portsmouth | Premier League | 29 | 1 |
12 |
2
|
|
| 2005 - 2006 | Middlesbrough | Carling Cup | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2005 - 2006 | Middlesbrough | FA Cup | 7 | 4 |
1
|
||
| 2005 - 2006 | Middlesbrough | Premier League | 29 | 5 |
13 |
||
| 2005 - 2006 | Middlesbrough | UEFA Cup | 5 | 9 |
2 |
||
| 2005 - 2006 | Nigeria | FIFA World Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2006 - 2007 | Middlesbrough | FA Cup | 8 | 4 |
|||
| 2006 - 2007 | Middlesbrough | Premier League | 36 | 1 |
12 |
2
|
|
| 2006 - 2007 | Nigeria | African Nations Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2006 - 2007 | Nigeria | International | 1 |
||||
| 2007 - 2008 | Everton | Carling Cup | 3 | 3 |
|||
| 2007 - 2008 | Everton | FA Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2007 - 2008 | Everton | Premier League | 26 | 3 |
15 |
2
|
|
| 2007 - 2008 | Everton | UEFA Cup | 7 | 3 |
2
|
||
| 2007 - 2008 | Middlesbrough | Premier League | 2 | ||||
| 2007 - 2008 | Nigeria | African Nations Cup | 4 | 2 |
|||
| 2007 - 2008 | Nigeria | International | 1 | ||||
| 2008 - 2009 | Everton | Carling Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2008 - 2009 | Everton | Premier League | 14 | 4 |
2
|
||
| 2008 - 2009 | Everton | UEFA Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2009 - 2010 | Everton | Carling Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2009 - 2010 | Everton | Premier League | 9 | 16 |
5 |
1
|
|
| 2009 - 2010 | Everton | UEFA Europa League | 4 | 5 |
1
|
||
| 2009 - 2010 | Nigeria | FIFA World Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2009 - 2010 | Nigeria | International | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2010 - 2011 | Everton | Carling Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2010 - 2011 | Everton | Premier League | 7 | 7 |
1 |
||
| 2010 - 2011 | Leicester City | League Championship | 19 | 1 |
11 |
4
|
|
| 2011 - 2012 | Blackburn Rovers | Carling Cup | 1 | 2 |
1 |
||
| 2011 - 2012 | Blackburn Rovers | Premier League | 15 | 1 |
12 |
1
|
1
|
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.