10 Things You Didn’t Know About Joseph Yobo
Joseph Yobo is a household name in the Nigerian Football Team. He is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defender (centre back). He was the captain of the Nigerian national team until his international football retirement in June 2014. There is no doubt that the 36-years-old Nigeria’s record appearance holder is striving for success.
Below are 10 things you probably didn’t know about Joseph Yobo:
1. Joseph Philip Yobo was born on 6 September 1980 in Koni, Rivers state, Nigeria.
2. Yobo started off his football career in the year 1996. The first club he played for was Michellin-Harcourt. In 1997, he joined the Standard Liége Club and this marked the kick off of his professional senior football career. He made his first team debut in the year 2000.
3. Joseph’s elder brother, Albert Yobo was Nigeria’s international footballer who played as a defender.
4. Joseph Yobo was a member of the Nigeria National Team (the Super Eagles) from the year 2001 to 2014. During this period, he made 101 FIFA international appearances, and in all, he scored a total of 7 goals. This qualified him as the record appearance holder for the Super Eagles.
5. Yobo is worth more than 48 million dollars.
6. He married an ex beauty queen, Adaeze Igwe, who was titled in 2008 the most beautiful girl in Nigeria.
7. He sustained a hamstring injury in a match against Benin which prevented him from participating in the Mexico friendly match.
8. In 2014, Joseph Yobo announced his international retirement after loosing a match to France in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
9. In 2007, Joseph Yobo established the Joseph Yobo Charity Foundation to help under privileged children in Nigeria.
10. As of 18 July 2007, he has handed out over 300 scholarship awards ranging from primary to university level. Yobo has also started a football academy in the Ogoni region of Nigeria.