Atanda Ayila Yussuf (born 4 November 1984) is a Nigerian former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
or
defensive midfielder
A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
. A former Nigerian youth international player, Yussuf moved to
Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League'') ...
Dynamo Kyiv
Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was offici ...
from Nigerian side
Union Bank in 2003. Despite injuries, Yussuf became a regular for both Dynamo Kyiv and the
Nigeria national team. He joined
Metalist Kharkiv on loan in 2014.
Club career
Early career
At 16 years of age, Yussuf signed his first professional contract with
Enyimba International he then continued his career with
Union Bank his selection in senior teams drew the attention of the youth national team coaches.
Dynamo Kyiv
After drawing interest from clubs like
PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...
and
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB St ...
, Yussuf signed with
Dynamo Kyiv
Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was offici ...
in July 2003. On 5 August, he made his debut in the club's reserve team,
FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv, against
FC Polissya Zhytomyr
Polissya Zhytomyr is a Ukrainian Association football, football club based in Zhytomyr, Polesia, Polissya. As of the 2020–21 season, it will play in the Ukrainian First League, the second tier of Ukrainian football, following promotion from th ...
. Less than two months later, on 21 September, Yussef made his senior team debut against
Zirka Kirovohrad. A serious knee injury ended his 2003–04 season. On 16 September 2004, he made his first appearance in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competiti ...
for FC Dynamo Kyiv in a match against
Roma.
Since the second half of the
2011–12 season, Yussuf has struggled to maintain a place in the first team and was loaned to Turkish
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...
side
Orduspor
Orduspor was a Turkish football club founded in 1967. The club was located in Ordu, Turkey and played their home games at 19 Eylül Stadium. The team managed to qualify for the Turkish Super League again in 2011. But, the last spell in top level ...
on 31 January 2013. After a loan spell in Turkey, he still had not regained a first-team spot and played for the reserve team of Dynamo Kyiv,
Dynamo-2 Kyiv. On 18 February 2014, he joined league rivals
Metalist Kharkiv on a loan deal until the end of the year.
Career statistics
References
External links
Dynamo Kyiv profile*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yussuf, Ayila
1984 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Lagos
Nigerian Muslims
Nigerian footballers
Association football midfielders
Nigeria international footballers
2006 Africa Cup of Nations players
2010 Africa Cup of Nations players
2010 FIFA World Cup players
Ukrainian Premier League players
Ukrainian First League players
Union Bank F.C. players
FC Dynamo Kyiv players
FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv players
FC Metalist Kharkiv players
Süper Lig players
Orduspor footballers
Nigerian expatriate footballers
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine
Expatriate footballers in Ukraine
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Expatriate footballers in Turkey