Matthew Nathaniel Joseph (born 30 September 1972) is a 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 lea ...

who played as a defender. He has been a member of the Barbados national team.

Career

Joseph was born in the

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

area of London to West Indian parents. He played as a midfielder for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in his youth career and both midfielder and defender at the senior level featured for the club

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

with 159 caps. As well he subsequently left Cambridge in 1998 to join up with

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

for £10,000. The Barbadian won the Player of the Year award three times while at Orient. Joseph in all appeared a total of 230 times both at and away from

Brisbane Road BetWright Stadium, traditionally known as Brisbane Road and originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Leyton, East London, England. It has been the home ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amat ...

. Joseph won 16 youth caps while featuring for England. Joseph was also capped twice for

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, with both caps coming at home against

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 2000. Joseph is currently a Youth Coach Developer working with that of the

English Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsibl ...

Honours

*Leyton Orient Player of the Year: 2000, 2001

References

External links

*
Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database
* 1972 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets People from Bethnal Green English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Arsenal F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Canvey Island F.C. players Histon F.C. players Naturalised citizens of Barbados Barbados men's international footballers Barbadian men's footballers English Football League players English people of Barbadian descent Sportspeople of Barbadian descent Black British sportsmen {{Barbados-footy-bio-stub