Pierre Achille Webó Kouamo (born 20 January 1982), known as Webó, is a Cameroonian football manager and former professional player who played as a striker. He is the assistant manager of Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir. He spent eight years of his career in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

, appearing in a combined 227 matches for

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

and

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

and scoring 47 goals (in Spain he also represented

Leganés Leganés () is a city in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Considered part of the Madrid metropolitan area, it is located about 11 km southwest of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 188,425, making it the region's fifth most popul ...

). He also competed professionally in Uruguay and Turkey. A Cameroon international in the 2000s, Webó appeared with the country in two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

and as many

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

Playing career

Club

Early years

Born in

Bafoussam Bafoussam is the capital and largest city of the West Region of Cameroon, in the Bamboutos Mountains. It is the 3rd most important (financially) city in Cameroon, after Yaoundé and Douala. The ''communauté urbaine'' (Urban Community) of Bafouss ...

West Region Western Region or West Region may refer to: Places * Al Gharbia, Abu Dhabi, the Western Region *Western Region, Bahrain * Western Region, Eastern Cape, South Africa *Western Region, Ghana *Western Region (Iceland) *Western Region, Nepal *Western Re ...

, Webó started his professional career in Uruguay, playing three years with

Club Nacional de Football Club Nacional de Football (, ''National Football Club'' or simply as Nacional) is a Uruguayan professional sports club based in Montevideo. The club was founded on 14 May 1899 as a result of the merger between ''Uruguay Athletic Club'' and ''Mon ...

, winning two Primera División titles – although he only was an important first-team member in his third year – and becoming top scorer of the 2002 edition of the South American Cup. He moved to Europe in January 2003, signing with second division club

CD Leganés Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. is a football club based in Leganés, Community of Madrid, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. It was founded on 23 June 1928. It holds home games at ...

, on the outskirts of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

, on loan from

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

Osasuna

In the summer of 2003, Webó returned to Osasuna, for whom he scored six goals in his third season, being instrumental in the

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

se side's fourth

place and

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 competi ...

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

, although they would ultimately be ousted by

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of thr ...

prior to the group stage. His 2006–07 pre-season was hampered after he was forced to undergo treatment for

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...

, but he went on to produce similar numbers in the league, adding two goals in nine games in the team's semi-final run in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...

, including the match's only in a home tie against

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

Mallorca

Webó moved to

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

in 2007, spending most of his first season on the sidelines with an injury. He did manage five league goals. Pierre Webo 2011

After Dani Güiza's departure, Webó's importance increased, and he totalled 18 goals the following three seasons, netting six in 2009–10 as the Balearic Islands team finished fifth and qualified to the Europa League (later revoked). In the 2011 off-season, after scoring 11 goals in the campaign, with Mallorca narrowly avoiding relegation, Webó signed a three-year contract extension. In August, however, he asked to be relieved from his obligations for personal reasons, and joined

İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. İstanbul Başakşehir Futbol Kulübü () is a Turkish professional football club based in the Başakşehir district of Istanbul. The club is better known simply as İstanbul Başakşehir or, due to sponsorship, Medipol Başakşehir (). The club ...

in Turkey.

Turkey

On 11 September 2011, in the first round of the season, Webó scored on his official debut for his new club, a 2–0 home defeat of

Galatasaray SK Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other dep ...

. On 31 January 2013, he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with fellow

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 Fenerbahçe SK for €3 million. Again he found the net in the first competitive match with his new team, but in a 1–2 home loss to

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Demir Grup Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department competes in Süper Lig, as of 20 ...

. On 7 March 2013, Webó scored the game's only goal in a win at

FC Viktoria Plzeň Football Club Viktoria Plzeň () is a Czech professional football club based in Plzeň. They play in the Czech First League, the top division of football in the country. As runners-up in the 1970–71 Czechoslovak Cup, the club gained the rig ...

in that season's Europa League round of 16 (2–1 on aggregate). He added another the following round, through a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalt ...

for the first in a 2–0 home victory over

S.S. Lazio Società Sportiva Lazio (; ; ''Lazio Sport Club''), commonly referred to as Lazio, is an Italian professional sports club based in Rome, most known for its football activity. The society, founded in 1900, plays in the Serie A and have spen ...

. Webó played in his first

derby match A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. The intensity of the rivalry can range anywhere from a light hearted banter to serious viole ...

against Galatasaray on 12 May 2013, scoring twice to secure a 2–1 win. The game was marred by racist chants from Fenerbahçe fans, directed to opposing players

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...

and

Emmanuel Eboué Emmanuel Eboué (born 4 June 1983) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a right back. Formed at ASEC Mimosas, he moved to Europe to play for Belgium's Beveren in 2002. He spent most of his career, from 2005 to 2011, with Ar ...

. From

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Webó continued to compete in the country, with

Osmanlıspor Ankaraspor Kulübü (), formerly known as Osmanlıspor (), is a Turkish professional football club based in the country's capital Ankara. Founded in 1978, the club competes in the TFF Second League. History Ankaraspor was founded as "Ankara Bel ...

and Gazişehir Gaziantep FK (the latter club in the

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...

Return to Nacional

In September 2018, the 36-year-old Webó returned to Nacional de Montevideo after 16 years. After only 59 minutes of play across two league appearances, he left before the start of the 2019 season.

International

An international since 2003, Webó's first highlight playing for the Cameroon national team was a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wi ...

in his country's 3–2 win in

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

in the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

qualifiers, but his team would not travel to Germany, precisely at the hands of that opponent. Webó scored in a 1–3 friendly loss against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

on 1 June 2010, and started in the first two games at that year's

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...

in South Africa (both ending in defeat), with the player not managing to find the net. Webó was called up for the

in 2006 and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, as well as the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rig ...

, but did not score in any tournament; however, at the latter continental tournament he set up both goals as a substitute in a draw with

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

that saw his team into the quarter-finals. On 17 November 2013, he was among the scorers in a 4–1 playoff victory over the same opponents that took Cameroon to the World Cup in Brazil.

Coaching career

After retiring, Webó joined İstanbul Başakşehir's coaching staff under Okan Buruk. In a Champions League group stage fixture against

Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As F ...

on 8 December 2020, he accused he was the target of racism by Romanian fourth official

Sebastian Colțescu Constantin Sebastian Colțescu (born 6 May 1977) is a Romanian football referee. Career Colțescu was promoted to the Division A in 2003, when he led the match between Oțelul Galați and Gloria Bistrița, on 28 November 2003. In 2006, he w ...

. The latter had allegedly used a term (''negru'', meaning black in Romanian), similar to a taboo racial slur in some western European countries but without the racial connotations, when describing and pointing out Webó to the main referee of the match, Ovidiu Hațegan; the incident, which occurred in the first half, ultimately led to the match being postponed, while

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...

also opened an investigation on the matter.

Personal life

Webó's cousin

Geremi Geremi Sorele Njitap Fotso (born 20 December 1978), known simply as Geremi, is a Cameroonian former footballer. He was a versatile player able to play at right back, right midfield or defensive midfielder, known for his power, pace, combative s ...

was a long-time international teammate for Cameroon.

Honours

Nacional *

Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , en, First Division Professional League, local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional football league in Uru ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

Osasuna *

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

runner-up: 2004–05 Fenerbahçe *

: 2013–14 *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup (Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup (Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known as ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Individual *

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American fo ...

Top Scorer:

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Webo, Pierre 1982 births Living people People from Bafoussam Cameroonian footballers Association football forwards Real de Banjul FC players Uruguayan Primera División players Club Nacional de Football players La Liga players Segunda División players CD Leganés players CA Osasuna players RCD Mallorca players Süper Lig players TFF First League players İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers Ankaraspor footballers Gaziantep F.K. footballers Cameroon international footballers 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Cameroonian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in the Gambia Expatriate footballers in Uruguay Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Turkey Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in the Gambia Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. non-playing staff