Yusif Yakubu (born 4 September 1976) is a Ghanaian 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He scored a total of 148

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

goals from 2000 to 2014,Time to regain lost glory
''Telegraph India''. Retrieved 22 September 2021 and is regarded as one of the best foreigners in history of

football in India Association football is one of the most popular sports in India. The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the first FIFA event the country hosted. It was called the most successful FIFA U-17 World Cup ever, with a record-breaking attendance of 1,347,133 ...

Career

Yakubu was born in

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in the southern part of Ghana and is the third largest of Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of and making up 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of ...

, in 1976, and began his youth football career in Ghanaian side Hearts of Oak in 1997. He later moved to

Egyptian Premier League The Egyptian Premier League (), also known as the Nile League () for sponsorship reasons, after the addition of title sponsor Nile Developments, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the highest level of the Egyptian football ...

side

Al Ahly SC Al-Ahly Sporting Club (), commonly known as Al-Ahly, is an List of football clubs in Egypt, Egyptian professional sports club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional Association football, football team which curren ...

in 1998 and played until 2000, before settling in Indian clubs permanently. Before joining

Kingfisher East Bengal East Bengal Football Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of the Indian football league system. The clu ...

, he had played for the

clubs

Churchill Brothers Churchill Brothers Futebol Clube de Goa (simply known as Churchill Brothers) is an Indian professional football club based in Margao, Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League, alongside the Goa Professional League (reserves). Founded in 1 ...

and

Mahindra United Mahindra United Football Club (formerly known as Mahindra & Mahindra) was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 1962, the club competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system, bef ...

. From 2001 to 2005, he scored 65 goals in 103 league matches with Churchill Brothers, finishing

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

's top scorer twice. He scored his first NFC hat-trick with Churchill on 5 March 2004 against Indian Bank RC in a 4–1 win. In one season with Mahindra United, he won Federation Cup and NFL. With

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

, Yakubu formed an impressive partnership with

Bhaichung Bhutia Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often ...

, and scored nine goals in the

2008–09 I-League The 2008–09 I-League season began on 26 September 2008 and finished on 16 April 2009 with a break in December for the Federation Cup and Durand Cup. Most games this season were played on Saturday's and Sunday's to attract larger crowds. Afte ...

. He was part of the team's friendly matches of Myanmar tour, against

Myanmar National League The Myanmar National League (abbreviated MNL) is the premier national professional football league of Myanmar. In 2009, the league replaced the Myanmar Premier League, which consisted only of 14 Yangon-based football clubs, with eight profession ...

teams, in which they won two, drew one and lost one. He is one of the all-time top scorer in Indian League and has scored 100 goals in the top tier of Indian football. On 26 May 2010, left East Bengal Club and signed for

Salgaocar SC Salgaocar Football Club (formerly Salgaocar Sporting Club) is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Vasco da Gama, Goa, Vasco, Goa. Being one of the country's most successful clubs, it is currently operating youth ...

. From 2011 to 2012, he appeared with Prayag United and was in the squad that emerged as runners-up of 2012 IFA Shield. He is considered as one of the finest foreign football players in the history of Indian Club football. In 2012, he moved to

Mumbai FC Mumbai Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The club predominantly competed in I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. Mumbai also participated in MDFA Elite League. The club ...

and with ''the Mumbaikars'', he scored his first hat-trick in

against

in a 4–2 win on 13 April 2014. In the

2014–15 I-League The 2014–15 I-League (known as the ''Hero I-League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the I-League, the Indian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 17 Januar ...

season, they managed to acquire sixth position. In January 2016, Yakubu moved to another

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

-based side Mohammedan Sporting. On 7 August 2017, it was announced that Yakubu would return to India to sign for

for their

Goa Professional League The Goa Football League is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of Goa, organised by the Goa Football Association as part of the state leagues. It was formed in 1951 as the Goa Primeira Divisão or Goa First Division, and ...

campaign.

Honours

Al Ahly *

: 1999–2000 Churchill Brothers *

: 2001–02 Mahindra United *

: 2005–06 *

Federation Cup (India) The Federation Cup was an annual knockout football competition and the premier cup competition in men's domestic Indian football until 2017. Established in 1977, it was organized by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The Federation Cu ...

: 2005 *

Indian Super Cup Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

: 2006 East Bengal *Federation Cup: 2009–10, 2010 *

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the state leagues. It is the oldest football league in Asia. The CFL ...

: 2010 Salgaocar *Federation Cup:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Prayag United *

Durand Cup The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons) is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the ...

: runner-up

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is a football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, the football governing body in the Indian state of West Bengal. The IFA came into existence in 1893, and was named after the association. The IFA Shield to ...

: runner-up 2012 Individual *

golden boot: 2001–02 (''with 18 goals''), 2002–03 (''with 21 goals'')

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yakubu, Yusif Living people 1976 births Footballers from Kumasi Ghanaian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Egyptian Premier League players I-League players Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. players Al Ahly SC players Churchill Brothers FC Goa players Mahindra United FC players East Bengal Club players Salgaocar FC players United SC players Mumbai FC players Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Egypt Expatriate men's footballers in Egypt Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in India Expatriate men's footballers in India Calcutta Football League players

Career

Honours

References

Further reading

External links