Celestine Babayaro
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| Celestine Babayaro | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Celestine Hycieth Babayaro | |
| Date of birth | August 29, 1978 | |
| Place of birth | Kaduna, Nigeria | |
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 91⁄2 in) | |
| Playing position | Left Back / Left Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Free Agent | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1994 | Plateau United | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1994–1997 1997–2005 2005–2007 2008 |
Anderlecht Chelsea Newcastle United L.A. Galaxy |
75 (8) 132 (5) 47 (0) 0 (0) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1995–2004 | Nigeria | 26 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
| Olympic medal record | |||
Competitor for  Nigeria |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Football | |||
| Gold | 1996 Atlanta | Team Competition | |
Celestine Hycieth Babayaro (born August 29, 1978 in Kaduna) is a Nigerian footballer who plays left-back and is currently a free agent, most recently on trial at Portsmouth.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Chelsea
Babayaro began his playing career at Nigerian side Plateau United, before moving to Belgium giants R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1994, and eventually would make a name for himself, quickly gaining first-choice status although still a teenager.
Babayaro was purchased by Chelsea F.C. in April 1997 for £2.25m million - a club record paid for a teenager at the time.[citation needed] During his time there, the team won the FA Cup and Charity Shield in 2000, and reached the FA Cup finals in 2002. He faced competition from Graeme Le Saux during his seven-year spell, but managed to play over 200 games for the London side. His acrobatic celebrations with backflips were a highlight and loved by the Stamford Bridge faithful. The signing of Wayne Bridge saw Babayaro start only four English Premier League games for Chelsea in 2004-05 - their Premiership winning year.
[edit] Newcastle
In January 2005, he left Chelsea to join Newcastle United where he established himself as first choice left back.
In September 2006, Babayaro was given a three-match ban by the Football Association for slapping Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt in the face while Liverpool took a corner. The slap wasn't seen by the referee but later videos showed Babayaro punch the Dutchman in the face. Babayaro accepted the allegations and apologised to Kuyt.
On 10 February 2007, after a 2-1 win over Liverpool, then-Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder revealed that just 12 hours before kick-off, Babayaro had called him saying his younger brother David had died from tuberculosis. Despite this, Babayaro insisted he would still play and put in a solid performance which earned him praise from Newcastle manager and fans. This fine form continued into United's 3-1 away victory against Zulte Waregem, in the UEFA Cup.[1]
Due to his many injury problems it was mutually decided, on 10 December 2007, that Babayaro should be released from his contract with immediate effect and a compensation figure was agreed.[2]
[edit] Recent Activity
On 21 January 2008, Babayaro came to an agreement with the Los Angeles Galaxy to join them on a three-year contract, effective immediately.[3]With this move, he re-joined Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit, whom he played for during his time at Chelsea. On March 3, he was surprisingly waived by the Galaxy after playing only 45 minutes in a pre-season friendly. The reason for this unexpected release is so far unknown. President of LA Galaxy said "After a period of evaluation, it was decided that it would be in the best interest of the club and the player to part ways,” Alexi Lalas, the team’s president and general manager, said in a statement. “It is unfortunate that it did not work out, but Ruud and our technical staff are hard at work putting together this team and difficult decisions have to be made."[4] During pre-season 2008, Babayaro trained with Portsmouth F.C. at the invitation of manager Harry Redknapp and with a view to the player signing for the FA Cup holders[5] On 14 August 2008 Redknapp revealed that he would not offer Babayaro a contract at Portsmouth [6]
[edit] International career
After being part of the victorious Nigerian team at the Under-17 World Championships in Japan (1993), Babayaro made his international senior debut in the Afro-Asian Championship in 1995, against Uzbekistan. The following year he was part of the Nigeria Olympic gold medal winning team at the Atlanta 96 football event, making the tournament's all-star team. After missing the entire 1997/98 Premier League season with a knee injury, Babayaro recovered just in time to make the France 98 squad. He was also Nigeria's captain at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and took part in the Korea/Japan 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Babayaro was part of Nigeria's squad for the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia, but was controversially sent home, alongside Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Victor Agali for indiscipline. Although never officially announcing his retirement from international football, he has not played for the national team ever since.
[edit] Personal
- Babayaro's brother, Emmanuel, a goalkeeper, was also part of Nigeria's 1996 Olympics gold medal winning team.
- Babayaro is the youngest player to play in the UEFA Champions League.
[edit] References
- ^ Brave Baba's secret sorrow
- ^ Bye Bye Babayaro
- ^ MLS Soccer News - Transfers | Trades | Signings | Rumors: Babayaro to LA Galaxy
- ^ "Babayaro doesn't last with Galaxy". Los Angeles Times (2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
- ^ "New Season, Same Hunger" (2008).
- ^ "Babayaro a no go but Jordi has a chance" (2008).
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Olivier Doll |
Belgian Young Footballer of the Year 1994-1996 |
Succeeded by Emile Mpenza |
| Preceded by Godwin Okpara |
Belgian Ebony Shoe 1996 |
Succeeded by Emile Mpenza |
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