Joseph Yobo

On 30 June, he made his 100th international appearance, captaining Nigeria against France in the round of 16.

After scoring an own goal in the 2–0 defeat, Yobo announced his international retirement, saying: "This is it. I can look back on my career with great pride. I wanted to leave on a high for my country. Defeat by France was not the right way to go but I'm happy with all I've done for the national team. It's time to give a chance to other people to come through."

Joseph Michael Yobo (born 6 September 1980) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a centre back.

Yobo left Nigeria to join Standard Liège in 1998.

He made his first team debut in 2000, and went on to appear 46 times.

In 2001, he was bought by Marseille.

Soon after making his debut, Yobo was loaned to Tenerife.

After participating in Nigeria's run to the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship quarter-finals, Yobo made his senior international debut against Zambia in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 24 March 2001.

After around nine months, Yobo returned to Marseille, before joining Everton, again on loan, in July 2002.

A £1 million fee was required to register the player, and he became the first signing of David Moyes.

He played in all six of the team's matches in the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations and was included in the squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he was again ever-present, assisting Julius Aghahowa's goal in a 2–1 loss to Sweden.

An option to make the move permanent was taken up and completed in 2003 after a dispute between Yobo and Marseille was settled, with Everton agreeing a fixed additional fee of £4 million.

Yobo became one of the most consistent players in the Everton squad, and was one of only seven players in the entire league to play every minute of every game throughout the 2006–07 season; his teammate Joleon Lescott also being an ever-present throughout the season.

The delay, in 2006, in signing a new contract with Everton lead to rumours of a move to Arsenal, but on 22 July, Yobo committed himself to Goodison Park until 2010.

On 15 April 2007, Yobo became the record appearance holder for an overseas player at Everton, a record he held until early 2012.

For the UEFA Cup match against Larissa of Greece on 25 October 2007, Yobo was named as captain in the absence of Phil Neville and thus became the first African to captain the club.

On 6 May 2009, Yobo scored his first goal of the season against West Ham United to seal a 3–1 win.

In the 2009–10 season, Yobo had to adjust to his new defensive partner, Sylvain Distin, after Joleon Lescott left and Phil Jagielka became injured.

On 29 November 2009, he scored an own goal in Everton's 2–0 defeat to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.

Distin, Jagielka and John Heitinga were increasingly selected over Yobo, confining him to the bench.

On 31 August 2010, Yobo signed a one-year loan contract with Fenerbahçe.

Yobo played in 30 official matches and scored a goal, helping his team win the league title.

Yobo made his second World Cup appearance at the 2010 tournament in South Africa, after which he assumed the captaincy on the international retirement of Nwankwo Kanu.

On 6 September 2011, Fenerbahçe and Everton agreed on another loan deal for €700,000 and Yobo signed a one-year contract worth €2.35 million.

On 4 August 2012, he re-signed for Fenerbahçe once again, but this time on a permanent basis on a 3-year contract, after having played for Everton for 10 years.

On 17 August Fenerbahçe played against Torku Konyaspor and Yobo scored a goal in this match.

The veteran defender was no longer a first choice player at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, but lifted the trophy after appearing as an 89th-minute substitute in Nigeria's 1–0 final defeat of Burkina Faso.

He was the captain of the Nigerian national team until his international football retirement in June 2014, and was Nigeria's record appearance holder.

Before the 2014–2015 season his contract with Fenerbahçe was terminated with mutual agreement.

On 31 August 2014 was awarded with the plaque of appreciation and have been released from Fenerbahçe.

On 30 January 2014, Yobo returned to England on loan at Norwich City for the remainder of the season with a view to a permanent move in the summer.

He marked his debut for the club with a clean sheet against top-scoring club Manchester City on 8 February.

Yobo is a former Nigeria international, who has been capped 101 times and represented the Super Eagles at three FIFA World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

In June 2014, Yobo was included in Stephen Keshi's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

He was named in the starting line-up for both the second and third group matches, helping the Super Eagles to clean sheet in a 1–0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In February 2020, he was appointed assistant coach of the Super Eagles by the Nigeria Football Federation.

Yobo's birthplace and origin is Kono, an Ogoni community in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria.

On 12 February 2020, Yobo was appointed assistant coach of the Super Eagles by the Nigeria Football Federation after a brief meeting held in Abuja.

He was appointed assistant coach to replace Imama Amapakabo.

Yobo said "I am bringing back that motivation. As a former captain, I'm bringing inspiration. I've been there and I've done it all. I was a fan of the team before I became an assistant coach, so I've seen from a fanatical point of view how people feel when they are watching the team. We as players, while playing, don't notice these things but after my retirement, I've been a pundit, I've given my opinion about what should be done in the team."