Michael Albert Yobo (born May, 1979 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria) is a retired Nigerian football defender. Previously, he played for AJ Auxerre, VfL Osnabrück, Grazer AK, FC Zwolle, and Pontevedra CF in Europe.[4]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Albert Yobo | ||
| Date of birth | (1979-05-05) 5 May 1979 (age 43) | ||
| Place of birth | Port Harcourt, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1997 | Rangers International | ||
| 1998–2000 | AJ Auxerre | ||
| 2001 | VfL Osnabrück | ||
| 2002 | Grazer AK | ||
| 2003–2004 | FC Zwolle[1] | 21 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Pontevedra CF[2] | 19 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1995 | Nigeria U-17[3] | 3 | (0) |
| 2003 | Nigeria | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:13, 10 April 2007 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 July 2005 | |||
He is the older brother of Nigeria international captain Joseph Yobo. In July 2008, their younger brother Norum Yobo[5] was kidnapped in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria and held for ransom. He was eventually released after 12 days on 17 July 2008.[6]
His brothers charity, the Joseph Yobo Foundation, run a youth football tournament in Nigeria which bears his name, the Albert Yobo Soccer Championship.[7]
Yobo made his debut for Nigeria aged 18 against Zambia in a friendly in December 1997.[citation needed]
In 2007, his brother Joseph Yobo set up the Joseph Yobo Charity Foundation, to help under-privileged children in Nigeria. As of 18 July 2007, together they have handed out over 300 scholarship awards ranging from primary to university level. Yobo has started a football academy in the Ogoni region of Nigeria. He also runs football camps in Lagos. See the Everton Lagos project for more information.[citation needed]