Celestine Boyd Jonto Hycieth Babayaro (born 29 August 1978) is a Nigerian 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 ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Babayaro spent the majority of his career playing in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

, mainly for

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

from 1997 to 2005, and then later for Newcastle United, from 2005 to 2008. He had a brief stint at

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club LA Galaxy, but never officially played for the club. He retired as a free agent in 2010. Babayaro represented the

Nigeria national football team The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In April 1994, ...

from 1995 to 2004 and was part of two Olympic squads, two

World Cup 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 ...

squads and three African Cup of Nations squads.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...

, Babayaro began his playing career at Nigerian side Plateau United, before moving to Belgian club Anderlecht in 1994, and eventually would make a name for himself, quickly gaining first-choice status although still a teenager. Babayaro set records as the youngest player to make an appearance and to receive a red card in the

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 ...

. He was sent off in a match against Steaua Bucuresti in a 1–1 draw, aged 16 years and 86 days.

Chelsea

Babayaro was signed by

after being spotted by scout Lewis Durkin in April 1997. He moved for a transfer fee of £2.25 million, a club record paid for a teenager at the time. He made his debut in the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

against Slovan Bratislava, but an injury sustained in the 6–1 win over rivals

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

in December 1997 ruled him out for the rest of the season. This meant he missed their victories in the

1998 Football League Cup Final The 1998 Football League Cup Final was a football match played between Chelsea and Middlesbrough on 29 March 1998 at Wembley Stadium. Chelsea, under new manager Gianluca Vialli, won with two extra time goals and won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup ...

and the

1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final The 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match that took place on 13 May 1998 at Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm, Sweden to determine the winner of the 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. It was contested by Chelsea of England and VfB Stuttg ...

. However, with Chelsea he went on to win the

1998 UEFA Super Cup The 1998 UEFA Super Cup was a football match that was played on 28 August 1998 at Stade Louis II, Monaco, contested between Champions League winners Real Madrid and Cup Winners' Cup holders Chelsea. Neither team had previously won the trophy. ...

, the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

and Charity Shield in 2000, and reached the

2002 FA Cup Final The 2002 FA Cup Final was a football match between Arsenal and Chelsea on 4 May 2002 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2001–02 FA Cup, the 120th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the ...

. He was also instrumental in Chelsea's run in the

1999–2000 UEFA Champions League The 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League was the 45th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the eighth season since its rebranding from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The com ...

. Babayaro was sent off in extra time against

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, as they bowed out of the competition at the quarter final stage. He faced competition from

Graeme Le Saux Graeme Pierre Le Saux ( ; born 17 October 1968) is an English former professional footballer and television pundit. As a versatile left sided player he played most of his career at left back with two spells at Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, Southamp ...

during his seven-year spell, but managed to play over 200 games for the club. His acrobatic celebrations with backflips were noted by the fans of the club. On 11 January 2004, in a 4-0 victory against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, he scored the final Premier League goal of Dr Harold Shipman’s lifetime; Shipman died two days later. The steady form of

Wayne Bridge Wayne Michael Bridge (born 5 August 1980) is an English former footballer who played as a left back. A graduate of the Southampton Academy where he made his debut in 1998, Bridge also played for Chelsea, West Ham, Manchester City, Fulham and ...

saw Babayaro start only four FA Premier League matches for Chelsea in 2004–05 under new manager José Mourinho. Chelsea ended the season as Premier League champions.

Newcastle United

In January 2005, he left

to join Newcastle United on an undisclosed fee, where he established himself as first-choice left-back. He scored his first and what turned out to be his only Newcastle goal in a 3–1 win over

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

in the

. In September 2006, Babayaro was given a three-match ban by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

for slapping

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

striker Dirk Kuyt in the face, while Liverpool took a corner. The slap was not seen by the referee

Mark Halsey Mark R. Halsey (born 8 July 1961) is an English retired professional football referee who was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, later based in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

, but later footage 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 Glenn Victor Roeder (13 December 1955 – 28 February 2021) was an English professional football player and manager. As a player, Roeder played as a defender for Arsenal, Leyton Orient, Queens Park Rangers, Notts County, Newcastle United, Watfo ...

revealed that just 12 hours before kick-off, Babayaro had called him saying his younger brother David had died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. Despite this, Babayaro insisted he would still play and put in a solid performance which earned him praise from Roeder and the fans. This fine form continued into United's 3–1 away victory against Zulte Waregem, 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, clay ...

. 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. In January 2009, former Newcastle chairman

Freddy Shepherd Freddy Shepherd (29 October 1941 – 25 September 2017) was an English businessman and the chairman of Newcastle United football club from 1997 until 2007. During his time at Newcastle, both as an active assistant to and later replacement of ...

described Babayaro as a "disgrace" who "didn't pull his weight" during a televised BBC interview.

Later career

On 21 January 2008, 29-year-old Babayaro came to an agreement with the LA Galaxy to join them on a three-year contract, effective immediately. With this move, the Nigerian re-joined Galaxy coach

Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all ...

who previously brought him to

in 1997 and spent a season coaching him there. This time again, it was the recently hired Gullit who wanted Babayaro at his new club. However, it did not take long for the move to turn sour. Thinking that he had arrived at sort of an American superclub that only a year earlier gave David Beckham what was widely reported to be the $250 million contract, Babayaro was agitated by what he considered to be "shabby" accommodations – from having to fly in the economy class to sharing a hotel room on the road. His lack of commitment in training and preseason games reflected those feelings, and he soon got on Gullit's and club president and general manager

Alexi Lalas Panayotis Alexander "Alexi" Lalas ( el, Αλέξης Λάλας; born June 1, 1970) is an American retired soccer player who played mostly as a defender. Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States men's national soccer te ...

's bad side. On 3 March, Babayaro was waived by the Galaxy after playing only 45 minutes in a preseason friendly against FC Seoul, receiving a yellow card and conceding a penalty in the process. The reason for this unexpected release was not stated explicitly by Galaxy front office. "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," Lalas 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." During pre-season for the 2008–09 English league season, Babayaro trained with

club

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

at the invitation of manager Harry Redknapp with a view to signing for the

holders. On 14 August 2008, Redknapp revealed that he would not offer Babayaro a contract at Fratton Park. On 8 July 2010, Babayaro officially announced his retirement from football.

International career

After being part of the victorious Nigerian team at the Under-17 World Championships in 1993, Babayaro made his international senior debut in the

Afro-Asian Cup of Nations The Afro-Asian Cup of Nations, also called the AFC Asia/Africa Challenge Cup, was an intercontinental football competition endorsed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), contested between repr ...

in 1995, against

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

. The following year, he was part of the Nigeria Olympic gold medal winning team at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, making the tournament's all-star team. He scored in the gold medal game itself against Argentina. After getting a knee injury in December 1997 in the Premier League, Babayaro recovered just in time to make the France 98 squad. He was also Nigeria's captain at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

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 The 2004 African Cup of Nations, known as the NOKIA African Cup of Nations, Tunisia 2004 for sponsorship reasons (also referred to as AFCON 2004 or CAN 2004) is the 24th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's footb ...

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

, but was controversially sent home, alongside Yakubu and

Victor Agali Victor Okechukwu Agali (born 29 December 1978) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Career In 1997, Agali joined French club Olympique de Marseille. Finding it hard to establish a first team place, he quickly m ...

for indiscipline. Although never officially announcing his retirement from international football, his final appearance from the national team was against

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

in a group stage match.

Personal life

Celestine Babayaro's brother,

Emmanuel Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the ...

, a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

, was also part of Nigeria's 1996 Olympics gold medal-winning team. Babayaro was acquitted of indecent assault in 1999. He later sued the '' Daily Star'' for a headline suggesting he had been charged with rape and won an apology and damages. He was declared bankrupt in 2011.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Anderlecht *

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 te ...

: 1994–95 *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champio ...

: 1995 Chelsea *

: 1997–98 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

: 1999–2000 * FA Charity Shield:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

Nigeria U17 * FIFA U-17 World Championship:

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

Nigeria U23 *

Olympic Gold Medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

: 1996 Nigeria * Africa Cup of Nations third place: 2004 Individual * Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year: 1994–95, 1995–96 *

Ebony Shoe Award The Ebony Shoe award (Dutch: ''Ebbenhouten schoen'', French: ''Soulier d'ébène'') is a football award in Belgium given annually to the best African or African origin player in the Belgian Pro League. The jury is composed of the coaches of leag ...

: 1996

References

External links

*
Babayaro's profile at Sports-Reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babayaro, Celestine 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2000 African Cup of Nations players 2002 African Cup of Nations players 2004 African Cup of Nations players Belgian Pro League players Chelsea F.C. players Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate soccer players in the United States Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics LA Galaxy players Newcastle United F.C. players Nigeria international footballers Nigerian footballers Nigerian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the United States People acquitted of sex crimes Sportspeople from Kaduna Premier League players Olympic footballers of Nigeria Olympic gold medalists for Nigeria R.S.C. Anderlecht players 1978 births Living people Plateau United F.C. players Olympic medalists in football Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Association football fullbacks FA Cup Final players