Matthew Nathaniel Joseph (born 30 September 1972) is a 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 defender. He has been a member of the Barbados national team.

Career

Joseph was born in the

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

area of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to West Indian parents. He played as a midfielder for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in his youth career and both midfielder and defender at the senior level featured for the club

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

with 159 caps. As well he subsequently left Cambridge in 1998 to join up with

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

for £10,000. The Barbadian won the Player of the Year award three times while at Orient. Joseph in all appeared a total of 230 times both at and away from

Brisbane Road Brisbane Road, originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Brisbane Road, Leyton, East London, England. It has been the home ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amateur football team Leyton F.C., w ...

. Joseph won 16 youth caps while featuring for England. Joseph was also capped twice for

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

, with both caps coming at home against

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 2000. Joseph is currently a Youth Coach Developer working with that of the

English 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 an ...

Honours

*Leyton Orient Player of the Year: 2000, 2001

References

External links

*
Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database
* 1972 births Living people Footballers from Bethnal Green English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Arsenal F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Canvey Island F.C. players Histon F.C. players People with acquired Barbadian citizenship Barbados men's international footballers Barbadian men's footballers English Football League players English people of Barbadian descent Black British sportsmen {{Barbados-footy-bio-stub