Celestine
Babayaro (born August 29, 1978 in Kaduna, Nigeria) is a football
footballer who plays left-back currently contracted to Newcastle
United in the English Premiership.
Babayaro began his playing career at Nigerian side, Plateau
United before moving to Belgium and Brussels outfit, Anderlecht
in 1994 and made a name for himself through his performances for
Nigeria in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where the
African nation won the golden medal.
He was purchased by Chelsea in April 1997 for £2.25m million - a
club record paid for a teenager at the time. 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 in SW6, but played
over 200 games for Chelsea. His acrobatic celebrations were a
highlight and loved by the Stamford Bridge faithful. He scored
some good goals for Chelsea, his last coming away to Leicester
in the 2003/2004 season. The signing of Wayne Bridge saw
Celestine start only four Premier League games for Chelsea in
2004/2005 - their Premiership winning year.
He played briefly for Nigeria in the 2002 World Cup, before
quitting international football aged 23. He also made a brief
comeback appearance for his country in the 2004 African Nations
Cup in Tunisia, but was sent home along with Portsmouth F.C.
striker, Aiyegbeni Yakubu for "indiscipline".
In January 2005, Babayaro left Stamford Bridge to join Newcastle
United where he has established himself as first choice left
back. |
