Yakubu’s happy days with ’ Arry
The ex- Portsmouth, Everton and Nigeria frontman loved life with Harry – but can’t escape missing a sitter at the 2010 World Cup
You arrived in England with Portsmouth in 2003, then helped them win promotion to the Premier League straight away. Take us through that journey...
It was an amazing time in my career, with so many good things happening in my life back then. Portsmouth is like my first home, and sometimes I’ll drive my kids down there just to show them where everything started for me in England. I disguise myself and visit the places where I used to get coffee – let me tell you, not a lot has changed around there! The people still love their football, but it’s sad that one of English football’s truly legendary clubs is struggling to return to its rightful place. We were lucky to have some really great players back then: Matt Taylor, Teddy Sheringham, and even Eddie Howe before he became the Bournemouth manager. We had personality, and the players were really hungry. I had just arrived from Israel [ with Maccabi Haifa] and was determined to make a name for myself, so was pleased I could help them reach the Premier League in my first season. Getting to play there with Portsmouth is one of the best memories of my football career.
Harry Redknapp was your manager there. What was he like for you?
Incredible. I’m not surprised Frank Lampard is doing well at Chelsea. If he has even half of his uncle’s personality, he’ll take the English game by storm. Some managers concentrate on the tactics and some allow their players to express themselves. Harry let you express yourself. He was the only boss I could ask for a day off, and get it on the condition I scored twice at the weekend! And you know what?
He kept his word. It’s a shame managers like that are fading in the game, because beyond being a football manager, Harry was an even better human being. I see him on television sometimes and feel so happy that our paths crossed in such a beautiful way.
At Middlesbrough you played with Gareth Southgate, who is now England manager. Did you ever see that coming?
Actually, I did. He was my captain and later became the manager at Middlesbrough after Steve Mcclaren left. I think he was fortunate at Boro, though, because he had players like Mark Viduka and George Boateng who looked out for him. Normally, players don’t respect a team- mate who steps up as the manager, because one minute he’s your friend and the next he’s your gaffer. I wasn’t really playing when Southgate was in charge but, as I said, Viduka, Boateng and Mark Schwarzer looked after him, so things weren’t as tough as they could have been. Gareth was a great guy and didn’t speak a lot even when he was captain, but his discipline was always on point. I think that’s clear to see today, even from the way he dresses! In all seriousness, I believe he’s just one of those guys who are born to lead. Not many people are promoted from captain to manager straight away.
You spent three and a half years at Everton after joining for £ 11.25 million in 2007 – how do you look back on your time there?
I feel like people really took note of me there, and I’ve got David Moyes to thank for that – he was the manager who proved it’s possible to perfect a certain style of play and excel at it. If the manager knows his team inside out and the potential of every player, he can set them up in a way to maximise the strengths of everyone. Look at Steven Pienaar: ask him why his time at Tottenham didn’t go too well and he’ll tell you it’s a mystery, because he was mostly unplayable at Everton. But Moyes understood his team and didn’t want to copy any manager or try anything too fancy. We worked on all our strengths, and I believe that team was one of the best in Premier League history, given the tight budget we had to contend with. We made Goodison Park a place to fear and I was scoring almost every week – in my first season I got 21 goals, which was one short of my 22 target [ and his shirt number]. Pienaar wouldn’t give me the No. 20, so I had to take
22 instead!
You spent time on loan at Leicester in 2010- 11 under another manager to lead England: Sven- Goran Eriksson...
Sven was tough, demanding and very detailed. To be honest, I think he receives a lot less credit than he deserves. I played under him for Leicester but also for Guangzhou R& F in China. Anyone born in the 2000s might not know him very well, but he gave so much to English football. He was the real opposite to Harry Redknapp, though – he had an educated look about him and always wore his spectacles, which immediately told you that he was serious and quite strict. I got along with him, as most players in the team did, but he wasn’t one of those coaches who would ring to ask how you were doing, or tell you that you were in the news for staying out late at a nightclub. He was all about football and that was it.
Which ground did you always dread going to, and which defender gave you the most grief during your career?
I didn’t like going to Highbury – it was a very difficult place to visit: small and intimidating. Arsenal also had some of the best players in the world and a brilliant manager in Arsene Wenger. If you pushed me on the toughest defender I came up against, I would have to say Sol Campbell. He was so strong, read the game really well and intimidated you just by the seriousness on his face before a match. I remember one day at Portsmouth, I asked Harry if I could have a day off. He turned me down, saying I should train harder than ever because I was facing Sol a few days later – he was that good. When you talk about the Invincibles of Arsenal, he was a big part of it.
You somehow missed an open goal during Nigeria’s 2- 2 draw with South Korea at the 2010 World Cup. What on earth happened?
It’s been almost 10 years since that miss and I still get insults from Nigerians about it. Even from my friends! I scored a penalty less than five minutes later, but no one remembers it or the many other goals I got for the Super Eagles – it’s always that moment. On social media, there’s often someone who will tag me in a video or picture of it, but I’m simply happy that I scored a lot of goals to help my country. If they don’t remember that, then I do! I think what made it worse in a lot of people’s minds is that I looked up at the giant screen and smiled. It was my way of showing how bad the miss was. I thought I was nailed on to score, only to get my angles all wrong. But that’s football, and there’s nothing I can do about it any more.
You ended your career in November 2017 – how are you enjoying retirement?
I’ve totally switched off from thinking about being a player. My time is gone, and all I’m doing now is training with Boreham Wood to keep my fitness up. I’m sure it will surprise you to hear that I train well and still look healthy – maybe more than when I used to play!