Kevin Yakob

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Kevin Yakob
Yakob in 2021
Personal information
Full name Kevin Enkido Yakob
Date of birth (2000-10-10) 10 October 2000 (age 23)
Place of birth Gothenburg, Sweden
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 AGF
Number 17
Youth career
0000–2010 Assyriska BK
2010–2012 IFK Göteborg
2012–2015 Angered MBIK
2016–2018 BK Häcken
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2020 BK Häcken 3 (1)
2020 → Utsiktens BK (loan) 9 (3)
2021–2022 IFK Göteborg 38 (6)
2022– AGF 24 (3)
International career
2018 Sweden U19 9 (1)
2023– Iraq 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 September 2023

Kevin Enkido Yakob (Syriac: ܟܒܢ ܝܥܩܘܒ, born 10 October 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Danish Superliga club AGF. Born in Sweden, he plays for the Iraq national team.

Early life[edit]

Yakob was born in Gothenburg, Sweden to Assyrian parents from Mosul, Iraq.[2]

Club career[edit]

Youth career[edit]

Yakob spent his early years playing for local side Assyriska BK, a club formed by Assyrian immigrants like his parents, staying there until 2010. At the age of 9 he joined Allsvenskan club IFK Göteborg's academy, staying there for two years. In 2012, Yakob left Göteborg and joined Angered MBIK, where he would spend the next three years.

In 2015, Yakob travelled to England to trial with Sunderland, where he was given a tour of the club's academy and facilities and met with first team players, including Jermain Defoe. He trained with the club's academy teams and watched a Premier League match at the Stadium of Light.[3] A move to north England never materialised however.

In 2016, at the age of 15, Yakob joined BK Häcken's academy.

BK Häcken[edit]

During the 2018 pre-season, Yakob was included in BK Häcken's first team squad in the preparations, playing 4 friendly matches.[4]

In May 2018, Yakob signed his first professional contract with BK Häcken, signing a four-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2022.

Yakob made his debut for the Häcken first team on 27 October 2018, two weeks after his 18th birthday, coming on in the 83rd minute against Dalkurd FF, scoring less than a minute after coming on.[5] The game ended as a 5–0 win for Häcken.

IFK Göteborg[edit]

In January 2021, he was signed by IFK Göteborg on a two-year professional contract.[6]

AGF Aarhus[edit]

In August 2022, Yakob joined Danish Superliga club AGF Aarhus on a 5-year contract, scoring one goal and making three assists against Vatanspor on his debut in the Danish Cup.[7]

International career[edit]

Youth[edit]

Yakob was first called up to the national team in May 2018, as part of the Under-19 squad that would be competing in a friendly tournament on the island of Gotland. He came on against Hungary to make his debut for the Sweden U19s and scored his first international goal on his second appearance against Turkey.[8]

Yakob was called up for the Under-19 European Championship qualifiers in October 2018, starting all three matches against Scotland, Wales and San Marino, facing Premier League players like Chelsea's Billy Gilmour, Liverpool's Neco Williams and Manchester United's Dylan Levitt.[9]

Senior[edit]

In September 2022, Yakob was in the process of getting an Iraqi passport, as he had attracted interest from the IFA to play for the Iraqi national team.[10] On 18 January 2023, FIFA agreed to transfer Yakob’s paperwork to the Iraqi FA and therefore making him eligible for selection for the Iraq national football team. He was called up in March 2023 to face Russia but his club refused to let him go due to the fact that the game was in Russia, amidst the invasion of Ukraine. He was called up again in June 2023 to face Colombia.[11] He made his debut against Colombia but after 23 minutes he went off injured, which later turned out to be a cruciate ligament injury.[12][13]

Personal life[edit]

Kevin's family are Assyrians and they moved to Sweden before he was born. He signed a sponsorship deal with Nike in September 2017.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Kevin Yakob" (in Swedish). Forza Football. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  2. ^ "مواهب تصل للفريق الأول واخرى تشترك مع المنتخب السويدي" (in Arabic). IQ-Pro. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Sunderland A.F.C". Kevin Yakob. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Landslagsdebut och A-kontrakt för Kevin Yakob" (in Swedish). Svensk Fotboll. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Kevin Yakob gör 5-0 till Häcken i sin debut" (in Swedish). Footballskanalen. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Kevin är klar!" (in Swedish). IFK Göteborg. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Kevin Yakob: Dejligt at komme i gang" (in Danish). AGF Aarhus. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Landslagsdebut och A-kontrakt för Kevin Yakob" (in Swedish). Svensk Fotboll. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  9. ^ "UEFA Under-19 Championship". UEFA. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  10. ^ Sebastian Pearson (20 September 2022). "Yakob kan byta landslag: "Just nu är det Irak som gäller"". fotbollskanalen.se (in Swedish).
  11. ^ "Iraq national team squad list". Twitter.
  12. ^ "AGF-profil udgik med skade i landsholdsdebut" [AGF profile exited with injury in national team debut] (in Danish). bold.dk.
  13. ^ "Stor AGF-bet: Profil er ramt af korsbåndsskade" [Big AGF bet: Profile is affected by cruciate ligament injury] (in Danish). bold.dk.
  14. ^ "Väldigt glad över att ha skrivit på mitt första kontrakt med Nike" (in Swedish). Kevin Yakob. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2020.

External links[edit]

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