Ayila Yussuf

Ayila Yussuf Atanda
Personal information
Full name	Atanda Ayila Yussuf
Date of birth	(1984-11-04) 4 November 1984 (age 29)
Place of birth	Lagos, Nigeria
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team	Metalist Kharkiv
Number	24
Youth career
2002–2003	Julius Berger
	Enyimba
	Union Bank
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2003	Union Bank	43	(4)
2003–	Dynamo Kyiv	120	(10)
2003	→ Dynamo-2 Kyiv	10	(0)
2013	→ Orduspor (loan)	8	(1)
2013	→ Dynamo-2 Kyiv	8	(2)
2014–	→ Metalist Kharkiv (loan)	5	(1)
National team‡
2005–	Nigeria	31	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 May 2014. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 05:11, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Ayila Yussuf (born 4 November 1984) is a professional Nigerian football player. His main asset is his versatility, as he can play as a central defender or defensive midfielder. He played for Ukrainian Premier League side Metalist Kharkiv on loan from FC Dynamo Kyiv. A former Nigerian youth international player, Yussuf was acquired by Dynamo from Nigerian side Union Bank F.C. in 2003. Despite injuries, Yussuf has become a regular for both Dynamo Kyiv and the Nigerian national team.

Club career

At 16 years of age, Yussuf signed his first professional contract with Enyimba International F.C. He then continued his career with Union Bank F.C. His selection in senior teams drew the attention of the youth national team coaches.

FC Dynamo Kyiv

After drawing interest from clubs like PSV Eindhoven and VfB Stuttgart, Yussuf signed with FC Dynamo Kyiv in July 2003. On 5 August, he made his debut in the club's reserve team, FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv, against FC Polissya Zhytomyr. Less than two months later, on 21 September, Yussef made his senior team debut against FC Zirka Kirovohrad. A serious knee injury ended his 2003-2004 season. On 16 September 2004, he made his first appearance in the UEFA Champions League for FC Dynamo Kyiv in a match against A.S. Roma.

Since the second half of the 2011–12 season, Yussuf has struggled to maintain a place in the first team and was loaned to Turkish Süper Lig side Orduspor on 31 January 2013.^[1] After a loan spell in Turkey, he still had not regained a first-team spot and played for the reserve team of Dynamo Kyiv, Dynamo-2 Kyiv. On 18 February 2014, he joined league rivals Metalist Kharkiv on a loan deal until the end of the year.^[2]

Statistics

As of 2 January 2014

References

• Dynamo Kyiv profile
• Ayila Yussuf at National-Football-Teams.com