Ayub Masika

Ayub Timbe Masika (Kenyan English: [ɑˈjub ˈtɪmbe mɑˈsiːkɑː] ⓘ; born 10 September 1992) is a Kenyan professional footballer who currently plays as a winger or a forward for Nanjing City and the Kenya national team.

Ayub Masika
Personal information
Full name Ayub Timbe Masika
Date of birth (1992-09-10) 10 September 1992
Place of birth Nairobi, Kenya
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger, forward
Team information
Current team
 Nanjing City
Youth career
2004 Ligi Ndogo
2005–2006 JMJ Academy
2006–2008 Anderlecht
2008–2010 Germinal Beerschot
2010–2011 Genk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2016 Genk 30 (0)
2014–2016 → Lierse (loan) 42 (8)
2016–2017 Lierse 20 (6)
2017–2020 Beijing Renhe 49 (17)
2018 → Heilongjiang Lava Spring (loan) 6 (2)
2020 → Reading (loan) 2 (0)
2021 Vissel Kobe 8 (0)
2021–2022 Buriram United 12 (2)
2023– Nanjing City 0 (0)
International career‡
2012– Kenya 24 (4[2])
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:28, 23 July 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:02, 31 January 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Masika was born on 10 September 1992 in Pumwani, an estate in Nairobi, Kenya.[3]

He moved through several academies in Kenya, including that of Ligi Ndogo, before moving to the Anderlecht Academy from the JMJ Youth Academy in 2006 at the age of 13, where he stayed for two years before moving to the Beerschot A.C. (then Germinal Beerschot) academy in 2008.[4]

Genk

In May 2010, Masika signed a 2-year deal with Genk from Germinal Beerschot. He played for the club's reserve team until he signed a new 4-year contract with the club in June 2011.[4] He made his debut for the club when he came on in the 82nd minute for Nadson in a 1–1 draw against Zulte Waregem on 15 January 2012.[5][6] He got his first assist for the club on his second appearance during their 5–0 win over Oud-Heverlee Leuven on 29 January 2012 when he delivered the ball to Christian Benteke for the fifth goal of the match.[7] He scored his first goal for Genk in their 2–0 UEFA Europa League play-off round win against Swiss opponents FC Luzern, in the 88th minute, on 30 August 2012 at the Cristal Arena.[8]

Lierse

On 1 September 2014, Masika was loaned Lierse from Genk for 2 seasons, with an option to buy at the end of the loan.[9] He made his debut for the side in a 2–2 draw in the league against Anderlecht on 13 September, coming on in the 68th minute for Wanderson.[10] He scored his first goal for the club on 24 September, opening the score in a 4–0 Belgian Cup win over Sint-Truiden.[11]

In July 2016, Lierse signed Timbe on a permanent three-year deal.[12]

Beijing Renhe

Masika joined China League One side Beijing Renhe in February 2017. He scored eight goals in his first season to help win promotion to the Chinese Super League. The following season, he was loaned back to the second tier to play for Heilongjiang Lava Spring, though he also scored seven goals in 14 games in the top flight for Beijing Renhe. On 31 January 2020 – transfer deadline day in England – Masika joined EFL Championship side Reading on loan until the end of the season.[13]

Vissel Kobe

On 1 March 2021, Masika joined J1 League side Vissel Kobe.[14] On 12 August, he mutually terminated his contract with Vissel Kobe.[15]

Buriram United

On 2 December 2021, Masika joined Thai League 1 side Buriram United.[16]

Nanjing City

On 4 April 2023, Masika joined China League One side Nanjing City.[17]

International career

Masika was meant to play in a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary round match against Togo on 29 February 2012, but could not fly back to Kenya as he had club commitments with Genk that day.[18][19] However, he made his international debut for Kenya against South Africa on 16 October 2012, coming on as a substitute for Thika United forward Francis Kahata in the 61st minute. Kenya lost the match 2–1.[20]

Masika was called up to the Kenya national team once again for a friendly against Libya to be played on 6 February 2013, but refused to play, claiming that the Football Kenya Federation owed him money from his last appearance for the team against Tanzania.[21] He made his return to the side on 18 May 2014, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Comoros.[22] Masika scored his first goal for the national team 12 days later in the second leg, scoring a free kick to secure a 2–1 aggregate win for the Harambee Stars and a second round match-up against Lesotho.[23]

Career statistics

Club
As of 1 November 2019[1][3]
Club Division Season League[lower-alpha 1] Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe[lower-alpha 3] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Genk Pro League
2011–12 60000060
2012–13 1101041161
2013–14 1204030190
2014–15 10000010
Total 3005071421
Lierse (loan) Pro League 2014–15 20111–212
Belgian Second Division 2015–16 22710–237
Total 4282100449
Lierse Belgian Second Division 2016–17 20611–217
Beijing Renhe China League One 2017 23800–238
Chinese Super League 2018 14700–147
Chinese Super League 2019 12200–122
Total 491700004917
Heilongjiang Lava Spring (loan) China League One 2018 6210–72
Reading (loan) EFL Championship 2019–20 0000–00
Career total 14733917116335
  1. Includes appearances in the Belgian Pro League, the Championship play-offs, the Europa League play-offs and the Belgian Second Division play-offs.
  2. Includes appearances in the Belgian Cup and the Belgian Supercup.
  3. Includes appearances in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

    International
    As of 8 September 2019.[1][3]
    National teamSeasonAppsGoals
    Kenya 201220
    201300
    201431
    201551
    201652
    201710
    201810
    201970
    Total244

    International goals
    Scores and results list Kenya's goal tally first.[24]
    NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
    1.30 May 2015Stade Said Mohamed Cheikh, Mitsamiouli, Comoros Comoros1–01–12015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
    2.7 October 2015Stade Anjalay, Belle Vue Maurel, Mauritius Mauritius2–05–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification
    3.4 June 2016Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi, Kenya Congo1–11–22017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
    4.4 September 2016Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia Zambia1–11–12017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

    Honours

    Genk

    Buriram United

    References
    1. Ayub Masika – Profile – Footballdatabase.eu.
    2. "Player: Ayub Timbe Masika | FoStats". fostats.com.
    3. Ayub Masika – Profile – Soccerway.com.
    4. "Ayub Timbe lands four-year Pro deal with RC Genk". Futaa.com. 18 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
    5. "Kenyan striker debuts as Belgian champs are held". Futaa.com. 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
    6. "Ayub Timbe debuts as Genk hold Zulte-Waregem". MichezoAfrika.com. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
    7. "Timbe a massive winner with Genk". Futaa.com. 30 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 July 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
    8. "Ayub Masika fires Genk into Europa group stage". MichezoAfrika.com. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
    9. "Ayub Masika naar Lierse". lierse.com. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 29 September 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
    10. Vincent Opiyo (14 September 2014). "Masika debuts for Lierse in four goal thriller". Futaa.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
    11. Mercy Njueh (25 September 2014). "Goal for Timbe as Lierse progress". Futaa.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
    12. Oguda, Zachary. "Kenyan International winger joins Belgium side". Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
    13. Royals complete loan move for winger Ayub Masika
    14. "FWアユブ マシカ選手 完全移籍加入のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Vissel Kobe. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
    15. "FWアユブ マシカ選手 契約解除のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Vissel Kobe. 12 August 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
    16. "Ayub Timbe: Buriram United seal signing of Kenya winger". Goal. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
    17. "官方：前北京人和外援马西卡加盟南京城市" (in Chinese). dongqiudi. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
    18. "Kimanzi names squad to take on Togo". SuperSport. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
    19. "Ayub Timbe not coming for Togo match". MichezoAfrika.com. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
    20. "Timbe debuts for Kenya". Futaa.com. 16 October 2012. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
    21. "Why Belgium-based midfielder Ayub Timbe snubbed Kenya friendly against Libya". Goal. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
    22. "Timbe sparkles in debut start for Stars". Futaa.com. 18 May 2014. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
    23. "Timbe: I knew I will score from THAT free-kick". Goal. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
    24. "Masika, Ayub". National Football Teams. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
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