James Younghusband

James Younghusband

Younghusband with the Philippines at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup
Personal information
Full name	James Joseph Younghusband [fn 1]
Date of birth	(1986-09-04) 4 September 1986 (age 37)
Place of birth	Ashford, Surrey, England
Position(s)	Right midfielder, striker
Youth career
1997–2003	Chelsea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005	AFC Wimbledon	2	(0)
2006–2007	Staines Town	16	(2)
2008–2009	Woking	20	(5)
2010	Farnborough	18	(3)
2011	San Beda FC	21	(7)
2012–2017	Meralco Sparks / Manila	43	(25)
2017–2018	Davao Aguilas	53	(20)
2019–2020	Ceres–Negros	7	(2)
International career‡
2005	Philippines U23	3	(1)
2006–2019	Philippines	101	(12)
Medal record Men's football Representing   Philippines AFC Challenge Cup 2014 Maldives 2012 Nepal
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 March 2018 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 January 2019

James Joseph Younghusband ^{[fn 1]} (born 4 September 1986) is a former professional footballer who played mostly as a right midfielder and sometimes as a forward.

Born in Surrey, England to an English father and Filipino mother, Younghusband played for the youth team of Chelsea. He spent his early senior career in the lower levels of English football with AFC Wimbledon, Staines Town, Woking, and Farnborough. He moved to the Philippines in 2011 where he played for San Beda, Loyola Meralco Sparks (later Meralco Manila), Davao Aguilas, and Ceres–Negros.

Younghusband played for the Philippines national team from 2005 to 2020, representing them in the Southeast Asian Games, AFF Championship, and AFC Asian Cup. He earned 101 caps and scored 12 goals for the senior national team.

Younghusband's younger brother, Phil, was also a footballer. The brothers have been teammates for both club and country.

Club career

San Beda

On 15 April 2011, it was reported that Younghusband and his younger brother Phil announced that they will join San Beda for the 2011 National Club Championships under former national coach Aris Caslib. ^[1] In the final, San Beda lost 3–0 to Teknika in the first leg. In the second leg, Younghusband scored from a free kick to make the score 2–0 to San Beda. San Beda, however, were not able to find a third a goal and Teknika won 3–2 on aggregate. ^[2]

Meralco Manila

After the conclusion of the 2011 National Club Championship, he and his younger brother would be joining Loyola Agila on three-year deals. ^[3]

In a round of 16 match in the 2011–12 United Football Cup match, Younghusband scored his first goal for Loyola in a 14–0 win over Sunken Garden United. He scored his second goal in the semi-finals in a 5–4 victory over Kaya after being 3–0 down at half-time. ^[4] Loyola lost the final 2–0 to Philippine Air Force.

Younghusband scored his first league goal for Loyola in a 2–1 victory over Philippine Army. He then scored a brace in a 4–3 win against Global before adding another against Kaya. He then scored a hat-trick in a 14–0 thrashing of Philippine Navy. Leading 3–1, Younghusband received his first red card in the United Football League after a row with Air Force player Herbert Bayona after which Younghusband shoved Bayona. The sending off inspired Air Force to score twice in one minute to draw the match 3–3. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

When Loyola Meralco joined the Philippines Football League (PFL) in 2017, it renamed itself as Meral Manila and Younghusband remained with the club.

Davao Aguilas

James Younghusband along with his brother was officially signed in by Davao Aguilas of the PFL in August 2017. ^[8] The Younghusbands played for the club for two seasons until its dissolution by the end of the 2018 season. ^[9]

Ceres Negros

After months of being without a club, James Younghusband was signed in by Ceres Negros of the PFL in August 2019. ^[9]

Younghusband announced his retirement on 25 June 2020. ^[10] He initially planned to play for Ceres for at least the whole 2020 season but decided to retire earlier due to the league being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[11]

International career

Early in 2005, the Philippine Football Federation was alerted by an anonymous video gamer regarding the eligibility of James and Phil Younghusband's to play for the Philippine national team, allegedly by finding out about their lineage via the Football Manager series. ^[12] He and Phil, his younger brother, were eventually called up to the Southeast Asian nation's football squad, amidst much fanfare. Younghusband participated in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, which was held in the Philippines. He also ensured the advancement of the Philippine team to the group stage of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification by scoring in the fourth minute of the away match against Mongolia in the qualifying play-off.^{[ citation needed ]}

Younghusband was a mainstay of the Philippine national team in the 2010s, with his last stint being the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. ^[10]

International goals

Scores and results list the Philippines' goal tally first ^{[13] [14]}

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
2007
1.	7 January	Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Choa Chu Kang	Singapore	1–1	1–4	Friendly
2010
2.	12 October	Kaohsiung National Stadium, Kaohsiung	Macau	3–0	5–0	2010 Long Teng Cup
3.	24 October	New Laos National Stadium, Vientiane	Laos	2–2	2–2	2010 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification
2011
4.	15 March	MFF Football Centre, Ulan Bator	Mongolia	1–0	1–2	2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification
5.	21 March	Youth Training Centre, Yangon	Myanmar	1–0	1–1	2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification
6.	11 October	Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila	Nepal	2–0	4–0	Friendly
2012
7.	5 June	Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila	Indonesia	1–1	2–2	Friendly
2013
8.	4 June	Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong	Hong Kong	1–0	1–0	Friendly
9.	11 October	Panaad Stadium, Bacolod	Chinese Taipei	1–1	1–2	2013 Philippine Peace Cup
2014
10.	3 September	Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila	Chinese Taipei	2–0	5–1	2014 Philippine Peace Cup
2017
11.	5 September	Panaad Stadium, Bacolod	Yemen	2–2	2–2	2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2018
12.	6 December	Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi	Vietnam	1–2	1–2	2018 AFF Championship

Personal life

Younghusband was born in Ashford, Surrey, England to a British father and a Filipina mother (both deceased). He is the brother of Philippine team forward Phil Younghusband.

After his retirement from football, Younghusband plans to return to England with his sister Keri. ^[11]

See also

• List of footballers with 100 or more caps

Notes

1. James Younghusband was born in England. Thus, he does not possess his mother's maiden name.

References

1. "Phil, James set to play for San Beda FC". Malaya Online. 15 April 2011. Archived from the original on 17 April 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
2. "San Beda prevails but Teknika claims PFF-Smart crown". The Philippine Star. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
3. "Younghusbands join Loyola FC-Meralco". Inquirer.net. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
4. Celest R. Flores (5 December 2011). "UFL Cup: Loyola Meralco, Air Force nail finals spot". Inquirer.net. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
5. "AFP plays Meralco to 3-3 draw". ABS-CBN News. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
6. "Never-say-die Air Force makes epic comeback to draw Loyola". Interaskyon. 31 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
7. Cedelf P. Tupas (1 April 2012). "Airmen force draw with Loyola Meralco". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
8. "Davao Aguilas officially signs Phil & James Younghusband". Fox Sports. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
9. Go, Beatrice (17 August 2019). "James Younghusband joins Ceres in PFL return". Rappler. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
10. Del Rosario, Paolo (25 June 2020). "Philippine Azkals winger James Younghusband retires from football". ESPN5. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
11. Pedralvez, Manolo (1 July 2020). "Football: Phil, James Younghusband explain reason behind decision to retire". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
12. Jack Thompson (28 November 2005). "Mystery gamer alerts Philippines to Chelsea tyros" . Times Online. Times Newspapers. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
13. James Younghusband at Soccerway
14. James Younghusband at National-Football-Teams.com

External links

• James Younghusband at National-Football-Teams.com
• James Younghusband – FIFA competition record (archived)
• James Younghusband Interview