Ayub Timbe teams up with ex-Barcelona, Arsenal legends in Japan
Ayub Timbe Masika has finally joined Japan-based football club Vissel Kobe after staying out of club action since October last year.
The Harambee Stars forward will play alongside former Barcelona star and world cup winner Andres Iniesta, as well as former arsenal player and FA cup winner Thomas Vermaleen.
Although the details of the deal are yet to be made public, the club was delighted with Timbe’s arrival and shared his reaction on their Twitter and Facebook accounts.
“Konnichiwa (hello), I am Masika Ayub, first of all I want to thank the club for giving me the opportunity and trust to join this amazing club,” the club posted in a video.
“It is an honor and an amazing feeling to be a part of the Kobe family, I can’t wait to get started and enjoy all the great moments, see you soon,” added the 28-year-old in the posted video.
The winger was born on September 10, 1992 in Nairobi and his passion and talent saw him move through several football academies in Kenya, including Ligi Ndogo and JMJ youth Academy.
At the age of 13, he left the country for Belgian academy, Team Anderlecht, where he stayed for two years before moving to the Beerschot AC academy in 2008.
In May 2010, Masika signed a two-year deal with Genk and played for the club’s reserve team until he signed a new four-year contract in June 2011.
Timbe scored his first goal for the club in their 2-0 win against FC Luzern in the UEFA Europa league play-off round in August 2012.
He was loaned to Lierse in 2014 for two seasons and made 42 appearances for the De Pallieters, scoring 8 goals and impressed by his contribution, the Belgian cup winners signed his on a permanent three-year deal in 2016.
A year later he joined league one side, Beijing Renhe FC in china and helped them secure promotion to the Chinese Super League before being loaned to Heilongjiang Lava Spring the following season.
On January 31, 2020 he made headlines when he joined EFL championship side Reading on loan until the end of the season.
Timbe has 24 caps for the Kenya national team, finding the net on four occasions and is looking to follow in the footsteps of the 2020 J. League top scorer Micheal Olunga when he kickstarts his career at Vissel Kobe.
Kobe is currently joint first in the J1 League and Timbe will be eager to make his debut when they play Oita Trinita tomorrow at the Oita bank Dome stadium.