Members News: Our Moroccan Midfielder Hits 51 Today.’Happy Birthday’ Youssef!

Chippo in the Sky Blue

In another Sky Blue birthday today the Association sends its very best birthday greetings to Youssef Chippo. Our member who was a cultured Sky Blues midfielder at the turn of the millennium was born in Boujaad, Rabat, Morocco on 10th May 1973. Therefore, Youssef will be celebrating his 51st birthday today!

He became part of a Sky Blue Moroccan duo along with (another CCFPA member now) Moustapha Hadji. Youssef, with Moustapha, helped to bring verve, energy and guile to Sky Blues sides from 1999-2002. He started out with local sides KAC Kenitra, Al-Hilal and Al Arabi before being spotted by top Portuguese side FC Porto signing on for them in August 1997 and appearing in thirty games for them.

Youssef in Sky Blue action

Sky Blue manager (and now fellow CCFPA member) Gordon Strachan brought Youssef to Highfield Road in May 1999 for £1.2m and he made his Premier League debut for the Sky Blues on the 7th August in a 1-0 home defeat to Southampton. In his first Sky Blue season he ‘chipped’ in six goals from midfield in his 36 appearances.

However, in his second Sky Blue season, the club were relegated and two years later, with CCFC in financial trouble and looking to make savings Youssef was moved onto Al-Sadd of Qatar in April 2003, initially on loan. Youssef made his last appearance for the Sky Blues on 19th March 2003 in a desperate 4-0 home Division One defeat against Portsmouth. His final Sky Blue total was a respectable 132 appearances and ten goals (many of them memorable – see below).

He has also turned out for another Qatari team Al-Wakrah staying in the country playing until at least 2005. Since then he reportedly had trials with Scottish side Hibs as well as Swedish outfit Hammerby IF in 2007, but neither came to fruition.

Rio, George, Thierry & Youssef

Between 1995-2006 Youssef was capped over seventy times for his country. The midfielder retired from the game in around 2011 and joined CCFPA in February 2014. Most recently he has been a Football Analyst at beINPORTS TV Channels in the Middle East & North Africa and he also runs his own football academy.

Youssef is pictured (right) in 2015 with three international footballing ‘legends’, Rio Ferdinand, George Weah (President of Liberia between 2018-24) and Thierry Henry.

We hope you have a great day today Youssef and would love to see you back in Coventry now that international travel restrictions are fully eased!

PS If you want to see Mr Chippo in action for the Sky Blues, Dean Nelson -our very own Sky Blue video guru- recommends you look no further than clicking below:-