Yousuf Butt

Yousuf Butt
Butt in 2019
Personal information
Full name Yousuf Ijaz Butt
Date of birth (1989-10-18) 18 October 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Vanløse, Denmark[1]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Tårnby FF
Youth career
2004–2008 Hellerup IK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Hellerup IK 48 (0)
2010 BK Skjold 17 (0)
2010–2013 BK Glostrup Albertslund 92 (0)
2014–2015 Brønshøj Boldklub 1 (0)
2015–2016 Svebølle B&I 28 (0)
2016–2017 Brønshøj Boldklub 12 (0)
2017 Fredensborg BI 16 (0)
2017–2018 Herlev IF 18 (0)
2018 Greve Fodbold 7 (0)
2018–2021 AB Tårnby 81 (0)
2021–2024 Ishøj IF 89 (0)
2024– Tårnby FF 10 (0)
International career‡
2011 Pakistan U23 1 (0)
2012– Pakistan 29 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:30, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:00, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

Yousuf Ijaz Butt (Urdu: يوسف اعجاز بٹ; born 18 October 1989[1]) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Tårnby FF. Born in Denmark, he plays for the Pakistan national team.

Butt has played over 400 division games in Denmark,[2] and was considered one of the best goalkeepers in South Asia in the 2010s.[3][4]

Club career

Hellerup

Butt started his career at Hellerup IK joining the club at the age of 14. He made his senior debut in 2007 in the Danish 1st division at the age of 18.

BK Skjold

Afterwards, Butt joined the 2nd division club BK Skjold in 2010, helping the club avoid the relegation, playing 17 games in the season. He played for Skjold Birkerød the following season.[5]

Glostrup Albertslund

Butt was then brought into 2nd division side BK Glostrup Albertslund where he eventually became the club captain.[6]

Brønshøj

In August 2014, Butt signed with 1st division club Brønshøj Boldklub on a 6-month contract.[7] He played one match for the club in the DBU Cup, winning 9–1 away against Blovstrød.

Svebølle

Butt later moved to 2nd division club Svebølle B&I in 2015.[8]

Return to Brønshøj

Butt returned again to his former club Brønshøj the next season.

Fredensborg & Herlev

In 2017 after a short stint at Fredensborg BI,[9] Butt signed for Herlev IF.

Greve Fodbold

In 2018, Butt moved to Greve Fodbold, where he was joined by national team fellow Muhammad Ali.

AB Tårnby

In 2018, Butt moved to AB Tårnby with fellow national team striker Hassan Bashir.[10]

Ishøj

Butt moved to the Denmark Series club Ishøj IF in 2021.[10] He played for Ishøj as key player and promoted with the club to Danish 3rd Division in the same season. In January 2024, Ishøj announced the departure of eight players including Butt.[11]

Tårnby FF

Following his departure, Butt moved to Denmark Series club Tårnby FF in the summer of 2024.

International career

Youth

Butt was first called up to represent the Pakistan national under-23 team in January 2011 for the 2012 Summer Olympics qualifiers under Tariq Lutfi. He had previously been called up for the 2010 Asian Games, but was stopped by the Pakistan Football Federation due to alleged late document submission to the Pakistan Olympic Association. He had bought a non-refundable air ticket and received no compensation from the PFF.[12]

He made his debut in the Olympic qualifiers as a starter against Malaysia, losing the match 0–2, conceding both goals in the first half, and eventually being replaced by Muhammad Omar in the second half.[13]

Senior

Butt made his senior debut for the national team in November 2012 against Singapore,[14] as a replacement in the second half for the captain Jaffar Khan, who conceded two of the goals in the eventual 0–4 defeat.[15]

He played as the main goalkeeper for Pakistan including the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers of 2014, the 2013 SAFF Championship, as well as the 2013 Philippine Peace Cup.[16]

After being left out for both the 2014 Asian Games and 2018 FIFA World Cup's Asian qualifiers 1st round of March 2015,[17] Butt returned after almost 5 years away to be the starting goalkeeper in the 2018 SAFF Championship, where he made the most amount of saves till reaching the semifinals, earning the title of "Safe Hands".[3]

He was also called for the Panjab football team in the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, where he made 2 appearances.[18]

After years of inactivity due to the ban on Pakistan Football Federation by FIFA, Butt earned his first cap as captain of the national team in the opening match against Mauritius at the 2023 Mauritius Four Nations Cup.[19] On 17 October 2023, Butt captained Pakistan in his home debut with the national team in Islamabad after 11 years,[16][20] in a 1–0 win against Cambodia in the second leg of the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, to be Pakistan's first ever victory in a World Cup qualifying match, which sent them through to the second round by winning 1–0 on aggregate.[21][2]

Personal life

Butt was born in Denmark to a Kashmiri family of Punjab from Lahore.[22] He also holds Canadian citizenship due to his father, who moved to Canada at a young age before shifting to Denmark.[22] Yousuf is the younger brother of Yaqoob Butt, who has also represented Pakistan at the international level.[23] Butt also went to school with Hassan Bashir in Denmark, who eventually played alongside him in the national team.

Career statistics

International

As of 11 June 2024 [1]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Pakistan 2012 1 0
2013 7 0
2018 5 0
2019 2 0
2022 1 0
2023 9 0
2024 4 0
Total 29 0

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Yousuf Butt at National-Football-Teams.com
  2. ^ a b Nielsen, Mikkel Fuhr (19 October 2023). "Dansker er historisk: Ville miste deres levebrød". Tipsbladet.dk. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Nepal eye win against Pakistan in football friendly". kathmandupost.com. 16 November 2022. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2022. Butt, the winner of 2018 SAFF Championship Safe Hand award—the award given for the most saves, is considered one of the best goalkeepers in South Asia and has more than 200 division games experience.
  4. ^ "10 footballers of Pakistani descent who have made us proud". The Express Tribune. 7 January 2014. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  5. ^ "LFA kan få Yousuf Butt på kassen". bold.dk (in Danish). 16 January 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Landsholds-Butt: Vil spille i divisionerne". bold.dk (in Danish). 25 January 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  7. ^ Knebent nederlag i første kamp Archived 2014-08-09 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 14 August 2015
  8. ^ "Svebølle er definitivt nede". Sjællandske Nyheder (in Danish). 17 May 2015. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Stor udskiftning i Fredensborg". Sjællandske Nyheder (in Danish). 1 January 2017. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023.
  10. ^ a b Lodberg, Jeppe (13 July 2022). "Ishøj i gang med mange nye". Sjællandske Nyheder (in Danish). Archived from the original on 27 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Ishøj IF tager afsked med otte spillere". bold.dk (in Danish). 9 January 2024. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Yousuf Butt to participate in camp for Thailand tour, Olympic qualifiers". DAWN.COM. 29 January 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Pakistan stumble to 2-0 defeat against Malaysia - Latest News - DAWN.COM". 25 December 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  14. ^ Wasim, Umaid (8 November 2012). "Probables named for camp ahead of Singapore tour". DAWN.COM.
  15. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Singapore vs. Pakistan". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  16. ^ a b Verma, Keshava. "Veteran Pakistani keeper Yousuf Butt set to play his first home game". Khel Now. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  17. ^ Wasim, Umaid (4 January 2015). "Shamlan's demand may see foreign-based players miss out on 2018 qualifiers". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Paddy Power CONIFA World Football Cup 2018 Team List Panjab" (PDF). June 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  19. ^ "Pakistan eye better performance against Kenya after Mauritius loss". www.geosuper.tv. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  20. ^ Abbasi, Kashif (17 October 2023). "Pakistan look to make World Cup qualifying history against Cambodia". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  21. ^ Name. "Former India boss Stephen Constantine creates history for Pakistan". Khel Now. Archived from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  22. ^ a b "National Team, Danish Football and Being Lahori - Yousuf Butt - #Footballistan Episode # 1". YouTube. 3 June 2023. Archived from the original on 18 February 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2023. 5:30 to 7:30
  23. ^ Reporter, The Newspaper's Sports (2 October 2010). "Asian Games camp PFF includes brothers from Denmark By Our Sports Reporter". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 23 June 2024.