Joel Campbell

At 31 years old, Joel Campbell has this physical status:

Joel Nathaniel Campbell Samuels (Spanish pronunciation: [el kambel]; born 26 June 1992) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays for León and the Costa Rica national team as a forward and winger.

Campbell joined Arsenal in 2011 and was loaned out to French club Lorient, Real Betis, and Greek outfit Olympiacos. As the club lifted the 2014 FA Community Shield, he made his competitive debut on Arsenal. He was later sent on loan to Villarreal in La Liga, before scoring his first Arsenal goal in 2015.

Campbell has so far earned over 110 caps for Costa Rica, as well as being a member of the 2014 Copa Centroamericana squad. He was also a member of Costa Rica's national team, which reached the last eight of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and he also participated in the 2018 World Cup. Campbell also aided Costa Rica in reaching the quarter-finals of the 2015, 2019, and 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cups, as well as the 2017 Gold Cup semi-finals.

Personal life

Joel Campbell is the son of Humberto Campbell and Roxana Samuels, and he is of Jamaican descent. He is in a friendship with Maria Fernanda Cascante. Nekisha, Humberto, and Katherine are three siblings. Campbell is a devout Christian. He believes that family is the second pillar in his life, with the first being God. Psalm 27 is also remembered before every game by Campbell.

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Club career

Campbell began with Saprissa in 2009 before being sent on loan to Puntarenas in January 2011.

Campbell had reached an agreement with Arsenal on July 28, 2011, Costa Rican television showed that he had been spotted by club scout Danny Karbassiyoon after being told. Campbell later said that although he hadn't signed yet, negotiations were ongoing. Campbell was set to sign a five-year contract with Arsenal after turning against moves to Sevilla and Fiorentina, according to Costa Rican media on August 6th. Campbell was also approached by Manchester United's Alex Ferguson, who wanted to bring him under Ryan Giggs' tutelage, according to Campbell.

Arsenal announced on September 19th that they had signed Campbell on 19th August 2011, but it was revealed eight days later that he had failed to obtain a work permit to allow him to play in England. Campbell was granted the license in July 2013.

Campbell and Gilles Sunu joined French club Lorient on loan, with Campbell and Sunu on a permanent transfer. In the 1–1 draw against Sochaux, he made his 79th-minute replacement for Grégory Bourillon, and he was assisting Innocent Emeghara to score, resulting in the Lorient's loss of a point. Campbell's right-footed shot in Lorient's 2–0 victory over Valenciennes on October 1 was his first goal for the team. In a Coupe de la Ligue match against Montpellier on October 26, Campbell scored his second goal for Lorient. In a 2–1 victory over Montpellier, he scored his third goal, proving the winner.

Campbell joined Real Betis in La Liga on a season-long loan on July 6, 2012. He made his debut on August 25th, his replacement for Salvador Agra in their 2–1 home loss to Rayo Vallecano.

Campbell played 28 league games and scored two goals; his first came on December 2nd, giving Betis a 3–2 victory over Deportivo de La Corua, and his second came in the seventh minute of a 2–0 home victory over Levante on January 13.

Campbell had been granted a work permit in England by summer 2013, but he joined the Greek side Olympiacos on a one-year loan.

Campbell was instrumental in Olympiacos' victory over OFI Crete on October 27, 2013, collecting four assists to help his team win 5–1. As Olympiacos thrashed PAOK 4–0, Campbell impressed once more on November 10th, scoring once and getting two assists.

Campbell scored her second goal in Olympiacos' 2–0 victory over Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League's second round. However, Olympiacos did not progress to the next round after losing 3–0 in the second leg.

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger revealed that Campbell would be part of his first team formations for Arsenal's 2014–15 season. Campbell scored in Arsenal's 5–1 victory over Benfica in the Emirates Cup on August 2, 2014. Aaron Ramsey was recalled by his manager eight days later for the final five minutes of the 3–0 victory over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium. He made his Premier League debut against Everton at Goodison Park on August 23-25, taking Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain off the bench to replace Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 74th minute of the match.

Campbell's first Arsenal appearance in the third round of the League Cup came on September 23rd, with Alexis Sánchez and Lukas Podolski vying for victory against Southampton in a 1–2 home loss. During the match, BBC Sport referred to Campbell and Podolski as "largely anonymous."

Campbell recalled his annoyance during this period, revealing that Arsenal had turned down a bid by Benfica to sign him because Giroud was injured," Arsenal said during a May 2020 interview for TD Más.

Villarreal reported the signing of Campbell on loan until the end of the season on January 24, 2015. He scored his first goal for the team on May 10th, the only goal in a 2-1 win over fellow Valencians Elche.

Campbell, who was on loan at Villarreal, played in his first game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup third round on September 23, 2015. Campbell made his first Premier League start against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on October 31 despite injuries to Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Campbell scored his first Premier League goal against Sunderland on December 6th, his first for Arsenal in a 3–1 victory. The teams met in the FA Cup third round on Sunday, with Campbell scoring Arsenal's first as they tied the scoreline just over a month earlier.

After losing a 1–2 loss to Watford, Campbell said he had lost regularity at Arsenal. Campbell's "with tears in [his] eyes out of helplessness," asked Arsène Wenger about the situation, to which Wenger replied, "I heard you were drained." However, despite Campbell's desire to play, he remained irregular throughout the season. Campbell, who was dissatisfied, requested a new loan.

Campbell defeated San Jose, California, 21-0, on 28 July in the 2016 MLS All-Star Game, winning by Laurent Ciman early in the game, a 2–1 win. Campbell was signed on loan by the Portuguese Primeira Liga team Sporting CP on August 21, 2016 until the end of the season.

Campbell joined Real Betis on loan for the second time on August 31, 2017. In a game against Espanyol in late October 2017, he sustained an injury. This put him out of action for another three months. In late January 2018, Campbell decided to make a return to the club's training squad.

Campbell began a three-year contract with Frosinone on August 17, 2018.

After struggling to score in 17 games, he was loaned out to León for 18 months in January 2019.

Campbell was loaned out to C.F. in 2021. Monterey is a tourist in the United States.

International career

Campbell was selected for Costa Rica's squad for the 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championships. He was the team's top scorer, but he only had two goals in total. He appeared in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria in the same year. He was ranked in the 2011 CONCACAF U-20 Championship two years later and tied for top scorer with six goals.

Campbell was first called up to the senior staff in March 2011 for fellows with PR China and Argentina. On San José's streets, he'd juggle cans. Ricardo La Volpe, the national team's manager, was seen doing this before the friends. "Who is Messi?" La Volpe said in an interview announcing Campbell's call for him in the team.

Who is Neymar?

I introduce you, gentlemen of the press: Campbell. "I found him playing with cans."

Campbell was selected for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States. Marco Ufa was replaced in Marco Usta in the 56th minute and a quarter of an hour later volleyed a goal to bring a 5–0 victory over Cuba in their group opener on June 5th. He came on for UU in the second half of extra time in the second half, but Honduras defeated 4–2.

When Costa Rica was invited to the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, Campbell started all of their games as they finished third in Group A and were disqualified. Heiner Mora's second group game, the Estadio 23 de Agosto in Jujuy, ended with a 2–0 win over Bolivia after being set up by Heiner Mora, who was also fouled for Wálter Flores' red card.

Campbell was embroiled in controversy after footage of his off-the-ball dive against Matt Besler of the United States appeared in a World Cup qualifying match in September 2013. Besler was suspended after receiving a yellow card. The video sparked discussion of the CONCACAF refereeing quality and whether such cheating should be punishable for post-match discipline. Campbell's dive was described as "pathetic," "cynical," and "disgraceful." FIFA were probing Campbell over the incident on September 13, but no one knew of it. Campbell was reprimanded by FIFA for unsporting conduct on October 4th.

Campbell scored Costa Rica's first goal in the 2014 FIFA World Cup on June 14, 2014, equalizing Uruguay in a 3-2 victory. Costa Rica's third goal was also set up in the game by Marco Uriba's pass to Marco Uriba. Campbell was the fourth of five Costa Rican players to successfully convert his kick in a 5–3 penalty shootout win over Greece in the round of 16.

Campbell was named in Costa Rica's squad for the Gold Cup of 2017.

He was selected in Costa Rica's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia in May 2018.

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