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Joseph Yegba Maya, Olympique de Marseille's Seventh All-Time Top Scorer, Dies at 82

Cameroonian striker Joseph Yegba Maya, who scored 113 goals in 236 matches for Olympique de Marseille between 1962 and 1970, passed away Sunday following an illness.

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Joseph Yegba Maya, Olympique de Marseille's Seventh All-Time Top Scorer, Dies at 82
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Joseph Yegba Maya, seventh all-time top scorer in Olympique de Marseille’s history, died Sunday at the age of 82 following an illness. The news was revealed Monday by the newspaper La Provence.

Born in Otélé, Cameroon, Maya joined Marseille at age 16 in 1960. Working as a mechanic for the SNCF upon his arrival in the southern French city, he first played two seasons for amateur club Gallia Chutes-Lavie before being recruited by OM, then competing in the second division.

From 1962 to 1970, the Cameroonian striker played 236 matches in an OM shirt and scored 113 goals, a record that places him seventh among the club’s all-time leading scorers, behind legends such as Gunnar Andersson, Jean-Pierre Papin and Josip Skoblar.

His eight seasons at Marseille were marked by two major achievements: promotion to Division 1 in 1966, then victory in the Coupe de France in 1969. In the final against Girondins de Bordeaux, Maya scored his team’s second goal, directly contributing to the club’s triumph.

In 1970, he left OM as part of an exchange with Valenciennes involving Daniel Leclercq. He subsequently played for Strasbourg and then Béziers, where he retired in 1976.

Capped 25 times for Cameroon with 10 goals, Joseph Yegba Maya remains one of the pioneering figures of African football in France and one of the quiet but essential architects of the southern French club’s construction.

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