 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1963-10-23)23 October 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Kaduna, Nigeria | ||
| Date of death | 4 May 2012(2012-05-04) (aged 48) | ||
| Place of death | Ibadan, Nigeria | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1982 | UNTL Kaduna | ||
| 1982–1984 | Shooting Stars | 53 | (45) |
| 1984–1987 | Abiola Babes | ||
| 1987–1990 | Africa Sports | ||
| 1990–1994 | Vitória Setúbal | 114 | (91) |
| 1994–1995 | Olympiacos | 4 | (2) |
| 1995–1996 | Sporting Gijón | 14 | (3) |
| 1997 | Vitória Setúbal | 14 | (3) |
| 1997–1998 | Zürich | 28 | (14) |
| 1998–1999 | CA Bizertin | ||
| 1999 | Al Shabab | ||
| 1999–2002 | Africa Sports | ||
| 2002–2003 | Julius Berger | ||
| 2005 | Gateway United | 26 | (7) |
| Total | 253 | (165) | |
| International career | |||
| 1984–1998 | Nigeria | 58 | (37) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Rashidi YekiniListenⓘ (23 October 1963 – 4 May 2012) was a Nigerian professionalfootballer who played as aforward. Yekini is widely regarded as one of the greatest Nigerian footballers of all time. Powerful, fast, and clinical in front of goal.[1][2] His emotionalWorld Cup celebration became one of the most iconic moments in Nigerian sports history. He was known by his Nigerian team mates and fans as "The Goals Father", he scored more than 480 goals in over 670 games in his career.[3][4]
Yekini scored 37 goals in international matches and representedNigeria in seven footballtournaments, including twoWorld Cups, where he scored the country's first-ever goal in the competition. He was also named theAfrican Footballer of the Year in 1993.[5][6] He is the third all time highest goalscorer inAfrica Cup of Nations history with 13 goals.[7]
Yekini was born inKaduna, ofYoruba origin.[8] After starting his professional career in theNigerian league, he moved to Ivory Coast to play forAfrica Sports, and from there he went to Portugal andVitória de Setúbal where he experienced his most memorable years, eventually becoming thePrimeira Liga's top scorer in the1993–94 season after scoring 21 goals;[9]the previous campaign he had netted a career-best 34 in 32 games to help theSadinos gain promotion from thesecond division, and those performances earned him the title ofAfrican Footballer of the Year once, the first ever for the nation.[10]
In the summer of 1994, Yekini signed for Greek clubOlympiacos, but did not get along with teammates and left soon after. His career never really got back on track, not even upon a return toSetúbal which happened after another unassuming spell, inLa Liga withSporting de Gijón;[11] he successively played withFC Zürich,CA Bizertin andAl Shabab, before rejoining Africa Sports. In 2003, aged 39, he returned to the Nigerian championship withJulius Berger.[12]
In April 2005, 41-year-old Yekini made a short comeback, moving alongside former national teammateMobi Oparaku toGateway United.[12]
Scoring 37 goals forNigeria in 58 appearances,[13] Yekini is the national record goalscorer. He was part of the team that participated in the1994 and1998FIFA World Cups. In the 1994 tournament, he scored Nigeria's first-ever World Cup goal in a 3–0 win againstBulgaria; his celebration, crying while holding the net, became one of the iconic images of the competition.[14]
Additionally, Yekini helped the Super Eagles win the1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, where he topped the goal charts and was named player of the tournament.[15] He alsorepresented Nigeria at the1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yekini goal.[13]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 April 1985 | Nairobi, Kenya |  Kenya | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1986 World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 20 April 1985 | Lagos, Nigeria | Kenya | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1986 World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 23 June 1985 | Abidjan, Ivory Coast |  Ivory Coast | 1–1 | Friendly | |
| 4 | 26 June 1985 | Bouake, Ivory Coast | Ivory Coast | 1–1 | Friendly | |
| 5 | 14 March 1988 | Rabat, Morocco | Kenya | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1988 African Cup of Nations |
| 6 | 5 March 1990 | Algiers, Algeria |  Egypt | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1990 African Cup of Nations |
| 7 | 8 March 1990 | Algiers, Algeria | Ivory Coast | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1990 African Cup of Nations |
| 8 | 12 March 1990 | Algiers, Algeria |  Zambia | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1990 African Cup of Nations |
| 9 | 27 July 1991 | Lagos, Nigeria |  Burkina Faso | 1–0 | 7–1 | 1992 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 10 | 3–1 | |||||
| 11 | 4–1 | |||||
| 12 | 6–1 | |||||
| 13 | 14 January 1992 | Dakar, Senegal | Kenya | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1992 African Cup of Nations |
| 14 | 2–0 | |||||
| 15 | 19 January 1992 | Dakar, Senegal |  Zaire | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1992 African Cup of Nations |
| 16 | 25 January 1992 | Dakar, Senegal |  Cameroon | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1992 African Cup of Nations |
| 17 | 10 October 1992 | Lagos, Nigeria |  South Africa | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1994 World Cup qualification |
| 18 | 4–0 | |||||
| 19 | 20 December 1992 | Pointe-Noire, Congo |  Congo | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1994 World Cup qualification |
| 20 | 25 April 1993 | Lagos, Nigeria |  Sudan | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1994 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 21 | 2 May 1993 | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | Ivory Coast | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1994 World Cup qualification |
| 22 | 3 July 1993 | Lagos, Nigeria |  Algeria | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1994 World Cup qualification |
| 23 | 3–1 | |||||
| 24 | 24 July 1993 | Lagos, Nigeria |  Ethiopia | 2–0 | 6–0 | 1994 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 25 | 3–0 | |||||
| 26 | 5–0 | |||||
| 27 | 25 September 1993 | Lagos, Nigeria | Ivory Coast | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1994 World Cup qualification |
| 28 | 4–1 | |||||
| 29 | 26 March 1994 | Tunis, Tunisia |  Gabon | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1994 African Cup of Nations |
| 30 | 3–0 | |||||
| 31 | 2 April 1994 | Tunis, Tunisia | Zaire | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1994 African Cup of Nations |
| 32 | 2–0 | |||||
| 33 | 6 April 1994 | Tunis, Tunisia | Ivory Coast | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1994 African Cup of Nations |
| 34 | 11 June 1994 | Ibadan, Nigeria |  Georgia | 2–1 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 35 | 3–1 | |||||
| 36 | 21 June 1994 | Dallas, United States |  Bulgaria | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup |
| 37 | 22 February 1998 | Kingston, Jamaica |  Jamaica | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
Shooting Stars
Abiola Babes
Africa Sports
Al Shabab
Nigeria
Individual
Yekini married three wives. He had three daughters, named Yemisi, Omoyemi and Damilola.[16][17]
Yekini was reported to be ill for an extended period of time. In 2011, news media in Nigeria began issuing reports of his failing health, and he was said to suffer from bipolar disorder and some other undisclosed psychiatric condition. He died inIbadan on 4 May 2012, aged 48.[5] His death was confirmed by former national teammatesMutiu Adepoju andIke Shorunmu,[18] and he was buried at his residence in Ira,Kwara State,[19] in the presence of family members.[16][17]
Nigeria squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
