Rashidi Yekini
Yekini in 1998
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
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1982 UNTL Kaduna 30 (12)
1982–1984 Shooting Stars 53 (45)
1984–1987 Abiola Babes 100 (80)
1987–1990 Africa Sports 113 (105)
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 Bizerte
1999 Al-Shabab
1999–2002 Africa Sports 130 (112)
2002–2003 Julius Berger 50 (10)
2005 Gateway 26 (7)
Total 673 (483)
International career
1984–1998 Nigeria 62 (37)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rashidi Yekini (23 October 1963 – 4 May 2012) was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward. He is all-time top goalscorer for his nation.[1]

His professional career, which spanned more than two decades, was mainly associated with Vitória de Setúbal in Portugal, but he also played in six other countries besides his own.[2]

Yekini scored 37 goals as a Nigerian international footballer, and represented the nation in seven major tournaments, including two World Cups where he scored the country's first-ever goal in the competition. He was also named the African Footballer of the Year in 1993.[3][4]

Club career

Yekini was born in Kaduna, of Yoruba origin.[5] After starting his professional career in the Nigerian league, he moved to Ivory Coast to play for Africa Sports National, and from there he went to Portugal and Vitória de Setúbal where he experienced his most memorable years, eventually becoming the Primeira Liga's top scorer in the 1993–94 season after scoring 21 goals;[6] the previous campaign he had netted a career-best 34 in 32 games to help the Sadinos promote from the second division, and those performances earned him the title of African Footballer of the Year once, the first ever for the nation.[7]

In the summer of 1994, Yekini signed for Greek club Olympiacos, but did not get along with teammates and left soon after. His career never really got back on track, not even upon a return to Setúbal which happened after another unassuming spell, in La Liga with Sporting de Gijón;[8] he successively played with FC Zürich, Club Athlétique Bizertin and Al-Shabab Riyadh, before rejoining Africa Sports. In 2003, aged 39, he returned to the Nigerian championship with Julius Berger FC.[9]

In April 2005, 41-year-old Yekini made a short comeback, moving alongside former national teammate Mobi Oparaku to Gateway United FC.[9]

International career

Scoring 37 goals for Nigeria in 62 appearances,[10] Yekini is the national record goalscorer. He was part of the team that participated in the 1994 (where he netted Nigeria's first-ever goal in a World Cup, in a 3–0 win against Bulgaria, his celebration after scoring, crying while holding the goal's net, became one of the iconic images of the tournament[11]) and the 1998 FIFA World Cups.

Additionally, Yekini helped the Super Eagles win the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia where he also topped the goal charts and was named best player of the competition.[12] He also participated at Olympic level in Seoul 1988.

International goals

Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yekini goal.[10]
List of international goals scored by Rashidi Yekini
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
16 April 1985Nairobi, Kenya Kenya3–03–01986 World Cup qualification
220 April 1985Lagos, Nigeria Kenya2–03–11986 World Cup qualification
323 June 1985Abidjan, Ivory Coast Ivory Coast1–1Friendly
426 June 1985Bouake, Ivory Coast Ivory Coast1–1Friendly
514 March 1988Rabat, Morocco Kenya1–03–01988 African Cup of Nations
65 March 1990Algiers, Algeria Egypt1–01–01990 African Cup of Nations
78 March 1990Algiers, Algeria Ivory Coast1–01–01990 African Cup of Nations
812 March 1990Algiers, Algeria Zambia2–02–01990 African Cup of Nations
927 July 1991Lagos, Nigeria Burkina Faso1–07–11992 African Cup of Nations qualification
103–1
114–1
126–1
1314 January 1992Dakar, Senegal Kenya1–02–11992 African Cup of Nations
142–0
1519 January 1992Dakar, Senegal Zaire1–01–01992 African Cup of Nations
1625 January 1992Dakar, Senegal Cameroon2–12–11992 African Cup of Nations
1710 October 1992Lagos, Nigeria South Africa3–04–01994 World Cup qualification
184–0
1920 December 1992Pointe-Noire, Congo Congo1–01–01994 World Cup qualification
2025 April 1993Lagos, Nigeria Sudan1–04–01994 African Cup of Nations qualification
212 May 1993Abidjan, Ivory Coast Ivory Coast1–01–21994 World Cup qualification
223 July 1993Lagos, Nigeria Algeria2–14–11994 World Cup qualification
233–1
2424 July 1993Lagos, Nigeria Ethiopia2–06–01994 African Cup of Nations qualification
253–0
265–0
2725 September 1993Lagos, Nigeria Ivory Coast3–14–11994 World Cup qualification
284–1
2926 March 1994Tunis, Tunisia Gabon1–03–01994 African Cup of Nations
303–0
312 April 1994Tunis, Tunisia Zaire1–02–01994 African Cup of Nations
322–0
336 April 1994Tunis, Tunisia Ivory Coast2–22–21994 African Cup of Nations
3411 June 1994Ibadan, Nigeria Georgia2–15–1Friendly
353–1
3621 June 1994Dallas, United States Bulgaria1–03–01994 FIFA World Cup
3722 February 1998Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica1–02–2Friendly

Personal life

Yekini married three wives. He had three daughters, named Yemisi, Omoyemi and Damilola.[13][14]

Death

Yekini was reported to be ill for an extended period of time. In 2011, news media in Nigeria begun issuing reports of his failing health, and he was said to suffer from bipolar disorder and some other undisclosed psychiatric condition. He died in Ibadan on 4 May 2012 at the young age of 48,[3] the news being confirmed by former national teammates Mutiu Adepoju and Ike Shorunmu;[15] he was buried at his residence in Ira, Kwara State.[16] He was surrounded by his aged mother, brother, wives and children, among others.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ Amos, Isaiah (23 October 2023). "Rashidi Yekini Biography, Net Worth, State of Origin, Tribe, Wives, Children, Parents, Career". Whoiswriter. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Nigerian football legend, Rashidi Yekini, dies at 49; The Times of Nigeria, 4 May 2012
  3. 1 2 "Obituary: Rashidi Yekini (1963–2012)". Yahoo Sports. 4 May 2012. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Nigeria: Legendary footballer, Rashidi Yekini dies at 48; All Africa, 5 May 2012
  5. ↑ "Odegbami: Remembering Gangling Rashidi Yekini". Complete Sports. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  6. ↑ "Portugal – List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "African Player of the Year 1993". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "El Sporting remonta dos veces" [Sporting comes back from behind twice] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 30 October 2005. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Yekini set for another return". BBC Sport. 21 April 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Rashidi Yekini – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "Nigeria's first-ever World Cup goal & Rashidi Yekini's five most memorable moments". Goal. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  12. ↑ "Rashidi Yekini: 'One of the best African players ever to walk this earth'". The Guardian. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  13. 1 2 "The agony of Rashidi Yekini's three-year old daughter". Premium Times. 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  14. 1 2 "I want my father's death investigated — Yemisi Yekini". The Punch. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  15. ↑ "Rashidi Yekini dead: Ex-players react". Tribune. 4 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  16. ↑ "An era ends: Rashidi Yekini buried in Kwara as hundreds weep". Premium Times. May 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
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