Rashidi Yekini


Rashidi Yekini was a Nigerian footballer who played as a striker.
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.
Yekini scored 37 goals as a Nigerian international, and represented the nation in five 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.

Club career

Yekini was born in Kaduna, of Yoruba origin. After starting his professional career in the Nigerian league, he moved to Côte d'Ivoire 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; 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.
In the summer of 1994, Yekini was bought by Olympiacos FC, 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; 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.
In April 2005, 41-year-old Yekini made a short comeback, moving alongside former national teammate Mobi Oparaku to Gateway United FC.

International career

Scoring 37 goals for Nigeria in 58 appearances, Yekini is the national record goalscorer. He was part of the team that participated in the 1994 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. He also participated at Olympic level in Seoul 1988.

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentResultCompetitionScored
16 April 1985Nairobi, Kenya3-01986 World Cup qualification1
220 April 1985Lagos, Nigeria3-11986 World Cup qualification1
323 June 1985Abidjan, Ivory Coast1-1Friendly1
426 June 1985Bouake, Ivory Coast1-1Friendly1
514 March 1988Rabat, Morocco3-01988 African Cup of Nations1
65 March 1990Algiers, Algeria1-01990 African Cup of Nations1
78 March 1990Algiers, Algeria1-01990 African Cup of Nations1
812 March 1990Algiers, Algeria2-01990 African Cup of Nations1
9, 10, 11, 1227 July 1991Lagos, Nigeria7-11992 African Cup of Nations qualification4
13, 1414 January 1992Dakar, Senegal2-11992 African Cup of Nations2
1519 January 1992Dakar, Senegal1-01992 African Cup of Nations1
1625 January 1992Dakar, Senegal2-11992 African Cup of Nations1
17, 1810 October 1992Lagos, Nigeria4-01994 World Cup qualification2
1920 December 1992Pointe-Noire, Congo1-01994 World Cup qualification1
2024 April 1993Enugu, Nigeria2-11994 African Cup of Nations qualification1
2110 October 1992Abidjan, Ivory Coast1-21994 World Cup qualification1
22, 2320 December 1992Lagos, Nigeria4-11994 World Cup qualification2
24, 25, 2624 July 1993Lagos, Nigeria6-01994 African Cup of Nations qualification3
27, 2825 September 1993Lagos, Nigeria4-11994 World Cup qualification2
29, 3026 March 1994Tunis, Tunisia3-01994 African Cup of Nations2
31, 322 April 1994Tunis, Tunisia2-01994 African Cup of Nations2
336 April 1994Tunis, Tunisia2-21994 African Cup of Nations1
34, 3511 June 1994Ibadan, Nigeria5-1Friendly2
3621 June 1994Dallas, United States3-01994 FIFA World Cup1
3722 February 1998Kingston, Jamaica2-2Friendly1

Personal life

Yekini married three wives. He had three daughters, named Yemisi, Omoyemi and Damilola.

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, depression and some other undisclosed psychiatric condition. He died in Ibadan on 4 May 2012 at the age of 48, the news being confirmed by former national teammates Mutiu Adepoju and Ike Shorunmu; he was buried at his residence in Ira, Kwara State. He was survived by his aged mother, brother, wives and children, among others.