naptu2:
I remember this because of my shock, surprise and confusion.

Before this tournament, I had thought that all Nigerians loved football. Unfortunately, when these matches were played, I had to be in this house where the occupants were not really interested in football.


It was strange! "Are there really Nigerians that are not interested in football? Are these people normal??"


However, the shouts of "goal" from outside, my insistence and evangelism and the feeling that something major was going on finally forced them to turn on the TV and sit in front of it.


Yekini scored the first goal.


A classic and typical Yekini move ended with the ball hitting the crossbar and bouncing out off the floor in front of the goal line and Humphrey Edobor was waiting to bang in the ball for Nigeria's second goal.

Ndubuisi Okosieme scored a beautiful solo goal to make it

Nigeria 3-0 Kenya

In a group game at the 1988 Nations Cup in Morocco (Maroc '88).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x9q4AAFx9k

naptu2:



Okwaraji's super goal

This is my favourite goal by Okwaraji. I searched YouTube for a video of this goal from 2008 till 2016 before I eventually found one. That's because most people on YouTube prefer to post videos of the final, which was also between Nigeria and Cameroon.

This is a group stage match at the 1988 Nations Cup (Maroc '88) between Nigeria and Cameroon. Okwaraji scored in the second minute via a rocket shot from outside the penalty box (this is the kind of shot that Ernest Okonkwo would describe as an "intercontinental ballistic missile). It was the fastest goal at the Nations Cup at that time. The player that dribbled down the right and passed to Okwaraji was Rashidi Yekini.


Roger Milla equalised in the 21st minute, via a bullet header that beat Peter Rufai and it ended

Nigeria 1-1 Cameroon.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY9ZYHyTVwU

naptu2:
He fends off the defender, he avoids the goalkeeper and scores.

Yekini vs Ivory Coast (Algeria '90 Nations Cup).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCXedO_pd9U

naptu2:
Nigeria 2-0 Zambia (Uche Okechukwu and Rashidi Yekini).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWCFd5yPZ2U

naptu2:
Senegal ’92 Nations Cup Third Place Match (January 25, 1992)

Nigeria lost to Ghana in that painful semi-final of Senegal ’92 and then played Cameroon in the third place match.

Cyrille Makanaky missed a penalty in the first half and Friday Ekpo scored for Nigeria via a 77th minute freekick. Kesack Maboang equalised for Cameroon in the 85th minute.

The Cameroonian defence had heavily policed the most dangerous man in Africa and highest goal scorer of the competition, Rashidi Yekini, but he broke free in the 88th minute for a classic Nigerian counter attack (which would become common between 1991-1994). A long ball from the opponent’s half is played in front of Yekini who is on the run. He outruns the defenders and slots the ball in the goal. Thus it ended

Nigeria 2-1 Cameroon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvXg8HrFsIg


Line Up

Nigeria

Alloysius Agu (goalkeeper)
Nduka Ubade
Augustine Eguavoen
Abdul Aminu
Reuben Agboola
Mutiu Adepoju
Friday Ekpo
Finidi George
John Ene Okon
Victor Ikpeba
Rashidi Yekini

Substitutions

Nigeria

Emeka Ezeugo for Augustine Eguavoen
Dotun Alatishe for John Okon.

Cameroon

Jacques Songo'o (goalkeeper)
Stephen Tataw
Benjamin Massing
Victor Ndip
Jules-Denis Onana
Bertin Ebwelle
Emile Mbouh
Jacob Ewane
Guy Tapoko,
Cyrille Makanaky
Kessack Maboang

Substitutions
Eugene Ekeke for Jacob Ewane
Ernest Ebongue for Cyrille Makanaky

naptu2:
Nigeria 3-0 Gabon (Tunisia '94)

Sunday Oliseh's amazing pass and Yekini's spectacular goal put Nigeria ahead.


Mutiu Adepoju's good turn and shot extended the lead.


And a trademark rocket freekick by Yekini sealed the victory.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXxsP2GNc3k

naptu2:
Nigeria 2-0 Zaire. Both goals were by Rashidi Yekini. The way that he controlled the ball for the first goal was simply amazing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLWLiQ4_n2U

naptu2:
The craziest and most nerve-racking matches were


Nigeria vs Algeria in the semi-final of Maroc '88 (the one with the unending penalties).


The Miracle of Damman (the quarter-final of Saudi '89).

Nigeria vs Ivory Coast (the semi-final of Tunisia '94).

Nigeria vs Brazil at Atlanta '96.



I lost my voice and I could have sworn that my heart stopped beating during this game.

This was a game between the two most star studded teams in the competition. They were probably the two best teams in Africa at that time.

The 1994 Super Eagles team needs no introduction, so I'll tell you about the Ivorians.

They had the African legend, Abdoulaye Traore as their captain. They also had one of the best goalkeepers in Alaine Gouamene (who we renamed Allan Quartermaine).

They had Joel Tiehi and the Atletico Madrid star, Serge Alaine Maguy. They also had a young Ahmed Ouattara on the bench.


But I had never heard of Michel Basole before and he was the person that almost killed me on that day. He scored both of Ivory Coast's goals.

Thank heavenly God for Ben Iroha. Iroha injured both Michel Basole and Abdoulaye Traore (they both had to be substituted) and he only got a yellow card.

Not only did Iroha take out both of the Ivorian's danger men, but he also combined beautifully with Okocha to score the first goal (yes, a defender scored our equaliser). Then Yekini scored the equaliser for us.

The rest of the game became a crazy battle between Yekini and Gouamene. Alaine Gouamene showed why he was one of the best goalkeepers in Africa at that time. There was nothing that Yekini did not do, but Gouamene was always in his way.

This led to that famous shot of Westerhof asking God, "Why?"


It was 2-2 at the end of extra time, so the game went to penalties. Westerhof said that he decided that Yekini must take the last penalty because he had the most missed chances.

Of course Yekini scored and took Nigeria to the final.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY4q43juBbY

naptu2:
This game was very important to me because it helped me overcome a bereavement.


Richard Owubokiri was the highest goal scorer in the Portuguese league in 1992 and Rashidi Yekini was the highest goal scorer in Portugal in 1993/1994, so I wanted to see both of them play together.

Many Nigerians believed that Owubokiri's style did not suit the Super Eagles, but I wasn't so sure, so I wanted to see him play.


This was the first ever match between Nigeria and South Africa. It took place at the National Stadium in Lagos on October 10, 1992.


Owubokiri scored the first goal via a header.

Samson Siasia extended our lead.

Rashidi Yekini then scored 2 goals to extend the lead. Samson Siasia controlled an incredibly high ball in order to provide the assist for the 4th goal. It ended

Nigeria 4-0 South Africa.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W43TVG676Sg

naptu2:
This was the return leg in Johannesburg.

Complete Football's reporter reported that all the South Africans he met kept asking him about Ricky (Richard Owubokiri) and they were relieved when they heard that he was not in the team. They felt that he was Nigeria's danger man. I was wondering if they had never heard of Yekini.


Stephen Keshi later told a BBC reporter that he thought that he would die during this game. The match was played at the FNB Stadium at a high altitude and the Eagles did not have any altitude training before the game. Keshi said that he had difficulty breathing and he kept remembering what happened to Samuel Okwaraji.


The feed that I watched at the time was a joint production between the NTA and the SABC and Akinloye Oyebanji of the NTA was the summariser, while a South African was the commentator.


Yekini scored a goal in this game and I still cannot understand why it was disallowed. Maybe you can explain it to me.

The South African media reacted as if they had won the game, even though it was a draw.



South Africa 0-0 Nigeria.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O5iZer8Ifo

naptu2:
June 3rd, 1993 on the "beautiful" pitch of the National Stadium in Lagos (sarcasm).

The Algerians scored first.

Jay Jay Okocha equalised via a free kick goal.


Yekini put us in the lead via a goal off a corner (his technique was very good).

Yekini extended the lead via a spectacular goal (check out the angle from which he scored that goal!)


Daniel Amokachi scrambled in the fourth goal to make it


Nigeria 4-1 Algeria.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFQ06Wu1y3o

naptu2:
Nigeria 3-0 Bulgaria (USA '94).

The Nigerian media didn't really believe that the Eagles would win this match. All we heard about before the game was Stoichkov, Kostadinov, Stoichkov, Kostadinov.


Goals by Yekini, Amokachi and Amunike gave Nigeria a 3-0 victory.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbD7hu3nBE8

naptu2:


There was this confidence that Nigerian fans had from 1991-1994 and that was that Yekini will score no matter what happens, regardless of whether we were playing at home or away.

He scored away against Congo in Pointe Noire in 1992. People were usually afraid to play in Point Noire because the pitch was bad and the fans were violent, but Yekini gave us a 0-1 victory. The Congolese fans attacked our team bus after the match.

He scored against Ivory Coast in Abidjan in 1993. That was probably our most difficult match of the USA 94 qualifiers. We would have qualified if we got a draw, but Siasia went for goal instead of passing to Yekini and the Ivorians beat us 2-1.


He scored against South Africa in the high altitude of Johannesburg, but the referee disallowed the goal for no known reason.

He scored 4 goals when we beat Burkina Faso 7-1 in Lagos.

He was the highest goal scorer in Portugal in the 1993/1994 season.

He was joint 3rd highest goal scorer at the 1990 Nations Cup, highest goal scorer at the 1992 Nations Cup and highest goal scorer at the 1994 Nations Cup.

He was also the highest goal scorer in the African qualifying series for the 1994 World Cup and the second highest goal scorer in the qualifiers for the 1994 Nations Cup.


I deeply regret that we did not go to the 1996 Nations Cup, because Yekini needed only 2 more goals to become the highest goal scorer in Nations Cup history and I'm certain that he would have scored more than 2 goals in 1996, but Abacha pulled us out of the tournament.

naptu2:
Rashidi Yekini vs Real Madrid (1995/1996)

Volley goal ✔

Headed goal ✔

Saved header ✔



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XLtCe3_--M

Rashidi Yekini: ‘One of the best African players ever to walk this earth’

Twenty years ago Rashidi Yekini scored Nigeria’s first ever World Cup goal, but after that summer he struggled on and off the pitch and died in mysterious circumstances in 2012

Simon Burnton
Sat 21 Jun 2014 06.59 EDT

www.nairaland.com/attachments/9313878_2019050210_57_42_jpege7f43b491fdcd0a0b6d0d1f3df6feea8

Rashidi Yekini was well into his 31st year when Nigeria arrived at the 1994 World Cup, but his career was at its zenith. He was the reigning African Footballer of the Year, had been top scorer and player of the tournament when Nigeria won the African Cup of Nations just two months earlier, and with eight in seven games had scored nearly half his nation’s total tally of goals in qualifying for their first ever World Cup. He had also been the top goalscorer in Portugal that season, the first Vitória Setubal player to win the Bola de Prata for half a century, and his personal life was just as successful, with his marriage set for later that summer.

In their first match, against Bulgaria on 21 June, Yekini shone, scoring once and creating another in a 3-0 win. After sweeping in a low cross from the future Ipswich Town winger Finidi George his momentum carried him into the goal, where he stayed to celebrate, his arms pushed through the net, lost in the moment. It became one of the most memorable images of the tournament.

“Yekini was a man of himself. A man who knew what he wanted and what he wanted to do for his country. He was always ready to risk everything for the team and country. As a footballer we at times get carried away by our emotion or passion and that was what happened when he scored that goal,” Thompson Oliha, who roomed with Yekini in America, told supersport.com. “I think he was saying something like ‘It is me! It is me!’ Yes it was a goal with a touch of a team work but the man just celebrated the best way he thought.”

Yekini had forced his way from an apprenticeship as a mechanic in Kaduna to the pinnacle of the professional game, a tall, broad force of nature and spirit. “He was a legend,” says Abiola Kazeem, a Nigerian football journalist. “We totally relied on him to get goals. We called him The Goalfather, because we knew he would always get goals. He didn’t hog the limelight off the pitch, but on the pitch he was an absolutely reliable player for Nigeria.”

After the Bulgaria game, Clemens Westerhof, the Nigerians’ Dutch coach, was asked for his opinion of Yekini’s excellent performance. “We have not yet seen the real Rashidi Yekini,” he said. “It’s coming.”

It was not. He did not score again that summer. Sunday Oliseh, another team-mate, said that he “had some beef” with some of his team-mates, who “were madly, sickly, mentally jealous” of his success, which had already brought a £100,000-a-month contract at Olympiakos.

But in every sense Yekini’s honeymoon did not last: the move to Greece ended in acrimony, with the player swiftly falling out with coaches and team-mates before being dropped for good in October, and the marriage did not even last that long, with the couple returning from honeymoon seperately.

Seeking to raise his profile and attract a new club, he played a friendly for Nigeria against England at Wembley that November and sustained a knee injury that kept him out of the game for six months. After a year and just four starts in Greece he moved to Sporting Gijón, where he scored just three times – two-thirds of them in a single memorable victory over Fabio Capello’s Real Madrid – and on loan back in Setúbal were similarly unsuccessful, before a brief return to form at FC Zurich saw him return to the national side for the 1998 World Cup, where he appeared only fleetingly. Afterwards he returned to Africa, and eventually, aged 39, he drifted back to Nigeria.

“He was one of the highest-profile Nigerian players to return to the local leagues,” says Kazeem. “When he came back it was huge for the league. Crowds turned up everywhere he played. He’s still the benchmark for any Nigerian striker. Anyone coming through is compared to him, not just in terms of goals scored but also his attributes. We have had good strikers since, but not in his class.

“But when he retired, he withdrew. Most of the other big players who come back, they move into coaching, or they get involved in administration, in marketing. He became totally withdrawn. He didn’t grant interviews, he didn’t speak to anyone. He wanted nothing to do not just with football, or society at large – even his family. Because of the profile he had, he could have been anything he wanted. If he wanted to manage a football club, he’d just have to choose one and the red carpet would be rolled out to welcome him. It’s a mystery what happened to him, he withdrew completely from society.”

Yekini lived in and owned a large, gated development in Oluyole-Ibadan. One by one he evicted his tenants until only he was left. Much of his money was given away, or lent to his few friends. He continued to train alone at the nearby Awolowo Stadium, but when offered a chance to return to the game in 2010, when the Nigerian FA approached him over an ambassadorial role, he refused. “Money is never my first consideration,” he once said. “It’s a great joy being back home so thinking about money is nothing. I value happiness more than money. Money can’t buy you peace of mind.”

In time the state of Yekini’s mental, physical and financial health became a topic of national debate. Then in April 2012 he was taken from his house and transported to a remote hospital. Neighbours reported seeing the player bound and bloodied as he was forcibly removed from his home; some described it as a kidnapping, others as an intervention by those most concerned about his wellbeing. It is an event still surrounded in mystery, but what is certain is that within two weeks Yekini was dead.

“Rashidi Yekini is definitely one of the best African players and legends to ever walk this earth,” Oliseh wrote on his blog. “Rashidi was full of pace, had a superb shot, could jump very high, was calm in front of goal and was a very loveable person once you got to know and understand him. We lost not only a brother, friend, human being, legend and compatriot, but we also lost a great opportunity to find out his unique secret of how to score goals easily like he did which only he knew how to.”

This Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the moment Yekini marked his own and his nation’s arrival at the World Cup with a fine goal and an unforgettable celebration. His blossoming may have been brief, but it was certainly brilliant.

I would like to say a big thank you on behalf of my colleagues. It's the first time that we are getting together in the past 25 years.

And I must confess that, exactly 9 days from today, 25 years ago, the 10th of April 1994, we shocked the world in style when we won the African Nations Cup.

As at that time, we didn't know what we were doing. As you see us all here, we are just one big family. We hardly agreed on anything then.

But as you see these guys here, the moment we put on the jersey. . .

I remember Uche Okechukwu saying, "Jay Jay leave am, as e kick you e go come here".

I remember times whereby (this brings tears to my eyes), whereby Stephen Keshi's wife will cook African food for us all and she will bring it and carry it with her car and we'll all start sharing it in the hotel. Am I lying guys?

That tells you the love that we had for one another.

But as we look back, I'm a coach now and I thank God for everything he's done for us. If you look at the way that football is being played, full backs are asked to attack. We don't have two number 9s anymore. We have a number 9½. This started in 2008.

As at 1994, Daniel Amokachi was not a number 9, he was not a number 10, he was already playing 9½. So he was ahead of his time.

As at 1994 we had an overlapping left back. Sometimes we used to beg him, "Ben, abeg stay, I don tire", but he will still go and we will beat Ivory Coast.

With all due respect.

As at the time, all the midfielders used to just carry the ball. One small boy from Delta, all he did was, fight for the ball, give it to the players to play.

And at the time, God blessed us with the best striker this continent has ever seen. I am talking of Baba Rashidi.

I will share something that I had between me and him, that he used to tell me. "Şo ri, Sunny, ma da won lowun. Şá ti ná si fún mi"

For those that don't understand Yoruba, what Rashidi used to say to me was, "Sunday, don't listen to them. Just send the ball in (to me)".

And this man had the most clinical finishing I have ever seen in my f**king career and I've been blessed to play with players like Inzaghi, Zidane and all of them, but none could come close.

And then we had one crazy number 10. In as much as I and him have a good relationship today, if I tell you how many times we almost fought on the pitch. "Jay Jay pass now!"

But I must confess to you guys, if I had a problem and I was crowded by players, give it to Jay Jay, he will find a solution.

We were very complimentary, from Dodo Mayana to Baba Rashidi, but we could not have achieved anything we did without players like Edema Fuludu, without players like Nduka Ugbade.

Because, for those of you who are less than 30 years old, you will not understand this, when we trained at the National Stadium, we had 30,000 watching trainings. Our trainings were like matches.

And for that reason, anybody who was going to wear the jersey on Saturday, you know that if you don't give 150%, not only will the Lagos fans kick you so hard, but there's somebody waiting on the bench to take that jersey and good luck to you if you lose it.

And let's not forget, we had one man who brought us all together, Clemens Westerhof.

For 3 years I was going in and out of London to get my coaching license and I was in classes with people like Ryan Giggs and all of them. Even Ole Solskjaer, we graduated together and they were always talking about England National team, England National team. Then one day, I was sitting with Gianfranco Zola and I told him, I said, "Excuse me, the last time England won something, I was not born yet".

I am going to tell you what this guys did (he's pointing at the other Eagles).

⚫ 1993: qualified for the African Cup of Nations.

⚫ 1993: qualified for Nigeria's first ever World Cup

⚫ 1994 (April 10th) : won the African Nations Cup

⚫ 1995: won the Afro-Asian Cup

⚫ 6 of the players from this group were in the Atlanta team that won the Olympics.

Jay Jay Okocha, Victor Ikpeba, Emmanuel Amunike, the Bull Daniel Amokachi, we had also the crazy Sunday Oliseh.


Why am I saying this now is that ever since people think that we have problems amongst ourselves. It is far from true. The thing is that we know that without one another, we'll not be having food on the table today. We'll be starving. We helped each other and we carry on with that friendship.

Daniel used to turn to me on the pitch and say, "I'll come help you defend". Even when I had 3 or 4 opponents, he will come and join me. Am I lying?

Because then he was a 9½. He was coming to join us in midfield.

And then we had Samson Siasia also coming to join us in the midfield. What was he doing? Samson was a number 9, but then we had the god of Nigerian attackers as number 9. The man adapted, started playing 10 and even number 7. Not to talk of Finito.

So the team goes on.

When NFF invited me to come and I saw the invitation, the first thing I wanted to say to my wife was, "Eh, I go stay house", but then I saw my colleagues who were coming and I saw that at one point in life we have to move forward.

Nigeria has given us everything we have. We have given everything we have to Nigeria. If we are not recognised, Nigeria will not produce another set. If we are not thanked, Nigeria will not produce another set, because what will it take to name one street in every state the Super Eagles of 94 Street?

It doesn't matter if the street is fine or not, just the recognition.

We thank you very much. We are grateful. We thank you for this event.

Oga Amaju, we thank you for doing it. We thank you all. Oga Seyi Akinwunmi, we thank you very much. Oga Dipo, we thank you. And we thank you the most Nigerians. God bless you

princeking2:
We know this guy was former super eagles player. No need for all this long story.
I assume he's resting in peace.

TRCdesigns:
RIP to Nigeria football legend

namiji2598:
highest goal scorer with jus 37 goals


Nigeria is left behind in every aspect of life