₦airaland Forum

EdeyHot:
Nigerian greatest footballer of all time!

Nigeria would have collected Worldcup 3 times if not for tribalism that crept into his team after the Glory of Tunisia 94. Igbos in his team felt so envious of Rashidi that they ganged up not to pass balls to him anymore. That's why he told Sunday Oliseh not to mind them, but still their self a destructive action stagnated the skyrocketing Glory of the Nigerian Team. Igbos hate to see Yorubas shine, even when it is collective Glory. We know all know the unbeatable glorious History that this Team would have made if not for senseless tribal sabotage.

Yeah, and Yorubas love to see igbos shine

RTSC:
He is not Nigeria's greatest player of all time.
That honour belongs to kanu.

And no, he was not sabotaged due to bigotry. It was more for glory hunting.
Get your story right, bigot.

According to you,"he was not sabotaged due to bigotry, it was more for glory hunting".Then,what was the outcome of their individual glory hunting?


Imaging when barca players refused to pass to messi and all go out for individual glory hunting,their best team will become worst.


Just call a spade a spade irrespective of who the ox may gored.

EdeyHot:
Nigerian greatest footballer of all time!

Nigeria would have collected Worldcup 3 times if not for tribalism that crept into his team after the Glory of Tunisia 94. Igbos in his team felt so envious of Rashidi that they ganged up not to pass balls to him anymore. That's why he told Sunday Oliseh not to mind them, but still their self a destructive action stagnated the skyrocketting Glory of the Nigerian Team. Igbos hate to see Yorubas shine, even when it is collective Glory. We know all know the unbeatable glorious History that this Team would have made if not for senseless tribal sabotage.

you are very foolish...if igbos hate Yoruba in national team...how come obafemi Martin's is third highest goal scorer and could have done more if not for injury wahala...make ina get sense with all this stupid tribal rant

EdeyHot:
Nigerian greatest footballer of all time!

Nigeria would have collected Worldcup 3 times if not for tribalism that crept into his team after the Glory of Tunisia 94. Igbos in his team felt so envious of Rashidi that they ganged up not to pass balls to him anymore. That's why he told Sunday Oliseh not to mind them, but still their self a destructive action stagnated the skyrocketting Glory of the Nigerian Team. Igbos hate to see Yorubas shine, even when it is collective Glory. We know all know the unbeatable glorious History that this Team would have made if not for senseless tribal sabotage.

I don't think u have ever played football
In a football team not all players get along but once in the pitch they have one mission & that's to win
In football pitch when the tension is high & many things are at stake u don't mind passing the ball to ur worst enemy in ur team inorder to deliver u guys from danger

olajizz01:
According to you,"he was not sabotaged due to bigotry, it was more for glory hunting".Then,what was the outcome of their individual glory hunting?


Imaging when barca players refused to pass to messi and all go out for individual glory hunting,their best team will become worst.


Just call a spade a spade irrespective of who the ox may gored.

But the guy said he was not given the ball because he is Yoruba.

How does that makes sense?

bareal:
Dem don start again..... Mtcheww

I don start again, but the idiot I quoted did not start again. Abi?

na bigotry go finish una.

Where una sense reach na there other people own start.

RTSC:
But the guy said he was not given the ball because he is Yoruba.

How does that makes sense?

The right word for the scene was jealousy, they were jealous of his achievements not knowing that what individual will be in life has been predestined?If you are a team and trying to brought down sb performing in the team,the whole team will definitely brought to it kneel.

ibrutex:
I could still remember how I love to see him hold the ball, but during that world cup USA 94 there was this beef among his team mates they no longer serve him the ball, yekini was running up and down to get the ball by himself ,he was still agile very agile . then he managed to score his first world cup goal . which brought that holding net celebration.

That celebration deserves an award of a life time. RIP , great legend. we never get striker since you go o.

kiddapunk:
Please who can tell me a reliable place in Port Harcourt where I can change my phone screen? Tecno phantom 8

try carclare

The beef that some players allegedly had with Yekini at USA '94 had absolutely nothing to do with ethnicity.

Journalists had reported the problem even while the World Cup was still ongoing (long before Sunday Oliseh said anything about it).

In fact, the alleged ring leader of the group was not even Igbo.


The reported cause of the problem was that some players felt that all the members of the team were equally working hard, while Yekini was receiving all the glory. This made them angry and their attitude was, "We'll see how he'll score if he doesn't get the ball".

The issue had nothing to do with ethnicity.

naptu2:
Yekini's goal scoring record for Nigeria at the African Nations Cup

1988
Rashidi Yekini was the joint second highest goal scorer at the 1988 African Nations Cup with 1 goal.



He also provided the assist for Samuel Okwaraji's rocket goal.




1990

He was the joint second highest goal scorer at the 1990 African Nations Cup in Algeria with 3 goals. In fact, his goals powered Nigeria into the final.

Back then European clubs were not obliged to release their players for the Nations Cup and Nigeria's Europe based players were unable to attend the competition.

Stephen Keshi had offered to hire a private jet to fly him from his club, Anderlecht, to Algeria for Nations Cup games and back to his club, but Clemens Westerhof rejected this offer and so Nigeria went to the Nations Cup with only African based players.

Nigeria lost the first game 5-1 to hosts Algeria (Nigeria's only goal was scored by Emmanuel Okocha, Jay Jay Okocha's elder brother).

Then Nigeria defeated Egypt via a goal by Yekini. We also defeated Ivory Coast via a goal by Yekini.



In the semi-final we defeated Zambia via goals by Yekini and Uche Okechukwu.



Unfortunately, Nigeria lost the final to hosts Algeria by a lone goal.

1992
Yekini was the highest goal scorer at the 1992 African Nations Cup with 4 goals.

Nigeria defeated hosts Senegal 1-2 in the first match and then Yekini scored 2 goals to help Nigeria defeat Kenya 2-1 in the second game. The second goal was wonderful. It was a fantastic assist by Friday Elahor and great control and shot by Yekini.

Nigeria 2-1 Kenya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwUg2KoMIWI

Yekini scrambled in the only goal to give Nigeria a 1-0 victory over Zaire in the quarter final.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maqiNfGdE18


Nigeria lost to Ghana in the semi final and then defeated Cameroon 2-1 in the 3rd place match via goals by Yekini and Friday Ekpo.




1994
Yekini was also the highest goal scorer at the 1994 African Nations Cup with 5 goals.

Nigeria defeated Gabon 3-0 in the first match.



We drew 0-0 with Egypt in the second game.

We defeated Zaire 2-0 via a brace by Yekini


Then came the cracker of a semi final.



Nigeria defeated Zambia in the final with 2 goals by Emmanuel Amunike.





How Yekini missed the chance to become highest goal scorer in Nations Cup history

Ivorian legend, Laurent Pokou, was the highest goal scorer in Nations Cup history with 14 goals over all (scored at the 1968 and 1972 Nations Cups), while Rashidi Yekini was the second highest goal scorer with 13 goals. I was confident that Yekini would overtake Pokou at the 1996 Nations Cup in South Africa, but certain events prevented that from happening.

Toyin Raji won the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant in 1995. This meant that she would represent Nigeria at the Miss World pageant in Sun City, South Africa in November that year. She had won the Miss Congeniality award at the Miss Universe Pageant in May and contestants at the Miss World pageant also voted her as the most personable contestant and so she received the Miss Personality award.

However, on November 10th (while Toyin Raji was in South Africa) the Nigerian Government executed Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 other Ogoni activists.

Following the executions, protesters stalked Toyin Raji where ever she went in South Africa and there were allegations that she was jostled by protesters. The protesters were at virtually every event that was asssociated with the Miss World pageant and there were fears that they would disrupt the pageant. The South African authorities stated that they could not gaurantee her security and the Miss World organisers were forced to ask her to withdraw and consequently she had to withdraw from the pageant.

Nelson Mandela met with Toyin Raji before she left South Africa, to assure her that the anger of the protesters and the people of South Africa was not directed at her, rather it was directed at the Abacha Government and that he was proud of her.

Video: Mandela and Toyin Raji speak to the press.

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

Weeks later, the Super Eagles were in camp, preparing for the Nations Cup in South Africa which was scheduled to begin on January 13, 1996 when it was announced that they had been called to Abuja to meet with General Abacha at the Aso Rock Villa.

After the meeting, the government announced that Nigeria was withdrawing from the 1996 African Nations Cup. It said that the South Africans were not able to guarantee the security of Toyin Raji, therefore, they would not be able to guarantee the security of the Eagles. The government said that the Eagles were the pride of Nigeria and it would not allow them to be exposed to such insecurity and risks.

A Super Eagles player, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke to journalists after the Eagles returned to their camp. He said that all that happened at the meeting was that General Abacha told the players that Nigeria would not take part in the Nations Cup. He said that they were not allowed to speak. He said that the players were not happy about the decision, but there was nothing that they could do about it.

The South African authorities gave security guarantees to CAF and the Nigerian authorities. In fact, I listened to a South African official speak on the BBC World Service. He said that the Eagles would receive "presidential level security" in South Africa. He emphasised that only Nelson Mandela received the kind of security that the Eagles would get in South Africa. The Federal Government of Nigeria was unmoved.

A country that shared borders with South Africa (I can't remember if it was Lesotho, Swaziland or Zimbabwe) offered to host the Eagles. They expressed their love for Nigeria, condemned what happened to Toyin Raji and said that the Eagles could camp in their country, fly into South Africa by helicopter to play their games and return to their country by helicopter. They even offered to foot the bill.

I listened to the opinions of callers on radio and TV stations in Lagos at that time and I also monitored the views of writers in the newspapers. Opinions were divided about the initial decision to withdraw from the tournament. Some were angry about what happened to Toyin Raji and so they supported the decision. Many hated the Abacha Government and so they opposed the decision. Some (mostly football fans) just wanted the Eagles to play at the Nations Cup. However, virtually everybody was united in accepting the offer of the 3rd country.

Those that initially supported the withdrawal felt that staying in another country would spite the South Africans while still allowing the Eagles to play in the tournament. Those that opposed the withdrawal were happy that a way had been found to ensure that the Eagles played in the tournament.

However, the government rejected the offer. The rejection of this offer made many Nigerians to believe that there was more to the withdrawal than mere security concerns. Remember that the South African Government had also condemned the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the 8 other activists.

And that's how Yekini missed an opportunity to become the highest goal scorer in Nations Cup history. I have no doubt that he would have scored at least 2 goals at the '96 Nations Cup of we had gone. Nigeria was consequently banned from the 1998 Nations Cup and Yekini was well passed his prime by the time that Nigeria hosted the 2000 Nations Cup.

Samuel Eto'o is now the highest goal scorer in Nations Cup history with 18 goals, Laurent Pokou is second with 14 goals and Yekini is third with 13 goals.

. Thank you for this piece. It vcaptures what happened then

ejimatic:
. Thank you for this piece. It vcaptures what happened then

My pleasure

naptu2:
USA '94

Yekini was the highest goal scorer in the African qualification series for the 1994 World Cup in the USA. He scored 8 goals in the series.












The first leg of this game was nerve racking. Nigeria and the Ivory Coast were neck and neck in the second group stage of the qualifiers (both teams ended the qualifiers on the same points, but Nigeria had a better goals difference). Then we played Ivory Coast in Abidjan. We needed just a draw to go above them on the table. 4 jets left Nigeria for Abidjan for the match: the presidential jet carrying the government delegation, the chartered plane carrying the Eagles, Chief MKO Abiola's private jet and another chartered plane carrying the supporters club.

Yekini scored for Nigeria in the 5th minute. Nigeria had an opportunity to extend the lead. Samson Siasia had the ball, but he was in a bad angle. Yekini was absolutely free and would have scored if Siasia passed to him, but Siasia chose to shoot at goal and he missed. Westerhof was furious.

The Ivorians scored 2 goals in the 70th and 75th minute to win the game 2-1.


The video below shows the second leg in Lagos. Thompson Oliha opened scoring for the Eagles and Daniel Amokachi doubled the lead. The Ivorians scored and then Yekini scored via a penalty and then he scored a classic Yekini goal. There was a cross from the left wing, Yekini had outrun the defender and he slotted the ball in the goal.

Nigeria 4-1 Ivory Coast.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SdJ_z8ERa8



The World Cup proper

. it started at 11 30 in June 1994.....great day!

Someone mentioned "bicycle kick" and that reminded me of two video clips that I wish I had.

1) I think it was the Nigeria vs Spain game at France '98. A cross came in and Yekini played the ball with a bicycle kick. That would have been the goal of the tournament if it had gone in, but unfortunately it narrowly went wide.

2) c2002/2003. Yekini returned to Nigeria and played for Julius Berger. He refused to accept any salary while he played for Julius Berger (and when he later played for Gateway). He scored a hat trick in a game against Kwara United. One of the goals was a spectacular bicycle kick.

He thus became the oldest man to score a hat trick in the Nigerian league.

I like it very much!

RTSC:
I don start again, but the idiot I quoted did not start again. Abi?

na bigotry go finish una.

Where una sense reach na there other people own start.

You are the biggest bigot here if you don't know... Can't you just enjoy a simple post?
Ẹyin ọmọ olórí pẹlẹbẹ oshi yìí

naptu2:
My pleasure

I thought you wrote 'my plehyor'. Phew!

Octopusssy:
I thought you wrote 'my plehyor'. Phew!

Toyin Raji

naptu2:
Toyin Raji

Who this? We don't know him here in Oyo

bareal:
You are the biggest bigot here if you don't know... Can't you just enjoy a simple post?
Ẹyin ọmọ olórí pẹlẹbẹ oshi yìí

Baba e , olori cone head, ni oshi.
Oloriburuku.

Great effort,wonderful compilation by Mr. Napu2.
Though I watched Nigerian matches live then, I still enjoyed all the video clips you uploaded.
The mafia in Super Eagles then(Oliseh and others) plotted Rashidi Yekini's downfall and the consequent underachievement of the team.
Posterity will never forget you, the rare gem "YEKING".

naptu2:
Yekini's contribution off the pitch.

(This was one of the most enjoyable matches for me).

Nigeria was scheduled to play Burkina Faso at the National Stadium in 1991. It was a qualifying game for the African Nations Cup in Senegal in 1992.

The Burkinabe coach was boasting that they would beat the Eagles in Lagos. His boasts shocked and surprised me. "What is a Burkina Faso?" I discussed this with my neighbour and he said that the coach was just trying to motivate his players.

Anyway, on match day, I settled down for an epic game. The NTA showed the stadium during their 12pm news and it was already full. I was the only person at home and I went to the kitchen to prepare a hefty lunch (fried yam, plantain, potatoes and eggs).

The players came out of the tunnel and they looked very weird. They wore very long shorts, the kind of shorts that my sister would call "kembe".

I later found out what happened. The Eagles had camped at Obasanjo Farms in Ota and had come to Lagos on game day. Unfortunately the kit manager had forgotten the Eagles' shorts in Ota. He was sent to get the shorts, but time was running out. Nigeria was going to suffer a walk over if the game didn't start on time.

Yekini came up with the solution. Why didn't they get razor blades and cut the bottom of their tracksuits in order to turn them into shorts. That's what they did and the Eagles played the first half in those shorts. Their regular shorts arrived before the second half.

The Federal Government later sacked the NFA board for embarrassing the nation. I had a relative that was in the NFA board at that time and he told me that they only heard about the sacking on the radio. They were not informed before hand.

Of course Yekini also scored 4 goals as Nigeria defeated Burkina Faso 7-1. I was angry that they allowed Burkina Faso to score.

God bless you Sir. I had the opportunity to watch that particular match at the Mainbowl of the National Stadium Lagos.
When the team appeared from the tunnel in training suits turned to shorts and the fans were protesting, one of commentators quickly applauded RASHEED YEKINI for suggesting to the team members to have their training suits cut to shorts to evade walkover by Burkinabes.
The guy was too simple in lifestyle. Perhaps one of the reasons people took him for granted when he was alive.
RIP THE LEGENDARY RASHEED "YEKING".

[quote author=naptu

Of course Yekini also scored 4 goals as Nigeria defeated Burkina Faso 7-1. I was angry that they allowed Burkina Faso to score.[/quote]Remember that he didn't play the entire game as he was substituted after scoring Four Goals and the Burkinabes started kicking him.
YEKING wanted to score a double hat-trick in that match.
Lol.

BABANGBALI:
did you wash the fight?

yes na, I am the one that finally separated the fight.

McTobe:
yes na, I am the one that finally separated the fight.

liar. See your mouth

Ok if you say no be me separate am tell me who?

BABANGBALI:
liar. See your mouth

At the end of the day, the hero died alone...what a pity, what a country and what a useless people.

Abeg, leave the man alone and allow him to continue to Rest In Peace...

Oluromantic:
That's because you don't know him

Unfortunately he reigned when Nigeria was ruled by the military.. Babangida and abacha.. Nobody could speak up for him.

He was one melancholic do or die footballer..very daring striking force!

No be ronaldo start bicycle kick o. Bicycle kick dey rashidi leg wella those days!

I could remember the bicycle kick he did at France '98 against Paraguay(I think).

may his soul rest in perfect peace... Amen

mystiquerebirth:
Celebrate the great and greatness would be attracted to you. Do not hate who has what you need in life.

Greatness will always come with long stories, beautiful tales and a history of what the great has done. Be Great and you would be talked about long after your departure.

Today, I join in celebrating the Greatness of Rashidi Yekini, most of all, I have learnt some lessons reading all this about his life.

Blessed be.

I have celebrated him when I watched him play even after his step down from the game. He's done well but he doesn't have what I need for your information. Not every great man is your pattern maker.
Peace.

Oluromantic:
That's because you don't know him

Unfortunately he reigned when Nigeria was ruled by the military.. Babangida and abacha.. Nobody could speak up for him.

He was one melancholic do or die footballer..very daring striking force!

No be ronaldo start bicycle kick o. Bicycle kick dey rashidi leg wella those days!

I know you are his PA. But watching him play with those tiny short and amazing speed is enough. You can keep his files.

Thanks for the thread Naptu, believe you me your words are not wasted, lengthy or not according to some.
Alhaji Yekini did not like playing politics which got him in trouble in a highly politicised Super Eagles environment.
He even once refused to accept the captaincy when Stephen Keshi was injured, this was despite Keshi himself begging him to take it. A captaincy that all the political animals in the team were killing themselves over.
That team would have won the 1994 world cup if not for the politics as they could go toe to toe with anyone.