ADIEU, RASHIDI YEKINI!!!

By OMOSEYE BOLAJI It was an unpalatable bolt from the blue for most of us to learn that “gangling” Rashidi Yekini is no more, the mercurial striker who regularly prodded millions into frenzied celebrations with his plethora of goals for his country. Ineluctably the world will always remember Yekini for his earnest, yet theatrical goal celebration at the World Cup finals in 1994. The pertinent photo is actually reproduced in one of my books,Eagles at USA 94. On a personal note again, I had the pleasure of publishing a long feature article on Yekini in the glossy, international magazine, World Soccer in 1994. Since the magazine is distributed in almost every country in the world, at the time,excerpts from my article were being used, quoted everywhere in many countries. The World Cup made Yekini world famous. Yet it was a long walk for Yekini. His early career is often overlooked, eg as a kid he actually starred for Nigeria at the 1984 Nations Cup finals where the Eagles unexpectedly reached the final, where Cameroon won 3 1. And how well I remember January 1984, at the Liberty stadium in Ibadan after a young Yekini had scored twice for the national side, Eagles against the Shooting Stars club, (a warm up session). The great Lekan Salami, now late, supremo of Shooting Stars said - “It was Shooting Stars that ‘killed’ Shooting Stars today!” A reference to the fact that the young Yekini had just been signed as a player for Stars club then. The pundits had no doubt then that Yekini will go on to score many goals for club(s) and country. And so it turned out, but it was not a smooth ride over the years. Yekini did score many goals till the early 90s, but one could hardly claim that he was fulfilling his early potential. In fact when Nigeria pulled out all the stops to qualify for World Cup 90 - and failed at the last minute - the attack in virtually all the key games comprised Siasia, Etim Essin, Owubokiri, and the late Okwaraji. No Yekini. Yekini was to bounce back later, adding more strings to his bow as a striker - apart from his ferocious, scorching shots - he became more versatile, with more close control, better passing ability, and adroit positioning. He was top scorer at both the 1992, and 1994 Nations Cup finals, the latter one won by Nigeria. His prolific goal scoring form helped Nigera qualify for the 1994 World Cup at long last, where he scored our first ever goal at the global finals against Bulgaria. But even at this highest level, it was still a case of "if only," for Yekini the great player... Nigeria might well have gone on to reach the World Cup final in 94 and made history for Africa if not for Italy's Maldini's sly, cynical yet horrific foul against Yekini who was set to score a crucial goal. Four years later, even at around 34 years old Yekini still made the Eagles squad that qualified for the 98 World Cup finals. Yekini made his mark again, even if not a regular starter. He was sensational against Spain, with an unforgettable overhead shot that just flew wide. But there was heartbreak again in the second round against Denmark who eliminated the Eagles. With his football career over, some did wonder what the future held for Yekini. Like England's tormented ex-football star, Paul Gascoigne, Yekini s whole life seemed to revolve around football. With their careers over, sadly, depression, general negativity seemed to envelope them despite their wealth and status. From the early days of the likes of Odegbami, Adokiye, Dan Amokachi, (all Nigerians), Gary Lineker,(England) , Doctor Khumalo, Mark Williams (South Africa) it was always clear that even when their playing days were over, life would still go on for them. Without being churlish, some former stars find it so difficult to make the transition. Maybe it should be a must that specialists in this wise,psychologists, psychiatrists, etc should be in regular contact with sports people throughout their careers? Quand meme, Adieu, Rashidi Yekini...and thanks for everything...