Rashidi Yekini

Rashidi Yekini

Personal information
Full name	Rashidi Yekini
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Retired

Rashidi Yekini (born October 23, 1963 in Kaduna) is a former Nigerian football striker.

Club career

After starting his career in the Nigerian league, Yekini moved to Côte d'Ivoire to play for Africa Sports National. From there he went to Portugal and Vitória de Setúbal, where he experienced his most memorable years, eventually becoming the Portuguese first division's top scorer, in 1993-94, as his performances earned him the title of African Footballer of the Year in 1993.

After the 1994 World Cup Yekini was bought by Olympiacos FC, but did not get along with teammates and left. His career never really got back on track, not even upon a return to Setúbal. He succesively played with FC Zürich, Club Athlétique Bizertin and Al-Shabab (Saudi Arabia), before rejoining Africa Sports. In 2003, Yekini, at 39, returned to the Nigerian Championship was back in the Nigerian championship, now with Julius Berger.

In 2005, 41-year old Yekini made a short comeback, moving alongside former national teammate Mobi Oparaku to Gateway F.C..

International career

Scoring 37 goals for Nigeria's national side, in 70 appearances, Yekini is the national record goalscorer. He was part of the team that participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup (where he scored Nigeria's first ever goal in a World Cup, in a 3-0 win against Bulgaria) and the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Additionally, Yekini also helped win the 1994 African Nations Cup, where he also topped the goal charts, and participated at Olympic level, in Seoul 1988.

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero.pt
• NationalFootballTeams data