Emenike: Can he fill Yekini’s boots?

Man of the moment, Emmanuel Emenike, is
being touted as a replacement for late
Nigerian legend, Rashidi Yekini. Can the
Fenerbahce striker rise to the occasion? ’TANA
AIYEJINA reports
Nigeria still yearns for a proven goal scorer
even after the exit of late Rashidi Yekini from
international football 15 years ago.
Nicknamed Yeking or Goals Father due to his
knack for goals, the giant striker, who died
last year, sparked fear into opposing defences
whenever he was on duty for both club and
country.
In a career that spanned 14 years, Yekini
scored 37 goals in 58 matches to remain as
Nigeria’s all-time highest goal scorer.
Aside holding the above stated record, most
of Yekini’s goals were very significant to the
success of the national team. When hope was
lost, you could count on the gangling player
to carve out a goal from nothing.
Not one for showmanship, the former Abiola
Babes striker could score from anywhere on
the pitch. He packed ferocious shots in his
boots and was very deadly aerially, using his
huge frame and towering height as an
advantage against defenders.
He was also very strong, thus difficult to
knock off the ball and a master in the art of
converting penalty kicks.
It was always going to be a difficult task
finding a replacement for the man, who
scored 90 goals in 108 games for Portuguese
side Vitoria Setubal.
But no one probably knew it would last a
decade and half with no replacement in sight
since Yekini retired from international
football after a cameo appearance at the
1998 World Cup in France.
Many close watchers say Fenerbahce striker
Emmanuel Emenike may just be the player to
fill Yekini’s extra large boots.
Just like Yekini—when the Eagles won the
1994 Africa Cup of Nations— Emenike was top
scorer at the 2013 AFCON with four goals as
Nigeria cruised to a third title.
And the powerful striker has ensured once
again that the Eagles have a foot in Brazil
after his two goals in Addis Ababa earned the
African champions a hard-fought 2-1 win over
Ethiopia in their first leg final African
qualifiers for the World Cup.
The ex-Spartak Moscow forward made his
Nigeria debut in 2011 and has gone on to
score 10 goals in 18 matches for Nigeria: an
average of 0.556 goals per game, the fourth
highest in the history of the Eagles. It is
definitely not a far cry from Yekini’s 37 goals
in 58 games: 0.64 goals per game.
His goals ratio could have been more but for
an injury he sustained in the semi-finals of
the 2013 AFCON, which sidelined him for
months for both club and country duties.
He only returned for the Eagles final group
qualifier against Malawi in Calabar and he
announced his comeback with a goal in the
2-0 win.
Against Ethiopia, the Eagles, playing at an
altitude of 2, 400m on the bumpy Addis
Ababa stadium on October 13, fell behind to
the Walya Antelopes early in the second half.
Again, it was Emenike who rose to the
occasion with a stunning equaliser. On the
stroke of full time, he was brought down
inside the box after a dazzling run and the
confident player got up, dusted himself and
slotted home the resultant penalty kick, thus
saving Nigerians the agony of permutations
before the return leg in Calabar next month.
Emenike admits that it won’t be an easy task
erasing Yekini’s amazing record but he hopes
to even make a bigger impression with time.
The 26-year-old said, “Yekini’s shoes are still
too big for me to wear, I am only doing what
I know best for my fatherland and I have not
done anything yet.
“I still have a lot to do to get to the height
reached by such a legend. The fans have to
wait before I can accept that tag but for now,
I’m thinking about making the name Emenike
bigger than the late Yekini.”
Former Eagles striker, Victor Agali, also once
touted as a replacement for Yekini, says
Emenike can fill the boots of the legendary
striker if there is unity in the national team.
Agali scored five goals in 12 outings for the
national team.
“It will be easy for him (Emenike) to erase
Yekini’s record only if the team play for him.
If he keeps getting all the reviews in the
media, some players may become jealous.
“He is very strong, quick and shoots very well,
so he is good. But don’t forget this is the
Super Eagles. If he gets injured and the
officials neglect him, it may also affect him.
So, he needs both the officials and players
even the fans to achieve his dream,” the
former Schalke 04 forward said.
But sports broadcaster, Bimbo Adeola, says
comparing Emenike with Yekini would put
more pressure on the player’s young
shoulders.
He said, “It’s too early to put the young man
under pressure; though he’s doing very well
and we have been relying on him for goals.
“When Martins emerged, he was compared to
Yekini. It happened to other players and it got
into their heads and they lost it.
“Again, we shouldn’t forget that he has not
been up to scratch for his club recently. I
think the less pressure we put on him, the
better for him. He just needs to play his
football normally.”
A lot of strikers have emerged after Yekini’s
retirement but they all struggled to match the
astonishing credentials of the 1993 African
Footballer of The Year.
First on the cards was Daniel Amokachi,
Yekini’s strike partner. The present Eagles
assistant coach, though had a fine time in
Europe playing for Club Brugge, Everton and
Besiktas but injury forced him into early
etirement at the age of 27 years, after only 13
goals in 44 appearances for Nigeria.
Next was Julius Aghahowa, who notched 14
goals between 2000 and 2007. The former
Bendel Insurance striker showed a lot of
initial promise after he caught the eye at the
1999 U-20 World Cup on home soil.
A very tricky player, he was seen as the final
solution to the Eagles striking problems after
Yekini’s departure. And he didn’t disappoint,
he was Nigeria’s top scorer at the 2002 Africa
Cup of Nations and scored the Eagles only
goal at the 2002 World Cup.
Everything seemed right for the then Shakhtar
Donetsk man until he made a move to England
to join Wigan Athletic in 2007.
In a year and half at the English Premier
League side, Aghahowa, who scored 32 goals
in 89 games for Shakhtar, failed to find the
back of the net. The poor outing restricted his
chances in the Eagles and he bowed out after
just 32 matches for Nigeria.
Though not the fans favourite, Yakubu
Aiyegbeni showed traces of Yekini in his game.
Strong, business-like and good at taking
penalty kicks, he accounted for 21 goals in 57
games between 2000 and 2010 to emerge as
the country’s third all-time top scorer.
Yak was top scorer in the Nigerian league with
Julius Berger before a move to Israeli side
Maccabi Haifa as a 16-year-old.
He was outstanding when he moved to
England but even though he scored 104 goals
in English football between 2003 and 2012,
the 30-year-old’s international career was all
but over after missing a begging chance in
front of an empty goal from three metres
against South Korea at the 2010 World Cup.
Obafemi Martins also showed a lot of promise
after breaking into Inter Milan’s senior team
as an 18-year-old, thus earning a call-up to
the Eagles in 2004. He has 18 goals to his
credit for Nigeria and has earned a reputaion
as a journeyman after plying his trade across
top European leagues.
Now at MLS side Seattle Sounders, Oba Goal
seemingly didn’t impress Stephen Keshi, who
offered him a return to international football
in a 2014 World Cup qualifier against Kenya
earlier in the year. The coach hasn’t called
him up ever since.
Villarreal striker Ike Uche also gave fans
something to cheer with his goal scoring
abilities. Capped in 2007 by Nigeria, Uche has
an impressive scoring chart for the Eagles: 18
goals in 44 games. But he hasn’t had a chance
to add to that tally after a below average
performance at the 2013 AFCON meant he
was left out of the squad by officials.
Worthy of note is the performance of former
Eagles captain Austin Okocha. Though a
midfielder, the former Bolton Wanderers man
also tried to help out in attack and ended up
with 14 goals for the Eagles.
Former Enyimba coach, Godfrey Esu, believes
Yekini’s record still exists because Nigerian
players don’t go the extra mile to improve on
their talents.
Esu said, “It’s just that our professionals don’t
want to invest in themselves. Sometimes talent
and luck comes in but if you want to be the
best, you must have a personal coach,
someone with experience in psychology, who
will help you analyse your games.
“If our players start scoring, they forget about
developing themselves. All the best players in
the world have their personal staff, for
optimum productivity.”
The highly experienced coach is optimistic
that Emenike will eventually break the jinx.
“Emenike is still very young; I see him as
someone ready to learn. He is also humble. If
he keeps working the way he is now, he will
get there in time but he has to work harder.
He must hire the services of a personal coach
to improve his game.”
At just 5 feet 11 1⁄2 inches, Emenike is
nowhere near the towering 6 feet 3 inches
Yekini in height but no one can doubt his
ability to rise up to the occasion, when called
upon.