Emenike: Can he fill Yekini’s boots?

Emmanuel Emenike

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.