Emenike needs boldness to match Yekini –Kpakor

Emmanuel Emenike

Emmanuel Emenike has been in blistering form for both club and country of late.

He marked his return to the Super Eagles after months on the treatment table, following the injury he sustained at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, with a superb goal in the defeat of Malawi in a 2014 World Cup qualifying game in Calabar on September 7.

 The striker followed up his magnificent performance against the Flames with a goal  in the 4-1 victory over Burkina Faso in a friendly affair in Kaduna three days later before grabbing a brace in  the first leg World Cup qualifying playoff  2-1 defeat of  Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on October 13.

 While the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Golden Boot winner  hogged the headlines for his goals for Nigeria, he played with the handbrake on  at Fenerbahce where out-of-favour Nigeria defender Joseph Yobo is a popular figure.

Emenike returned to the current Turkish Super League  leaders in the summer after two seasons at Russian club Spartak Moscow.

Emenike, who joined Fenerbahce from the newly-promoted   Karabukspor in 2011, was  charged along with 13 players over the match-fixing scandal involving his new club.  And he  could not play a single match for  the Yellow Canaries as a result. But he was set free by a Turkish court after investigations proved that he was not involved in the match-fixing  scandal.

Fenerbahce sold the  former South Africa-based forward  to Spartak Moscow for  €10m where he scored 21 goals in 42 appearances  before returning to the club this year  for  €15m. Emenike played five games without a goal to show for his efforts, prompting  many  Fenerbahce supporters to  question manager  Ersun Yanal’s decision to spend such a hefty sum of money on a player who was only scoring for his country.

However, Emenike has since rediscovered his goalscoring form by hitting the back of the net four times in three games for the Turkish powerhouse.

Emenike  said Samuel Eto’o’s first goal for Chelsea after some matches following his transfer to Anzi in the summer inspired him to hit a fine run of form.

Four-time African Player of the Year Eto’o  scored his first goal for Chelsea  against Cardiff City in their  Premier League encounter  at Stamford Bridge on October 19,  while Emenike followed suit the next day with the winner for Fenerbahce against Erciyesspor in a league clash.

“I was lifted when I watched Samuel Eto’o celebrating his first goal for Chelsea after he had gone some games without a goal. My spirit was lifted and I got my first goal after that for Fenerbahce. He is a friend and brother, we have same vision and wear same jersey number too,” Emenike said.

But despite Emenike being in his best  form, Algiers ’90 Africa Cup of Nations silver medallist Moses Kpakor maintains the player  still has a long way to go to become a complete striker.

Former Super Eagles midfield star Kpakor also   believes Emenike has a tall mountain to climb to match  the late  Rashidi Yekini’s records, let alone surpassing them.

Yekini was the second top scorer with three goals behind Algeria striker Djamel Menad (with four goals) at Algiers ‘90. Algeria won the trophy after beating Nigeria 1-0 in the final at  Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers on March 16,1990.

The 1993 African Footballer of the Year Yekini  scored 37 goals for  the Super Eagles in 58 appearances. He won silver medals at the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast and the 1988 edition in Morocco. He won bronze in the 1992 edition in Senegal and gold at the Tunisia ’94 continental finals.

Yekini was the first Nigerian to be voted the African Player of the Year (in 1993) and scored Nigeria’s first-ever goal at the  World Cup -  in a 3–0 win against Bulgaria at USA ’94.

And Emenike, who has  scored 10  goals in 18 appearances for the country, revealed his ambition to overtake Yekini.

“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,” the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations  winner told MTNFootball.com in an interview in September.

“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 am thinking about making the name Emenike bigger than the late  Yekini.

“But I won’t rush my race. I will keep delivering when I’m given the chance to serve my country.”

Kpakor, who hailed Emenike’s contribution to the success of the national team since Stephen Keshi took over from Samson Siasia, insists the 26-year-old needs nerve to realise his dreams.

“Maybe Emenike can beat Yekini’s record by  the number of goals he might score for Nigeria,” the utility  ex-Abiola Babes player told our correspondent during the week.

“But I truly doubt if he can match Yekini’s pace, precision, consistency and tactical discipline.

“Yekini was simply unpredictable, and was such a devoted striker. He had the needed knack for goals, both aerially and on the ground. He was simply impeccable. Emenike requires great boldness to match him.”

Kpakor believes Emenike can develop into a world-class striker if he works harder  and  maintains consistent form.

According to the former Lobi Stars coach, the player has a chance to showcase his talents on the big stage if he helps Nigeria beat Ethiopia in the World Cup playoff return match in Calabar on November 16.

Kpakor said, “Emenike can be a world-class striker only if he produces his current  form at the World Cup in Brazil next year and maintains the form in Europe for a while. I mean he must be consistent.

“Yekini  was consistent (from 1984 to 1998) with the national team, as well as all the clubs he played for in Nigeria (UNTL,Shooting Stars, Abiola Babes, Gateway and Julius Berger), in Ivory Coast (Africa Sports) and  in Europe (Vitoria Setubal, Sporting Gijon and FC Zurich. Yekini, for us, was a special breed.

“Emenike could be said to have the prospects of beating  Yekini’s record. But until that is achieved, he has done  nothing special yet. What could be special about scoring 10 goals in  just 18 matches?”

Kpakor  says   Emenike’s coach at Fenerbahce should work on the player’s weaknesses to enable him to become a notable striker.

He said, “There is  very little Keshi can do because he (Keshi)  has just a few days with him as national coach.

“I think Emenike’s coach has a better opportunity to do that. Anyway, Keshi can help by granting him the chance to play for the national team  if he keeps his current  form. I think playing and putting the ball into the net regularly for the national team would be the tonic for Emenike to hit international reputation.”

Emenike, who began his career with Delta Force in 2007, made his international  debut against Sierra Leone at the Teslim Balogun Stadium  in Lagos in  February 2011. He  was forced out of the game by injury midway through the first half.

He opened his scoring account for the national team in the 4-1 hammering of South American giants  Argentina in a friendly encounter at the Abuja Stadium in 2009.

Emenike came into the spotlight when he scored  16 goals for Karabukspor in his first season (2009/2010) to help   The Blue Flame  gain promotion  to the Turkish Super League after 11 years in the lower division.

He  won the Best Foreign Player award in the league  at the end of the 2009–10 season, an achievement that attracted interest  from Fenerbahce at the end of the season.