Late Nigerian footballer Rashidi Yekini who played as a striker and popularly known for his amazing goals scored in the 1994 World Cup Competition in USA. He was born on October 23, 1963 in Kaduna, of Yoruba origin.
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He started his professional career in the Nigerian league before he moved to Côte d’Ivoire to play for Africa Sports National, and from there he went to Portugal and Vitória de Setúbal where he experienced his most memorable years, eventually becoming the Primeira Liga’s top scorer in the 1993–94 season after scoring 21 goals. He helped Sadinos promote from the second division, and those performances earned him the title of African Footballer of the Year once, the first ever for the nation.
He scored 37 goals as a Nigerian international, and represented the nation in five major tournaments, including two World Cups where he scored the country’s first-ever goal in the competition. He was also named the African Footballer of the Year in 1993. Yekini was the national record goalscorer. He played in two World Cup Tournaments; 1994 in which he was named best player of the competition and the 1998 FIFA World Cups. He also participated at Olympic level in Seoul 1988.
In the summer of 1994, Yekini was bought by Olympiacos FC, but did not get along with teammates so he left soon after. He returned to Setúbal after another unassuming spell, in La Liga with Sporting de Gijón. He successively played with FC Zürich, Club Athlétique Bizertin and Al-Shabab Riyadh, before rejoining Africa Sports. In 2003, aged 39, he returned to the Nigerian championship with Julius Berger FC.
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In April 2005, Yekini made a short comeback, moving alongside former national teammate Mobi Oparaku to Gateway United FC.
Yekini married three wives. He had three daughters, named Yemisi, Omoyemi and Damilola
Yekini was reported to be ill for an extended period of time. He was said to suffer from bipolar disorder, depression and some other undisclosed psychiatric condition. He died in Ibadan on May 4, 2012 at the age of 48.
