Rashidi Yekini, Nigeria’s all-time leading scorer, passed away on May 4, 2012 in Ibadan.
Google Doodle commemorates the 60th birthday of Rashidi Yekini, the legendary Nigerian soccer player affectionately known as the “Goalfather” for his uncanny ability to score goals.Soccernet.ng is reported.
Google Doodle is known for its fun and surprising spontaneous changes to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and even legends, but Yekini, born on October 23, 1963, changed to celebrate.
Yekini’s path to becoming a soccer legend was full of adversity. He faced homelessness and poverty from a young age and worked as a welder and mechanic to make a living.
Despite these challenges, he dreamed of pursuing a career as a professional soccer player and quickly caught the eye of scouts and became an icon in the Nigerian soccer community.
In 1981, Yekini made his debut with UNTL FC in Kaduna and began his professional football career. After that, he moved to the Stars, where he scored an incredible 45 goals in just 53 games.
Yekini’s remarkable goal-scoring performances earned him the prestigious title of African Player of the Year in 1983, making him the first Nigerian player to win this honour.
The Kaduna-born player’s football career did not stop with Nigeria, as he played for various football clubs in countries such as Spain, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Greece, Portugal and Switzerland.
In the 1993/94 season, he represented the Portuguese team Vitoria Setubal and won the Bora de Plata (Silver Ball) as the league’s top scorer.
During the tournament, he etched his name into history by scoring Nigeria’s first goal. At that moment, he hugged the net with both his arms and shed tears of joy.
Soccer fans around the world still remember this legendary goal celebration. Yekini represented the Super Eagles for over 14 years, including also playing in the World Cup in 1998.
He has scored 37 goals in 58 games for Nigeria and holds the record for most goals scored by a national team.
Check out Rashidi’s Google Doodle here:
