Two former assistant coaches of the Super Eagles, Ike Anobi Shorunmu and Fatai Folorunsho Amoo have come out with memories of some good days they had together with late top-striker of the Nigerian national team, Rashidi Yekini (aka Ye-King), whose eighth year memorial help earlier this week, megasportsarena.com reports.
While Shorunmu recalled that Yekini, who died eight years ago in Ibadan amidst controversial circumstances with his extended family members, was a very jovial person, Amoo went on to label the 1993 Africa Footballer of The Year as a very dedicated and disciplined player.
Amoon, who went on to become as an assistant coach in the Eagles, after a very short career at international level, added that he has profound memories of sheer determination and zeal from Yekini, who excelled with UNTL of Kaduna, IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Vitória de Setúbal of Portugal, FC Zurich of Switzerland and Olympiakos of Greece, before her returned home to cap his playing days with Julius Berger FC of Lagos and Gateway United of Abeokuta.
Similar encomiums are rolling from Shorunmu, who went on to become a goalkeepers’ trainer in the Eagles, as he said during Mega Sports on Star 101.5 FM, Lagos that he remembers how lively it was always being with Yekini, who started his career abroad with Africa Sports of Cote d’Ivoire.
At national team level, Yekini scored 37 goals in 58 international games, was three times top scorer at the Africa Cup of Nations and appeared at two editions of the World Cups, starting at USA ’94, where he hit home Nigeria’s first-ever goal in the competition against Bulgaria.
Shorunmu recounted: “I remember the little time we had together in the Super Eagles. He was always very friendly and jovial. In fact, he was our comedian in the team. There can never be a dull moment whenever Yekini was around.
“He was like that during our days together at Shooting Stars in Ibadan. He even came to meet me at FC Zurich in Switzerland, and he was still very jovial with all players in the team. We had some happy days together playing at Zurich before he returned to Greece.
“I remember a certain day when our colleagues was feeling sad, the moment Yekini came in he started laughing and the atmosphere changed. He was always very lively and always with a joke to share.”
Amoo concluded: “What I remember about Yekini was discipline and determination. He was totally dedicated in everything he was doing, and his level of discipline was very high. You could not hear that Yekini was involving in any kind of indiscipline.
“He was dedicated to what he was doing and always wanted to do everything well. That was what we saw that reflected on what he was able to do on the pitch. He played every match with a high level of determination.”
