{in Memoriam Rashidi Yekini 23/10/63 - 04/05/12} Iheanacho Offers Best Chance Of Breaking Record

And believe me I don't want to jinx it too. The Goalfather's record stands at 37 goals in 58 appearances. An impressive goal rat...

And believe me I don't want to jinx it too.

The Goalfather's record stands at 37 goals in 58 appearances. An impressive goal ratio of 0.64. So impressive that of all the Nigerian players to hit double figures for the Super Eagles with any amount of appearances, none comes close to the ratio.

Such was the reliability of the Goalfather, that even though he was not the most clinical and to be fair quite wasteful, you expected him to get you a goal.

Since Yekini's last feature for the Super Eagles in 1998, a lot of Nigerian strikers would come into the team and be looked up to replicate such proficiency. From Aghaowa to Emenike, players who were perceived to be in similar mould with the legend will all fail.

There is a growing need for that similar expectation- a cult hero in the national team that fans yearn for.  Ultimately, Nigerians have come to a bitter realization that there might not be another player like Jay-Jay Okocha but for Yekini, there's a belief the team could get someone close.

Players like Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Ikechukwu Uche, and Obafemi Martins who went on a fine run of goalscoring form that made people believe they could catch or surpass the legend but as the comparisons quickly began they quickly fell short. 

To their credit, these players currently occupy Nigeria's top 5 all time goal-scorers for the Super Eagles even if they failed to hit the silent milestone.

But it would be a certain Nigerian who no one is quick to compare to Yekini, perhaps for fear of similar jinx, that seems on course to break the record.

Kelechi Iheanacho bagged his fifth goal for the Super Eagles in the game against Senegal and should have had more had he been more clinical, as the Premier League seems to remember him, in front of goal. 

Iheanacho is not the typical kind of forward Nigerians would compare to Yekini. He lacks a physical presence that other potential Yekinis and Yekini possessed. Yet unlike the potentials, the Man City player possesses a knack and penchant for scoring goals that Yekini had.

The player's fifth in eight appearances puts his current goal ratio for the Eagles just around 0.63, close to Yekini's 0.64. And while it might seem early to compare, there is no reason why the player cannot maintain or better the ratio set by the Goalfather.

The 20 year old striker needs to average just around three goals every year for the next eleven years to beat the record. At that average, Iheanacho should be breaking the record at 31 years- a similar age at which Yekini would lead the lineup in USA 1994.

Also unlike Yakubu, Martins, and Uche, Kelechi comes into a Nigerian setup where the only competition he faces in the team, just like Yekini, would be himself. The Man City forward looks to be an automatic name on the teamsheet and has justified every inclusion.

His early predecessors either broke into the scene too late or too early enough that they could not jostle with established frontmen before them. Also coupled with tournament misses and injuries that plagued each one differently that proved major setbacks in achieving this feat.

But a common denominator that would underline why these players failed to succeed in hitting the milestone would be the dearth in the production unit. 

There is absolutely no comparison between the talents that played behind Rashidi at the time and the ones that supported the trio mentioned. 

Again, it would be a place where Kelechi has the advantage. 

The current Super Eagles are one of the most technically gifted bunch of players the national team has ever produced. It is not exactly a Hail-Mary idea to suggest they could be better than the class of '94 and '98. 

At such youthful age and technical abilities, Nigerians must be drooling of the consistency of team selection that had evaded the Super Eagles since 1998. It is such consistency and easy generation-transition that has helped players in other footballing nations break records, things not afforded to Yakubu and co.

Under a coach of Gernot Rohr's abilities or better- one who I must say must know what he is doing, Iheanacho would be in good hands and should be able to break the record bar injuries.

Would Kelechi develop to have the same mental strength, that other players including Yekini had by being at Man City? It is a topic I would avoid digressing into.

But already being a far better technical player than the legend helps him edge closer to the record, in an era where all edges seemed to be smoothened out and the technically brilliant players stand out.