Five Perfect Stats You Need To Know About Super Legend Yakubu "The Yak" Aiyegbeni

Five Perfect Stats You Need To Know About Super Legend Yakubu "The Yak" Aiyegbeni

By Gbenga Gboyega

Yakubu Aiyegbeni, born on the 22nd of November 1982 in the ancient town of Benin City, Edo State retired from the Super Eagles team of Nigeria

1. Yakubu's Wife, the daughter of a Former Nigerian International Player and Coach

In the year 2008, Yakubu Aiyegbeni walked the love of his life Yvonne Lameen Ikhana down the aisle in matrimony, but the highlight of the lovely union would be the family background of Yvonne.

Yvonne Ikhana, whose surname rings a bell is the daughter of former Kano Pillars, Enyimba, and Shooting Stars player Kadiri Ikhana, who also featured internationally for Nigeria.

Ikhana starred for the Super Eagles at the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympic Games and the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations hosted in Nigeria, which he won alongside the team.

Ikhana who is also the father-in-law to former Eagles player Patrick Ovie, also enjoyed coaching spells in the Nigeria Professional Football League with the likes of El-Kanemi Warriors, Kwara United, and Sunshine Stars, to mention but a few.

2. The first African to score a UEFA Champions League Hat-Trick

On a breezy Tuesday night, the 24th of September 2002, in a Group F clash between Maccabi Haifa and Olympiacos Piraeus at the GSP Stadium in Cyprus, Yakubu Aiyegbeni made history as the first African player to bag a hattrick on the UEFA Champions League stage.

Aiyegbeni achieved the 59-minute hattrick in the 27th, 60th, and 86th minute of the tie, which ended up being the only goals of the game, to help his Maccabi Haifa side clinch their first win of the 2002-03 UCL campaign.

The first goal was from the penalty spot, while the other two were assisted from open play by retired Croatian star and then teammate Dovani Roso.

3. The first player to score against all 20 Premier League clubs

Yakubu Aiyegbeni scored 95 goals in 252 games across four different English clubs between 2003 and 2012, starring for Portsmouth, Blackburn, Everton, and Middlesbrough in that span.

His 95 goals featured all the top clubs he faced in the English Premier League during that spell, accounting for 20 top-flight opposition clubs.

4. Second Premier League Player to score 4 Goals in a game with two Clubside

Yakubu Aiyegbeni has scored a hauk (four goals in a match) with two English Premier League clubs - Portsmouth and Blackburn and is the second player to do so since the 1992-93 season.

Yakubu bagged his first haul for Portsmouth in 2004, against Middlesbrough in a 5-1 win on the last day of the 2003-04 EPL campaign, and repeated the feat seven years later for Blackburn Rovers, against Swansea in a 4-2 win in December 2011.

5. Yakubu remains the only Super Eagles player to miss a goal-scoring chance from three yards out in FIFA's first World Cup competition hosted in Africa.

Nigerian fans will recall the unpleasant incident at the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he missed a sitter against South Korea in the last group game.

Although Yakubu went on to score a penalty that earned the team a 2-all draw, but the miss continues to fest in the hearts of fans.