Former Super Eagles striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni has expressed his distress over the persistent bullying he faces from Nigerians regarding the missed goal opportunity that occurred 13 to 14 years ago.
The events of June 22, 2010, when Aiyegbeni missed a tap-in during a World Cup match between Nigeria and South Korea, are proving to be unforgettable for many Nigerian football enthusiasts.
The miss occurred during Nigeria’s final Group A match against South Korea at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in South Africa, with Nigeria trailing 2-1 at the time.
Despite later scoring from the penalty spot, fans of the Super Eagles were unable to overlook the unforgettable miss by Yakubu, commonly known as the ‘Yak’, during that match.
Yakubu fires back at Nigerians
In a recent interview as per leadership.ng, the video was shared on social media platform, X, and he cried out that he is still getting messages from angry fans who are demanding an explanation of how he missed the tap-in with the goalkeeper and defenders out of the way.
“I still get messages from people. Different messages. I remember one was sending a message last week and he was like ‘how do you explain that goal missed to you daughter Kayla’ he mentioned my daughter’s name ‘Kayla’. I was like 13 to 14 years ago and people still think about that,” he said.
“I got a message today and someone was like ‘you’re the worst Super Eagles striker’ because of that particular goal I missed. They never think about all the other goals I’ve scored.
“They never think about when I scored goals in Sudan when nobody thought we’d qualify for Korea Japan 2002. We went to Sudan. Nobody ever thought we’d qualify because the weather there was crazy. If we get a draw or lose we’re out.
“There I scored 2 goals. Julius Aghahowa scored one and Jay Jay Okocha, ‘pa Jay’ scored another one. We won 4-0. That gave us the ticket and went to Korea-Japan 2000.
“But people in Nigeria never speak about how I made them qualify but didn’t go to the World Cup. I was shocked. I played 99.9% of every game to qualify Nigeria for Japan/Korea and I was dropped.”
