Yakubu

New Delhi: On Sunday, when Yusif Yakubu struck two goals in Mahindra United’s 4-1 rout of Mohun Bagan in Mumbai, he became the first player in the 11-year history of National Football League (NFL) to cross the 75-goal barrier.

The prolific Ghanaian, who twice finished top scorer in the NFL for Churchill Brothers, has so far scored 76 goals and gunning to score many more in the days to come. Speaking from Mumbai, the highly priced striker said he is hungrier for goals now. “All that I ever wanted to do is score goals,” said Yakubu. “I want to score every time I get the ball. The more I score, the more I need.”

To a common fan, Yakubu is not as popular as Bhaichung Bhutia or Brazilian striker Jose Ramirez Barreto, but he stands taller than the two when it comes to finding the net.

While Bhutia so far has scored 69 goals for JCT, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, Barreto’s contribution to Mohun Bagan and Mahindra United in the NFL is 58 goals. No one else come anywhere near Yakubu’s feat.

But then, the title in the NFL has always eluded Yakubu since the time he has started playing in the high profile league in the 2001-02 season. In his very first season he came close to winning it for Churchill, but was pipped at the post by Mohun Bagan in Goa.

But this year, having already scored three goals, the Mahindra skipper is confident that Mahindra would win the title.

“We have one of the strongest sides in the competition, but we are taking nothing for granted,” he said.