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News Round The Clock (NRTC) will be looking at the polarizing career of Jay Jay Okocha, one of the most sizzling athletes in Nigerian football history.
Jay Jay Okocha whose real name is Augustine Azuka Okocha was so good they named him twice; dazzling feet, impeccable footballing footwork and stunning goals. He had everything, albeit, he was never crowned the king of African football in the entirety of his career.
Since time immemorial, the continent of Africa has arrayed phenomenal talent year after year, generation after generation.
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One of such referred talents is Nigerian born Augustine Azuka Okocha.
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The Enugu born player began his career with boyhood club Enugu Rangers where he rose in ranks rather quickly.
Jay-Jay is regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time.
A true magician who could do it all with the ball flair, trickery, creativity, dribbling, stepovers and whatever else in that locker room.
Brazilian great Ronaldinho particularly testifies he picked up a few things from the ex-Nigerian international. Acclaimed far and wide, Pelé named him amongst his well curated list of the top 125 best living footballers in 2004.
Not many can or could replicate what Azuka Okocha did with the round leather. Like many footballers, he started from the lowest of lows to reach the very top in his lengthy career.
The one with the nickname
Okocha a native of Enugu, Enugu State in Nigeria. The name “Jay-Jay” was passed down from his elder brother James, who pursued the football dream first; his immediate elder brother, Emmanuel was tagged Emma Jay-Jay, the name however etched into memories with the younger Okocha brother later on.
Jay-Jay started with his peers on the streets with whatever material they could coin into a soccer ball.
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The one with the club sides
His fortune kick-started when he visited Germany after the 1990 World Cup. Okocha madea a request to join a training session at Borussia Neunkirchen where his friend played.
Having made a worthy impression, he secured a contract. In the following 2 years, he already moved from the third division to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Okocha fully announced himself to the world when he rounded up the iconic Oliver Kahn and his defence to score the 1993 goal of the year.
Starting to craft a name for himself, the former Nigerian international moved to Turkish giants Fenebarche making a little above 60 appearances in his time there.
Paris Saint-Germain came calling in the summer of 1998 and paid the £14 million pounds – at that time a world record fee for an African footballer. Okocha spent 4 years in the Paris capital as he gradually became a fan favourite.
The appeal of the English Premier League saw him take roots overseas as he secured a move to Bolton Wanderers in England. It was these star-struck Bolton fans that coined the iconic “Jay-Jay so good they named him twice” phrase.
His time in England also spanned Hull City after his return from the South-East with Qatar SC. He notably helped the Tigers secure their first ever promotion to the English top-flight division.
The one with the national team
His 13 year service to the national team had him serve as captain. Scoring 14 goals in 73 caps for the Green Eagles having made his debut in 1993 in a 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast.
Revered in many quarters for his free-kick prowess, it was Jay-Jay’s wonder strike against Algeria that set the nation on track for her first world cup outing in 1994 in just his second international cap.
A part of the continental cup winning 1994 nations cup winning squad and central to the 1996 Olympics gold victory in Atlanta, Jay-Jay already made the spot in the Nigerian team his.
His next nations cup outing was the shootout loss to Cameroon in the 2000 Ghana-Nigeria hosted edition. Okocha proceeded to the next 3 editions as captain of the Nigerian national team securing bronze medals on all three occasions.
The 2004 edition was the one he peaked winning both the golden ball and boot while also leading club side Bolton to the league cup final.
The one with the accolades
For the national team where his nephew Alex Iwobi now stars, Jay-Jay Okocha won the African cup of nations in 1994, the Afro-asian cup of nations in the following year and the summer Olympic games with the U23 Dream Team in the Atlanta games.
He won the BBC African footballer of the year in consecutive years 2003-2004. The latter year seeing him take the top scorer and most valuable player at that AFCON edition.
On a national basis, he took home the Nigerian footballer of the year award on seven different occasions.
Across club level, he took the Bolton wanderers player of the year in the 2004/2005 season, the premier league player of the month November 2003 and the BBC goal of the month April that year.
With Paris Saint-Germain, he attained the Trophée des champions and the now defunct UEFA intertoto cup.
In 2021, he was named by IFFHS in their All-time Africa Men’s Dream Team confirming his status as an all timer.
In a world that celebrates the very best on the field of play, Augustine Azuka “Jay-Jay” Okocha was a drum full of creativity, bliss and elegance.
Truly magical to watch and a household name, he’s name is forever etched in tales of generations to come as one of the finest to ever grace the Nigerian football scene.
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