Honour For Jay Jay Okocha

An A-list of African football players will converge on Nigeria for Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha’s testimonial

By Blessing Ogunli

Austin ‘Jay Jay,’ Okocha, former Super Eagles midfield general, will, on 26 June, be honoured with a testimonial game. The game, being put together by the government of Delta State, Okocha’s home state, is in appreciation of  the soccer player’s contributions to Nigerian football. Slated for Warri City Stadium, the match will be between a team of top African footballers like Cote d’Ivoire’s Didier Drogba, Emmanuel Adebayor of Togo, Cameroun’s Rigobert Song and Michael Essien of Ghana against the Super Eagles of Nigeria. The African selected XI will be coached by former Ghanaian international Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew, while the Nigerian team will be managed by ex-international goalkeeper, Peterside Idah.

• A true winner: Okocha exults during his days at Bolton Wanderers.

Amaju Pinnick, Chairman, Delta Football Association, DFA, described Okocha as a worthy son of Nigeria and Africa.

“Okocha is one of the most talented and finest players that bestrode our continent, so we deem it a thing of great honour that we are hosting this match,” Pinnick stated.

Pinnick, who also heads the organising committee of the match, said the organisers are doing everything possible to attract the best African footballers to the testimonial match. “Our consultant abroad is getting across to the players and we are also making contacts with the football associations of these players, in order to ensure that we get assurances that they would be here,” he said.

Pinnick explained that the response from the players has been impressive and added that the NFA has assured the organisers of the availability of national team players invited for the game.

Activities lined up to mark the end of the international career of the former international midfielder include a curtain raiser between youth footballers in the state and former Eagles players. There will also be a slideshow of Okocha in his national team days, starting with his days in the U-21 team to the Super Eagles.

The organisers have also planned two dinner parties as part of the celebration. The first will be held for the African XI and the Super Eagles on their arrival in Lagos.

The second will take place in Warri after the testimonial match. And to spice the celebration, there are plans to set up an entertainment centre in Warri where top comedians and artistes will entertain guests.

Born Augustine Azuka Okocha on 14 August 1974, in Enugu, Jay Jay, as he is fondly called, started his career with Rangers International Football Club of Enugu before travelling abroad.

He first attracted global attention in 1993 when he scored a magnificent goal while playing for Eintracht Frankfurt against Karlrushe in the German league. Okocha went past the entire defence of the team, beating some players twice before slotting the ball past goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. That goal was eventually voted 1993 Goal of the Year.

Following that superlative display, Okocha was included in the Flying Eagles team for the African Youth Championship held in Mauritius in 1993.

He made his Super Eagles debut in May of same year in a World Cup qualifier against Algeria in Lagos. Thus began a phenomenal national team career that saw him play for his country 75 times.

Okocha was the engine room of the team and played a prominent role in Nigeria’s qualification for her first World Cup in 1994.

His mesmerising display in the final of 1994 African Cup of Nations against Zambia, which Nigeria won, caught the attention of Pele who tipped him (Okocha) for greatness.

However, he was restricted to a fringe player during the 1994 World Cup because the team’s technical adviser, Clemens Westerhof, was not particularly enamoured of his ambitious style.

Two years later, he had grown in stature and was regarded as one of the cornerstones of the Nigerian team that won the gold medal at 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, USA.

The 1998 World Cup in France established his reputation as a genuine international star. Though Nigeria crashed out in the second round, he was the brightest star with his trademark dribbles. He was named in the official team of the tournament and earned a 10 million pound move from Fenerbhace of Turkey to Paris Saint Germain, PSG, of France. The amount paid was a record for an African player.

With the disbandment of the Super Eagles after the 2000 African Nations Cup in Mali, Okocha emerged the skipper of the new Super Eagles.

He led the team to the 2002 World Cup held in Korea/Japan. The dismal performance of the team at the event led Okocha to announce his retirement from the national team, a decision he rescinded following appeals from prominent Nigerians.

After the 2002 World Cup, he moved to Bolton from PSG and quickly became an undisputed favourite, with fans wearing T-shirts that bore the legend “Jay Jay. So Good They Named Him Twice.”

At the 2004 Cup of Nations held in Tunisia, Okocha’s goals and stellar performances lifted a largely unheralded Nigerian team to the semi-final. He was subsequently named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, MVP.

Further confirmation of his ability was yielded by his inclusion in the FIFA list of 100 greatest living footballers, compiled as part of activities marking the centenary celebrations of the football governing body.

The British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, also voted Okocha its footballer of the year three times–2003, 2004 and 2006.

At the end of the 2005/2006 season, he was released by Bolton and signed for a Qatari club, Qatar SC. His stay in the Middle-East was a short one and he returned to England play for Hull FC in the Coca Cola Championship.

Despite his fantastic individual ability, Okocha did not win the Confederation of African Football, CAF, African Footballer of the Year.

In a bid to give back, Okocha in 2004 released a DVD, Superskills With Jay-Jay Okocha, which showed him teaching children at a football school the most difficult tricks in football.

Okocha is married to Nkechi, and they have two children. He holds Turkish citizenship, with his Turkish name being Muhammad Yavuz.

Did you Enjoy this story? you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Random Post

• February 22, 2010 -- Deaths At Slaughter Station (0)
• April 22, 2008 -- Banking On Design (0)
• February 23, 2009 -- The United Nations And Gen Obasanjo’s ‘Rehabilitation’-G. A. Akinola (1)
• August 4, 2008 -- Rude Awakening For Imoke (2)
• March 17, 2008 -- Prostrate Hospitals (1)
• September 15, 2008 -- PORT HARCOURT/ Panic Reigns (13)
• January 25, 2010 -- Jos: From Home Of Peace To Killing Fields — Sunday Dare (0)
• May 18, 2009 -- The Power Play At EFCC (5)
• February 8, 2010 -- 15th February, 2010 (0)
• May 11, 2008 -- Why We Have Student Robbers (2)

No tags for this post.

Related posts

• No related posts.