Jay-Jay Okocha

At 50 years old, Jay-Jay Okocha has this physical status:

(Jay-Jay) Okocha, Augustine Azuka (KOTCH) Okocha (?-KOTCH) Born on August 14, 1973, he was a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

Okocha, a quick and skilled playmaker who is known for his ability with the ball, technique, imagination, and dribbling skills, as well as his use of feints, in particular the stepover.

He was described as being "so good that they named him twice" (a line immortalized in a terrace chant while Okocha was playing for Bolton Wanderers).

Personal life

Okocha is from Anioma, a subgroup of the Igbo people. Emmanuel, his elder brother, was also a former footballer who competed for Nigeria's national team. Alex Iwobi, a nephew who plays for Everton and Nigeria, is his uncle.

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Club career

Augustine Azuka "Jay" Okocha was born in Enugu, Enugu State, and she was born in Enugu, Enugu. His parents lived in Osun State, Nigeria, in Iwo's local government. Jay-Jay was handed down from his elder brother James, who began playing football first; his immediate elder brother, Emmanuel, was also named Emma Jay-Jay, but the name was replaced by Okocha. He started playing football on the streets like most other football players, but mainly with a makeshift ball.

"As far as I can recall, we used to play with whatever, with any round thing we could find," he said, and if we did manage to get a ball, it was a bonus."

I mean it was amazing!"

He joined Enugu Rangers in 1990. In his time at the club, he put on several impressive performances, including one against veteran Nigerian goalkeeper Willy Okpara against a match against the BCC Lions. Later this year, he went to West Germany, the country that had just won the 1990 FIFA World Cup, so he could watch German league football. Binebi Numa was playing in Borussia Neunkirchen's Third Division, and Okocha went with Numa one morning, where he was invited to participate in training. The Neunkirchen coach was impressed with Okocha's abilities and invited him back the next day before offering him a contract. He was 1 year old when he first joined 1. FC Saarbrücken was founded in 2006, but the player was only active on the two teams for a few months. Before a transfer to the 1. Eintracht Frankfurt is a Bundesliga team that plays for Eintracht Frankfurt.

Okocha joined Eintracht Frankfurt in December 1991, where he worked with many well-known players, including Ghanaian international striker Tony Yeboah and later Thomas Doll. He continued to shine for the German side, with one of his goals against Karlsruher SC dribbling in the penalty box and slotting the ball past goalkeeper Oliver Kahn while going past some players twice. Many football magazines named Goal of the Season, and Sportschau's viewers also named 1993 Goal of the Year (an ARD German television sports program) as a result. Okocha, Yeboah, and Maurizio Gaudino were all involved in a feud with boss Jupp Heynckes, which culminated in their departure from the club in 1995.

Yeboah and Gaudino both left for England, while Okocha stayed on the season until Frankfurt was relegated to the second division. Before signing for Fenerbahçe, the Istanbul club Fenerbahçe was in the Bundesliga. He has scored 18 goals in 90 games in the Bundesliga.

Following Eintracht Frankfurt's transfer to the 2nd, Okocha joined Fenerbahçe for about £1 million. Bundesliga is a German sport. He has scored 30 goals in 62 appearances, many of which came from direct free kicks, which has become something of a signature for the club.

When playing for Fenerbahçe, Okocha obtained Turkish citizenship and selected the name Muhammed Yavuz.

In 1998, French side Paris Saint-Germain invested around £14 million to sign Okocha, making him the most expensive African player at the time. He played 84 games and scored 12 goals in his four-year career with PSG. During his time in Paris, he has also served as a mentor for young Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho.

After leaving PSG in the summer of 2002 following the FIFA World Cup, Okocha joined Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer. Despite being limited by injuries, his debut season made him a favorite among Bolton fans, with the team printing shirts containing the word "Jay-Jay" – so clever he was named twice. In the crucial league victory over West Ham United, he guided the team away from relegation with seven goals, including the team's Goal of the Season. In a supporters vote in 2008, Bolton's best Premier League victory was voted for. Following Guni Bergsson's retirement, Okocha assumed more responsibility as he was given the captain's armband. Bolton won their first cup final in nine years, after being runners-up in the 2004 Football League Cup to Middlesbrough.

He was booted of the captaincy in 2006, something he said he had predicted coming, as a change in some staff members's attitude had occurred. This was most likely due to his planned move to the Middle East, which had sparked a lot of rumors. He turned down a one-year contract extension in order to move to Qatar at the end of the season.

Following Bolton's relegation from the Premier League in 2012, Okocha said that his time with the club had been a waste of time, because the club had not invested or upgraded on the foundations that had been laid during his time there.

In 2017, Okocha was named as the best player to have ever played for Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok/Macron Stadium.

Hull City, Qatar's Football League Championship side, signed Okocha on a free transfer in 2007, after the player had been linked to Real Salt Lake and Sydney FC for just one season. It was a decision he made when God told him not to do so." He did not have enough energy and regular injuries, but he did not have to contribute much to Hull's promotion campaign, playing only 18 games and scoring no goals. For the first time in their 104-year history, Hull won promotion to the Premier League. Hull's promotion brought him out a new contract at the end of the season, which forced him to leave the club, which eventually sent him into retirement.

International career

In Nigeria's 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier away loss against the Ivory Coast in May 1993, Okocha made his official debut there. He wasn't until his second cap and home debut that he became a favorite among Nigerian supporters. Nigeria was trailing 1–0 against Algeria in a game they had to win, but he converted from a direct free kick to equalise, bringing the team to a 4–1 victory and eventually securing qualification to their first World Cup. In 1994, he was a member of both the victorious 1994 African Cup of Nations squad and the World Cup squad, which advanced to the second round before losing in a thrilling match against eventual runners-up Italy.

Okocha's 1996 Olympic gold winning basketball team, as well as their Olympic gold winning team at the Atlanta Games, became a key member of a much more popular Nigerian side, later dubbed the Dream Team by the Nigerian press after the USA 1992 Olympic gold winning basketball team's gold winning basketball team. Okocha was a part of France's 1998 FIFA World Cup, but the team lived up to expectations again in the round of 16, despite having less impressive results save for their 3–2 win over Spain. This did not put Okocha off, who had entertained followers with his trademark skills and dribbles and then moved on to be named in the tournament's squad.

In the 2000 African Cup of Nations co-hosted with Ghana, Okocha joined the Super Eagles. He scored three goals in the tournament, two in the first game against Tunisia, and then he was greeted with a standing ovation when he left the field.

In his testimonial against an African select team in Warri, he made his return to the Super Eagles. Daniel Amokachi, Alloysius A.A., John Fashanu, Benjani, and Sulley Muntari were among the game's featured players. Nigeria defeated the game 2–1, with Okocha scoring the winning goal after playing for the team in the second half. He was named one of the top 125 living footballers by Pelé in March 2004.

Post-playing career

Okocha was introduced as a "Legend" in late 2014, acknowledging his years as a top footballer.

Okocha was elected as the Chair of the Delta State Football Association on February 21, 2015.

In April 2015, Okocha expressed his intention in becoming the Nigeria Football Federation president.

In his team's 6–2 victory, Okocha played in a charity match against "Team John McGinlay" at the Macron Stadium on May 15, 2016, scoring a hat-trick.

In June 2019, it was announced that Okocha had been charged with suspected money laundering in Scotland.

Since 2019, Okocha has been a football pundit African sports broadcaster, Supersports, broadcasting news from major tournaments, including the African Cup of Nations and the European Championships.

On November 14th, 2021, Okocha played in a charity match against Bolton Wanderers Legends, who were battling the new Bolton first team. Gethin Jones, a Bolton player, had been diagnosed with Motor neuron disease, was involved in the game. The Bolton first team defeated 7-4, with Okocha scoring a penalty for the Legends team.

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