THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT JAY JAY OKOCHA

                                                               

Augustine Azuka Okocha

Country: NigeriaDate of Birth: August 14, 1973 Retired: 2008 Introduction Popularly known as ‘Jay Jay’, he is a retired Nigerian football player. He was captain of the Super Eagles from 2002-2006. He won the African Cup of Nations in 1994 and an Olympic Gold medal in 1996. Okocha was named BBC African footballer of the year in 2005 and 2006. Early Career Okocha began playing football with renowned Nigerian club- Enugu Rangers at age 17. In one of his spectacular displays while at the club, he rounded of the defense before putting the ball pass Nigerian national goalkeeper, Williams Opara. Europe Fortune smiled on him in 1991, when he travelled to Germany to meet a friend. While there he trained with the local football team. He impressed and was offered a deal to join German Third Division side- Borussia Neunkirchen. Success followed quickly and the following year, he moved to German division one side, Eintracht Frankfurt. At Frankfurt he linked up with many well-known African players including Ghanaian international striker Tony Yeboah. In a career of a thousand special moments, Jay Jay knack for entertaining football was unparalleled. He scored his first Goal of the Season In a league game against Karlsruhe. It was a cheeky goal that saw him round the entire defence (beating some players twice) before shooting past Oliver Kahn. He played for four seasons at Frankfurt before moving on the Turkish side Fenerbahce. Jay Jay excelled even more at Fenerbahce. While there he was made a citizen of Turkey. He scored 30 goals in 60 appearances, many of them coming from direct freekicks which had become something of a trademark for him at the club. He was also part of the side that historically defeated Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford in the 1997-98 UEFA Champions League group stage. In 1998, following a supreme display at World Cup, French side PSG splashed around $24 million on him, making him the most expensive African player at the time. Jay Jay scored his first goal for PSG within two minutes of his debut with a stunning strike from about 30 yards. Okocha joined Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer in the summer of 2002 after the FIFA World Cup. He quickly established himself as a firm favourite of the fans. His popularity spread quickly. The club even printed his jerseys with the inscription "Jay-Jay - so good they named him twice". He steered the team away from relegation with seven goals, including the team Goal of the Season in the vital league win against West Ham on Saturday, April 19, 2003. This goal was voted the best in Bolton’s history in a fan vote in 2008. Okocha was made the club captain in 2004 and he led Bolton to their first cup final in nine years where they finished runners-up in the 2004 Football League Cup. In 2006 Okocha moved to Qatar for a year, returning to the United Kingdom in 2007 to join championship side Hull City. International Career Okocha made his official debut for Nigeria in their 2-1 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier away loss to Ivory Coast in May 1993.It was not until his second cap and home debut that he became a favourite with the Nigerian supporters. With Nigeria trailing 1-0 against Algeria, in a match the Eagles needed to win, he scored from a direct freekick to equalise, before helping the team to a 4-1 win, eventually securing qualification to their first World Cup. In 1994, he was a member of both the victorious 1994 Africa Cup of Nations squad and the World Cup squad which made it to the second round before losing to eventual runners-up Italy. In 1996, Okocha was a part of the team that won Nigeria its second Olympic gold ever at the Atlanta Games, the team was nicknamed Dream Team by the Nigerian press. At the 2004 Cup of Nations, Okocha scored the 1000th goal of the Africa Nations Cup against South Africa. He ended up winning the award for the Player of the tournament and joint Golden boot winner. After Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, Okocha announced that he would retire from international scene after the Cup of Nations in Egypt. Injury prevented Okocha from featuring in any of Nigeria's opening fixtures and he did not regain fitness until the semi final loss against Ivory Coast. He then played in his final international appearance in a 2-1 victory in a third place playoff against Senegal; he was then given a standing ovation by the nearly 60,000 attendance as he left the field. International Honours African Cup of Nations - 1994 Olympic Gold Medal - 1996 Individual Honours BBC African Footballer of the Year - 2005, 2006 FIFA 100 Voted 12 on the greatest African footballers of the past 50 years by CAF- 2007 Family and Retirement Okocha met his wife Nkechi in 1994 and they have two children Danielle and A-Jay. His older brother Emmanuel was also a former international for the Nigerian team. Okocha is a cousin of Prof. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's former Minister of Finance, Foreign Affairs Minister and World Bank Managing Director. He owns a bar in Victoria Island, Lagos called Number 10 (his jersey number). Jay Jay Okocha Stadium is located in Ogwashi-Uku, Anioma Local Government Area- Nigeria. It is the home stadium of Delta Force F.C. It was renamed after Okocha in June 2008. Jay Jay has also put into action 2,000 British Pounds (per student) scholarship scheme with Bolton University which will see young talented Nigerians stand a chance to study at Bolton.