[Must See] The 8 Interesting Facts You Probably Don’t Know About Jay Jay Okocha

Forum 6 years ago

[Must See] The 8 Interesting Facts You Probably Don’t Know About Jay Jay Okocha

In case you all don’t know, Jay Jay Okocha is a football legend in Nigeria.

He is an attacking midfielder whose flamboyant displays has earned him a place in the hearts of many football lovers. He played for the national team, Super Eagles for many years. He has also played for various clubs in Europe during his 18 years long career in football.

Although his full name is Austin Azuka Okocha, many fans fondly call him Jay Jay. Here are some Jay Jay Okocha stats that you may not be aware of:

1. He scored 14 goals for the Super Eagles

In 74 appearance, he scored 14 goals for the Eagles between 1993 and 2006 when he retired from the national team.

2. He started out at Enugu Rangers

Okocha started out playing for Enugu Rangers before moving on to Borussia Neunkirchen in Germany in 1990.

3. 2-time BBC African Footballer of the Year winner

Although Okocha never won CAF’s African footballer of the year, he is a 2-time winner of the prestigious BBC African footballer of the year award in 2003 and 2004.

4. Debut appearance for the Super Eagles was in 1993

His first appearance for the Super Eagles was against Cote d’Ivoire in a World Cup Qualifying match which Nigeria lost 1 goal to 2 goals from the Ivorians.

5. He played for Paris St Germain in France

Jay Jay Okocha played for PSG in France for 4 seasons from 1998 till 2002 before going on to Bolton Wanderers in England.

6. He’s on Pele’s FIFA 100

Brazillian football legend, Pele has a list called the FIFA 100 which was the striker’s choice of the greatest living footballers. This list was unveiled in 2004 to mark the 100th year anniversary of the football body. Jay Jay Okocha is the only Nigerian named in the list. Fellow Africans named on the list include Roger Milla of Cameroon, Abedi Pele of Ghana, George Weah of Liberia and El Hadji Diouf of Senegal.

7. He is a Turkish citizen

Between 1996 and 1998, Okocha played for Turkish side Fenerbahce where he scored 30 goals in 62 appearances. He also became a Turkish citizen during this period, taking the name “Muhammet Yavuz”.

8. His highest transfer fee was €12.4 million

in 1998, Paris Saint Germain (PSG) paid €12.4 million to sign him from Fenerbahce.