Jay-Jay Okocha - The African Maradona

Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha (born 14 August 1973 in Enugu) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is known for his stepovers, skill, technique, and being 'so good that they named him twice' (a line immortalised in a terrace chant while Okocha played for Bolton Wanderers). While playing at Süper Lig team Fenerbahçe, he became a Turkish citizen as "Muhammet Yavuz".


Eintracht Frankfurt (1992--1996)Okocha joined Eintracht Frankfurt in 1992,where he linked up with many well-known players including Ghanaian international striker Tony Yeboah, German keeper Thomas Ernst and later Thomas Doll. He continued to shine for the German side, one highlight being a goal he scored against Karlsruhe, dribbling in the penalty box and slotting the ball past Oliver Kahn even going past some players twice. The goal was voted Goal of the Season by many soccer magazines. In 1995 Okocha, Yeboah and Maurizio Gaudino were all involved in a feud with manager Jupp Heynckes, which led to their departure from the club.

Yeboah and Gaudino later left for England, while Okocha stayed until the end of the season when Frankfurt were relegated to the Second division, before signing for Istanbul club Fenerbaçhe.

Okocha joined Turkish club Fenerbahçe following Eintracht Frankfurt's relegation to Bundesliga 2. In his two seasons with the team he amassed thirty goals in sixty 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 1996-1997 UEFA Champions League group stage. While at Fenerbahçe he became a Turkish citizen as "Muhammet Yavuz".

In 1998 French side PSG splashed around $24 million on Okocha, making him the most expensive African player at the time.

Okocha joined Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer after leaving PSG in the summer of 2002 after the FIFA World Cup. His debut season, despite being hampered by injury, made him a favourite with the Bolton fans, with the team printing shirts 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.[2] This was voted Bolton's best Premier League goal in a fans vote in 2008.[3] The next season saw Okocha receive more responsibility as he was given the captain's armband following Guðni Bergsson's retirement. As captain he led Bolton to their first cup final in nine years where they finished runners-up in the 2004 Football League Cup.

In 2006 he was stripped of the captaincy -- something he said he had seen coming, as there had been a change in attitude from some staff members. This had probably been due to his proposed move to the Middle East, which had been growing in speculation. At the end of the season, he refused a one-year extension in order to move to Qatar.

After just one season in Qatar, Football League Championship side Hull City signed Okocha on a free transfer in 2007, after the player had been linked to Real Salt Lake and Sydney FC. It was a move he made saying that "God had told him to do so". He however was not able to contribute greatly to Hull's promotion campaign due to fitness and constant injury problems, playing only 18 games and scoring no goals. Hull still succeeded in grabbing promotion to the Premier League, for the first time in their 104-year history. At the end of the season, after changing his mind on a proposed retirement due to Hull's promotion, he was released by the club, which sent him into retirement.

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[davidcnn9]

NO NO NO...he is not the African Maradona...HE IS THE AFRICAN JAY JAY...

[cevaking]

@Elififa Obviously when someone is compared to Maradona they are not talking about his antics off the field but on the field, and in that respect i'm paying JJ the ultimate compliment. Maradona is many things and one of them is being recognised with Pele as the greatest player of all time. Calling him the African Maradona isn't about comparing his playing style, in fact it is about recognising the impact and respect he has earnt by a whole continent just how Diego has done in South America.

[halimtunis]

why dont they call maradona by the amercan latin okocha?

[afroguard]

@rotawo u are ignorant. Okocha never had a heart attack. U are probably referring to Kanu Nwankwo. And 4 ur information, he (Kanu) did not have a heart attack either but a heart defect detected very early when he played for Inter Milan.

[checkdafresh]

oliver khan's greatest enemy

[peterdrock29]

Can somebody please tell me the tittle of this music, please

[rotawo]

playing at age of 40 no wonder he had heart attack

[tag1989]

@cevaking he was old at the time playing for bolton almost in his 40's and keeping up with premier league stars. jay jay was crazy good

[reis101975]

Okocha 10 numara, Fenerbahçeye Türkiye ye gelen en iyi yabancı futbolcu, sevgiler