He was the definition of having fun with the ball on your feet.
Quick, talented and skillful playmaker who made millions of kids fall in love with football. His smile was
contagious his trickery, technique, creativity, flair, close control and dribbling skills were like no
one others'. His turn of pace and his use of faints especially the step over and his trademark turns
made him an unforgettable legend amongst Premier League fans. He enjoyed huge success with the
Nigerian national team winning both the African Cup of Nations in 94" as well as an Olympic gold
medal in 96". Ronaldinho has never hidden his admiration for this technically gifted number
10 who was also his mentor at PSG. He also won a number of individual accolades during his playing
career including seven times Nigeria's Player of the Year award. Many people within the football
world acknowledge him as the greatest Nigerian footballer of all time and the most skillful
player in Premier League's 2000s. He was so good they named him twice. Jay Jay Okocha.
Welcome or welcome back to the Vintage Premier League
Channel. My name is Drente and this is the 3rd video from series
"What Happened to?". Before we jump into amazing story of Jay Jay Okocha I have to pick one lucky winner from
last video's comment section. Last video was about Michu and in case you haven't seen it I will
put the link in description for you to watch it. If you have seen it you can win this
Swansea City shirt right now. So let's get it! And the winner of this amazing Swansea City shirt
iiis: Adam2k52. Congratulations DM me please on Instagram @vintage.premier.league so we can sort out the
shipping and stuff. If you did not win this time make sure to subscribe to the channel so you don't
miss out on any new videos and giveaways. And with that being said let's get into the story of Jay Jay
Okocha. Augustine Azuka Jay Jay Okocha was born on 14th August 1973 in Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria. The
name Jay Jay was passed down from his older brother James who started playing football first. He
began playing football on the streets just like many other African football stars usually
with the makeshift ball. In 1990 he joined Enugu Rangers. In his time at the club he produced many
spectacular displays. Later that year he went on holiday to West Germany, the country that had
just won the 1990 FIFA World Cup, so he could watch German league football. His friend Binebi Numa
was playing in the third division for Borussia Neunkirchen and one morning Okocha
accompanied Numa to training where he asked to join in. The Neukirchen coach was impressed with
Okocha's skills and invited him back the next day before offering him a contract. A year later
he joined 1. FC Saarbrücken but stayed only a few months with the 2. Bundesliga side before
a move to the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt. Eintracht Frankfurt: Okocha joined Eintracht
Frankfurt in December 1991 where he linked up with many well-known players including striker
Tony Yeboah and later Thomas Doll. He continued to shine for the German side one highlight being a
goal he scored against Karlsruher SC dribbling in the penalty box and slotting the ball pass goalkeeper
Oliver Kahn, even going past some players twice. The goal was voted Goal of the Season by many
football magazines. During his spell at Eintracht Okocha made his official debut for Nigeria in
their 2-1 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier away loss against Ivory Coast in May 1993. It was not
until his second cap and home debut that he became a favorite with the Nigerian fans. With Nigeria
trailing 1-0 against Algeria in a match they needed to win he scored from a direct free-kick
to equalize before helping the team to a 4-1 win eventually securing qualification to their
first World Cup in 94'. He was a member of both the victorious 94' African Cup of Nations squad
and the World Cup squad who made it to the round of 16 before they lost in a dramatic match against
eventual Runners-up Italy. In 1995 Okocha, Yeboah and Maurizio Gaudino were all involved in a feud with
manager Jupp Heynckes at Eintracht which led to their departure from the club. Yeboah and Gaudino later
left for England while Okocha stayed until the end of season when Frankfurt were relegated to the
2. Bundesliga before signing for the Istanbul Club Fenerbahce. In the Bundesliga he scored
18 goals in 90 matches. Fenerbahce Istanbul: In 1996 Okocha joined Turkish Club Fenerbahce for
approximately 1 million pounds following Eintracht Frankfurt's relegation to the 2. Bundesliga.
In his two seasons with the team he amassed 30 goals in 62 appearances many of them coming
from direct free kicks which became something of a trademark for him at the club. Okocha acquired
Turkish citizenship and chose the name of Muhammed Yavuz while playing for Fenerbahce. In 1996 Okocha
became a key member of hugely successful Nigerian team, their Olympic gold Winning Side at the
Olympic Games in Atlanta. In the 1998 FIFA World Cup hosted by France Okocha played for Super Eagles
side who again reached the round of 16 but could go even further with the potential in their team.
This brought further interest in Okocha who had entertained fans with his trademark skills and
dribbles and went on to be named in the squad of the tournament. PSG: In 1998 French side Paris
Saint-Germain spent around 14 million pounds to sign Okocha making him the most expensive African
player at that time. Okocha was part of a talented but unbalanced team during his four years in the
French capital. In a team where kindred spirits like Ali Benarbia, Laurent Robert and Ronaldinho
also pitched up as a teammates, Okocha served also as a mentor mainly for young Brazilian starlet
Ronaldinho Gaucho who admitted later that Okocha has always had unmeasurable influence on his
career. After his performances for PSG where many of them came in the UEFA Champions League Okocha
was out of contract following the 2002 World Cup. Despite Okocha's goals, assists and entertainment,
as one of PSG's highest earners the club were keen for him to leave. During his 4-years stint
with PSG he played 84 matches and scored 12 goals. Bolton Wanderers: 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 injuries made him a fan favorite and proved that his determination was
crucial for the Trotters in 2002/03 relegation battle. He became legendary with the Bolton
fans and the team printing shirts with the inscription Jay Jay - so good they named him twice.
But at first he struggled to adapt to live in Lancashire. He was substituted at half time on
his Premier League debut, a 4-1 defeated Fulham and mentioned injury affected his first few
weeks at Bolton. Bolton spent much of a season in the middle of a relegation scrap despite a
squad of experience Internationals that also included Ivan Campo, Henrik Pedersen, Bruno N'gotti
and French captain Yuri Djorkaeff. But Okocha's influence grew on the pitch and in the dressing
room where his multi-lingual will talents helped forge a strong team spirit. In mid-april showdown
against fellow strugglers West Ham United Okocha produced one of his greatest and possibly most
important goals for Bolton to secure a 1-0 win in front of an ecstatic Reebok Stadium. This
goal was voted Team's Goal of the Season and in fans vote in 2008 also as Bolton's best Premier
League goal ever. A run of 4 wins and 3 draws in eight matches which included Okocha's goal in
a victory at Sunderland as well as the winner against Tottenham Hotspur set up Bolton for a must
win final day match at home to Middlesbrough. Who else but Okocha would produce a moment of magic
to score the decisive goal and his 7th of the season in a 2-1 win and secure Bolton's top flight
status for the following season? Neat touches, little drag bags and purely decorative step
overs were important parts of his repertoire. Memorably, rather than hold the ball in the corner
with brute strength and as the clock ticked down on a valuable 2-2 draw with Arsenal towards the
end of 2002/03 season, Okocha set about embarrassing Ray Parlour instead. Though Trotters only escaped
relegation by one place and two points it was the beginnings of what would surprisingly become one
of the Premier League's most entertaining teams. An influential player on the pitch but also
a respected voice in the dressing room Okocha was even made captain with Guðni Bergsson left
that summer. The Following 2003/04 season Okocha led Bolton to the League Cup Final scoring twice in
a 5-2 victory over Aston Villa in the semi-final first leg. Both goals came from direct free kicks.
Although Bolton missed out on silverware by losing to Middlesbrough at the Millennium Stadium the
club continued to prosper in the league. The list of aging stars coming in from the continent
grew. Ivan Campo, Fernando Hierro and Vincent Candela added to the mix with a varying degrees of
success and Allardyce had built his dream team. A dream team with Okocha in the center who was
named one of the top 125 living footballers by Pele in March 2004. By the 2004/05 season when
they finished 6th and qualify for the UEFA Cup there were 15 different nationalities
in the Bolton squad. With Okocha fluent in several languages he was able to knit together
an increasingly cosmopolitan group. He was key in so many ways. Under Allerdyce Okocha was given the
freedom and responsibility that leading clubs were unwilling to afford him. He embraced both reading
the game at a completely different speed and in far greater depth than his teammates. The 2005/06
was Okocha's last season with Bolton Wanderers. In the Premier League he managed to score
only one single goal and added one assist. In UEFA Cup Bolton managed to get through the group
stages and were later beaten by Marseille in the round of 32 which was definitely considered a successful
European campaign for a club like Bolton. At the start of 2005/06 season there were rumors
about Okocha potentially leaving the club. The rumors were all started by Luis Fernandez, Okocha's
former manager at PSG who at that time in 2005 was briefly in charge of Al-Rayyan in Qatar. Speaking
on French television program Telefoot, Fernandez announced that Al-Rayyan are close to reaching
a deal for Okocha reports claim that Bolton have accepted a 2.5 million pounds offer for their
Skipper with okocha set to agree a two-year contract. Bolton have rejected the reports
and chairman Phil Gartside was considering an investigation into whether an illegal approach has
been made to contact Okocha about his potential move to the Middle East. "He is the captain and one
of our most important players. He's under contract to this football club and there's no way we would
want him to leave, especially with the season only just starting. Also we will be investigating the
possibility of illegal approach." - chairman said. Okocha was stripped out of captaincy in November -
something he said he had seen coming as there had been a change in attitude from some staff
members, probably due to his proposed move to the Middle East, which had been growing in speculation.
Kevin Nolan was then appointed as the new captain. In February 2006 after returning from the 2006
Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt Okocha announced his retirement from International Football. Later
in May he refused a one-year extension with Bolton Wanderers in order to move to Qatar SC which was a
heartbreak for many Bolton fans. After a four-year spell lasting from 2002 to 2006 akocha finished
his Bolton Wanderers career with 144 apps 18 goals 11 assists and countless wonderful memories.
He laid a hugely important foundation that should have helped Bolton to make the next step in
the following years but unfortunately we all now know it did not happen and following Bolton's
relegation from the Premier League in 2012 Okocha stated that his time at the club was now rendered
a waste of time because the club had not invested and improved on the foundation that were laid
during his time there. Qatar SC: In July 2006 Okocha signed for Qatar Sports Club on a one-year deal.
This was one of the very first football transfers where internationally known football player from
a top league came to play football in the Middle East. In the same window Tony Popovic, Australian
defender with World Cup experience has also moved to Qatar to play for Al-Arabi SC after a five-year
spell with Crystal Palace. Qatar Sports Club board member Sheikh Yasin bin Hamad bin Nasser al-Thani
said at that time that "Of course Jay Jay is here to help us win silverware". Qatar SC finished 6 out of
10 in 2006/07 Qatar Stars league so unfortunately no silverware was won that season. Wikipedia
is saying that Jay Jay played 41 games for Qatar SC in 2006/07 season scoring six goals but
their league only had 27 games a season so I'm not sure where those numbers came from. Hull
City: 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 City 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 house promotion campaign due to fitness and constant injury problems, playing
only 18 games scoring no goals and adding three assists. He also picked his one and only red card
of his carrier in a 2-0 win against Burnley on 4th of March 2008. After this red card he only
played one minute for Hull City after falling out with the manager because of lack of playing
time. Hull still succeeded in winning 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 ultimately sent him into retirement at the age of
34. Retirement: The two-times BBC African footballer later revealed that not getting enough playing
time also partially influenced his decision to call it quits. He believes the stress wasn't
worth the toil. After retiring Okocha then made a return to Nigeria in June 2008 for his
testimonial match where super Eagles 11 played against World 11 in Warri, Delta State. The game
featured former players such as Taribo West, Daniel Amokachi, Joseph Yobo, El-hadji Diouf, Benjani
Mwaruwari, Sulley Muntari, John Utaka, Nwankwo Kanu, Carlton Cole, Celestine Babayaro, Lucas Radebe
and many more. After the testimonial the Delta State government in Southwestern Nigeria have also
renamed Okwasi-ukwu Stadium the Jay Jay Okocha Stadium. Post-playing career: Since retiring from playing
Okocha has returned to his native Nigeria and pursued various business interests which included
a nightclub called Club 10 which he has since closed. In late 2014 okocha was added to the
FIFA football game series as a legend which honors his years as a great footballer. He also
later held the role of Vice chairman of Delta State Football Association for two years before
getting elected as the association's chairman in March 2015. However he stepped down at the start
of 2019 due to his busy schedule. In June 2016 he launched the Jay Jay Okocha foundation with the primary
objective of using football to raise awareness on the strategic importance of education, peace
and unity for the economic growth of Nigeria. Among his many business interests he works as a
part of the Bundesliga Legends Network which helps to raise awareness of the league in a key target
markets and he also is an ambassador for BetKing Nigeria. On May 9 2017 Jay Jay Okocha was invited to
the 67th FIFA Congress in Bahrain where he joined another two legendary number 10s Ronaldinho and
Carlos Valderrama. As I mentioned in the beginning of this video it was here where Ronaldinho said
that he has always admired Okocha since their days at PSG where Okocha passed the number 10 to
Ronaldinho after his departure to Bolton. In 2017 Okocha was voted the best player to have ever
played for Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok / Macron Stadium. Okocha has served as a football
pundit for African sports broadcaster Super Sport since 2019 providing analysis for major
tournaments including the African Cup of Nations and the European championships. So yeah. This was
"What Happened to Jay Jay Okocha" - one of my favorite players of all time. I spent hours and hours
trying to replicate his tricks when I was a child, wonderful memories. I'm pretty sure he could have
and should have get more out of his career trophy wise but still... yeah actually he is exactly the
person who would say it was a God's plan. So I hope you liked this video, if yes then obviously please
like it and in case you would like to win this absolutely amazing piece of a football shirt which
is a Bolton Wanderers 2005/06 brand new with patches Jay Jay Okocha shirt, all you have to do is Subscribe to
the channel, Like this video and let me know in the comment section which current Premier League
football player is Jay Jay Okocha's nephew? I will pick one person with the correct answer who will win
this legendary shirt in the next video. With that being said that's everything from me for this
video, thanks for watching and see you next time!
