More than a decade since Legendary Super Eagles Play-maker, Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha retired from the round lather game, football pundit, Francis Xavier, insist the vacuum left by the former Nigeria National Team Captain is yet to be filled
Jay Jay Okocha. Photo credit: Latest football news
Xavier, a veteran in the game in one of his commentary stated that he will always include Augustine ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha in his team at any given time.
According to Xavier, Okocha, now 46, was a joy to watch during his playing days both at club and national levels. And Xavier, former AFC Leopards midfielder, has explained why he will go for the former Super Eagles star.
“Okocha is one player who was very influential on the pitch and could create as well as score goals,” Xavier told Goal on Tuesday. “He was very skilled and could dribble his way out of trouble at any given time.
“Okocha won many individual and collective awards but he remained humble and disciplined until his retirement,” Xavier added.
“Nigeria are still struggling to find his replacement who can consistently deliver for the team and help them hit greater heights.” Okocha made 75 appearances for the Super Eagles, scoring 14 goals in the process.
Another impressive characteristic was his ability to adapt to any given game and have a positive effect on his team. “On most occasions, Okocha was physically fit and his technical ability was on another level.”
The creative midfielder helped Nigeria to win the 1994 AFCON and played a huge role as the team finished second in 2000 and third in 2002, 2004 and 2006. He was also in the team that won the 1996 Olympic Games as well as the Afro-Asian Cup of Nations in 1995.
Legendary Super Eagles Play-maker, Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha recently in an interview revealed why he brought the curtains down on his football career at 34.
The former Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder said a lack of playing time majorly influenced his decision to quit the round leather game.
The former captain of the super eagles playmaker, brought an illustrious football career to an end during his stint at Hull City in 2008 after playing across five different countries: Germany, Turkey, France, Qatar , and England.
According to Okocha “I must confess that (not playing getting a lot of playing time) was one of the reasons why I retired from playing at a very young age.”
The two time BBC African Footballer believes the stress wasn’t worth the toil.
“I believe that it is not worth to train from Monday to Friday just to have 20 minutes on the pitch or sit on the bench on Saturday. I am very competitive.” He said.
During stints at Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahçe, PSG, Qatar, Bolton Wanderers, and Hull City, “Jay Jay” scored a total of 85 goals in as many as 454 club matches.
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