By IKENWA NNABUOGOR
Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha ranks arguably as the best player to come out of Africa so much so that football watchers insist former Super Eagles mercurial midfielder Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha still remains hugely uncelebrated judging by his incredible talents.
Former Super Eagles captain and one of the world’s finest players, Okocha, would have grabbed all the accolades in this world had he not come from Africa judging by his out-of-this-world talent and overall performances.
Perhaps, ‘Jay Jay’s sin was coming from Black Africa and that may have stood in his way of getting all the recognitions and ultimately individual awards that would have befitted his supreme talents.
Were he Brazilian or from Europe, he would definitely have grabbed all the recognitions and super star status accorded the other world’s bests.
Arguably, ‘Jay Jay’ can be regarded as the best player to come out of Africa and the world, but regrettably he was not seen as among greats like Pele, Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, Gerd Muller, Johan Cruyff and several other greats in that class.
A recognition he would still get from the great Pele, who named the Enugu-born superstar in his top 125 living footballers in March, 2004.
But he deserved much more!
Even in Africa, where his class had a divine blessing directly from God, the former Fenerbahce star was still not accorded all the respect he deserved during his playing days.
It’s indeed absurd and ridiculous that his best shot to becoming African Player of Year was regrettably second best behind Morocco’s El-Hadji Mustapha and third best twice behind Cameroon superstar striker Samuel Eto in the 2003 and 2004 editions, making the whole African best player thing look like a Francophone charade.
The year 1998, 2003 and 2004 were clearly Okocha’s on the African soccer scene, but the Africa best titles incredibly went to Mustapha and Eto, that could even attract a divine query.
In the beginning, ‘Jay Jay’ had no business not to be well known as his innate skills as a kid playing street kickabouts were seriously not to be ignored.
Not blessed with the best of beginning as his humble background confined him to live in the low income earning Artisan Quarters in coal-rich Enugu, South East Nigeria, where his coal worker father earned a living.
Even balls to horn his talents and skills were hard to afford, but he seemed to be more comfortable with the improvised oranges that even bystanders were stunned to behold a budding star.
Orange-hawking ‘Jay Jay’ was soon to be known at Artisan Quarters at the civil servant conservative Enugu and destiny took care of the rest, as they say, is history.
Joining his older brothers – James and Emmanuel – at the football famous National Grammar School, Nike, Enugu and inheriting the sobriquet ‘Jay Jay’ from his older brother James, who was a top local player in Enugu, his soccer path took further curve learning dimension.
“You could tell from his humble beginning that he stood out,” recalls his Nike Grammar School, mate, Nathaniel Metta.
“He was magical right from his primary school days and it wasn’t surprising he became a big star.
“Our principal C.O.C Chiedozie never accommodated any student who was lacking in both academics and sports and Austin was his top favourite, because he was unbelievable with the latter.
“I don’t believe any player from Africa was better than Austin in his time,” Metta declares.
“If he were European or South American, he would have been better celebrated.”
‘Jay Jay’ was never going to court troubles with his no-nonsense soccer-loving principal, Mr. Chiedozie, reputed to have produced the majority of Enugu-born footballers.
For Mr. Chiedozie, either you were academically relevant or the round leather game was kind to you or you shipped out and ‘Jay Jay’ was in bed with the latter.
World Secondary Football Competition hosted in Minnesota, USA, was the first international exposure the former PSG midfielder needed to launch his career with the Nike Grammar School’s Black Rocks Football Club.
Enugu Rangers grabbed him immediately he came back from the US, though he had been on the cards of lower league side Cooperative Commercial Bank, CCB Football Club and his journey to super stardom was launched.
His romance with German football in December 1991, was more of an accident than planned and he was lucky to begin his pro career in Germany that had very few African players at that time.
Eintracht Frankfurt made sure he wasn’t staying longer than necessary in the Regionalliga (Germany’s lower rung league) with Borussia Neunkirchen and that was the biggest break he needed to alert the world a precocious kid was on the loose from Africa.
Sweet stories of ‘Jay Jay’ are still well documented in Germany, but sadly he was not accorded all the respect he needed.
So good he was in Germany he was named twice and by the time he moved to Paris Saint Germain in France, the world was beginning to take note of the erstwhile unknown African boy who had disgraced former Germany national team goalkeeper Olivier Kahn in goal for Karlshure in a Bundesliga game.
Though he would later become the record transfer player when PSG paid £14 million for his signature to snap him away from Fenerbahce, it could be argued that he would have commanded more cash if he were a European or South American.
France welcomed this mercurial show stealer from Enugu, though his parents were from Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, as he brought a brand-new bag of tricks to the French capital.
His debut against Bordeaux ended in a 3-1 defeat, but he made sure PSG fans enjoyed full dose of circus show as his trademark dribbles combined with his delightful 30-yarder goal for PSG’s consolation goal to make the fans see only the fun side of the defeat.
Okocha’s PSG also brought a Brazilian kid Ronaldinho Gaucho, fresh from Gremio in Brazil unheralded and unsong but by the time he would graduate from the ‘Jay Jay’ School of Soccer Wizardry, having enjoyed full time mentoring from ‘Jay Jay’ Barcelona were forced to cough out a princely €30 million for the player that cost them a mere $5 million.
While Ronaldinho would go on to become a World Cup winner, Ballon D’Or winner, including other club and individual titles, his mentor only managed a few accolades.
Bolton Wanderers was Okocha’s next port of call after leaving PSG and the big question continued to beg as why he would join a modest English side judging by the pedigree he had attained?
Could joining Bolton have limited him badly that the world never accorded him the recognition other greats enjoyed?
Where were the top spending clubs one of whom, Barcelona splashed a fortune on his protege, Ronaldinho, and left him joining Bolton, who were not even among the top clubs in England?
Was there something that prevented top spenders from splashing fortunes on ‘Jay Jay’ for that much- needed recognition?
Was it because he was African that the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Manchester United and Arsenal overlooked him?
Could it be his entertaining style of play with more emphasis on showboating than business-like football that Barcelona and the likes turned a blind eye?
Could it be his agent?
It could be argued that these posers may not have stood in his way after all Ronaldinho was also known for showboating and circus play and yet he grabbed all the headlines and fortunes in the bank befitting of an accomplished world star.
Many coaches may not have fancied Jay Jay’s entertainment style of football, but his technical and tactical awareness could also not be wished away.
Many would also argue that had he played for Barcelona, Real Madrid and the likes, he would have been better recognised but admitted that the subsequent clubs he played after PSG never really helped his international rating.
National team football for Jay Jay was also as sweet as his club football and yet his due recognition in the continent was grossly underplayed.
He led his men like a four-star General when he grabbed the captain’s band from retired Fenerbahce team mate Okechukwu Uche and never left a dull moment till he hung his boots in 2006.
Scoring 14 goals from the midfield in 73 appearances for his country is a national record till date and could take some time to be equaled or broken.
Many times he brought his magic wand to rescue his country from jaws of defeat and humiliation and placing second once and third best twice, was the closest he got to be crowned African Player of the Year.
However, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in their sponsored African Player of the Year awards, defied CAF to name him their African Player of the Year twice in 2003 and 2004, same years he finished in third place behind Didier Drogba and, the eventual winner Samuel Eto, in that order.
In truth, with the amazing natural talent he had ‘Jay Jay’ would have achieved a lot more had he come from Europe or South America.
There may not be another ‘Jay Jay’ whose roots at Ogwashi-Uku are famous for producing top professionals in every sector.
