Okocha: So much genius, less accolades

Twenty-seven years since Augustine ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha made a dummy of Oliver Kahn and three Karlsruher defenders to score a superb goal for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, Jurgen Klopp calls it “the most spectacular in the history of German football.”

In an interview with the Guardian, the Liverpool manager said: “It took like five minutes of Kahn and his defenders diving on the floor before he put the ball in the net.”
“I shouted nine times, even the fans, ‘shoot, shoot,’ but Jay-Jay is the kind of guy you have got to let play,” said Frankfurt coach Klaus Toppmoller in a video reviewing the masterpiece voted as Goal of the Season by magazines and popular German TV sports programme Sportschau.

Okocha as called the African Maradona. He did all the things Zidane, Messi, and Ronaldinho did. Sometimes even better. Only that he did not win as much accolades. Except the 1996 Olympic gold, and the 1994 Africa Nations Cup.
Klopp praises African players for their hard work but Jupp Heynckes’ one year at Frankfurt is remembered for his fallout with key players:

Okocha and Ghanaian Anthony Yeboah, and German Maurizio Gaudino for lack of effort in training. Yeboah and Gaudino left. Okocha stayed for 1995/96 season but refused to be relegated with Frankfurt and left for Turkey.
It was a sad end to Okocha’s six-year love story with German football that begun in lower division in 1990 before joining Frankfurt in the middle of the 1991/92 in which they finished third.

Master of Istanbul derby The closest Okocha came to a league title was at Fenerbahçe. The Turkish giants had just won their 13th Super League title 1996 and the Nigerian wizard was just more oil to an already smooth running engine. He lived up to the hype, scoring 16 goals and a dozen assists in his first season. In fact, Fenerbahçe is where Okocha recorded his best game-goal ratio – 34 in 62 games.
The best way to win a club’s heart is tormenting their fierce rivals. Okocha perfected it because Galatasaray never enjoyed the Istanbul derby in the years the Nigerian played on the opposite side. He would contribute a goal or an assist in every game against the cross city rivals, including a special goal that some regard his best, in a 2-2 draw in February 1998.

Having scored his first goal against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League qualifier, Okocha would impress in the 2-0 home loss to Manchester United. Going into the second leg two weeks later, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side boasted a 40-year unbeaten European home record, their last loss at Old Trafford having come in 1956.
But Okocha starred as Bosnian Elvir Bolic’ 77th minute goal gave Fenerbahçe a shock 1-0 win.

In the league, by February, Beşiktaş, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor and the defending champions, were all separated by four points. Okocha kept Fenerbahçe in contention, scoring in another win over Galatasaray but Fenerbahçe finished third, nine points behind their bitter rivals.
After a first-round exit in Uefa Cup, Fenerbahçe poured its energy in wrestling the league title from Galatasaray. But a calf injury to Okocha, with three games left, partly curtailed them.
Okocha switched to France after the 1998 World Cup. Fans protested his sale. They couldn’t imagine losing their hope. But PSG’s £14m was irresistible.

Paris Saint-Germain
Seven Ligue 1 titles in the past eight seasons is simply giant status. But it eclipses the 19 years Paris Saint-Germain spent without a league trophy since their second and last in 1994 and 2013.
Unfortunately, four of those fruitless years coincided with Okocha’s spell in Paris (1998-2002) after leaving Fenerbahçe on £14m, as the most expensive African player at the time.

Even the arrival of Ronaldinho, in Okocha’s final season in Paris, and the return of Nicolas Anelka did not change much. Despite scoring 41 goals in 49 appearances for Gremio in Brazil, Ronaldinho was a novice in the Europe and Okocha is said to have mentored the 21-year-old.
The two formed an entertaining ensemble in the middle of the pack, but not on the table standings where they finished ninth.

The Bolton wonder
Okocha could speak German, French, English, and a bit of Turkish. For that reason, Bolton coach Sam Allardyce made him the captain of a multicultural squad that comprised players of 12 nationalities in 2003.
“On and off the field, he was the captain you looked to,” Allardyce said of Okocha.
The news came on his 30th birthday and Okocha, who was also Nigeria’s captain, announced he would not be playing friendlies for the Super Eagles, to preserve his energies for only competitive football.

There were doubts as to how Allardyce would accommodate Okocha, who loved to express himself with the ball, in a Bolton machine that was more popular for grit than grace. Allardyce’s answer was to give Okocha the freedom to roam. The Nigerian forged a formidable combo with World Cup winner Djorkaeff that bullied opponents.
Though his debut was blighted by injuries, Okocha’s magic soon touched the Trotters’ hearts. His seven goals that season included a spectacular piece against West Ham which the fans would in 2008 vote as Bolton’s best Premier League goal.
Soon they were singing: “Jay-Jay –so good they named him twice.”

Okocha also won the BBC African Footballer of the Year in 2003 and 2004.
Bolton finished sixth in 2004/05 season and qualified for Uefa Cup, but their realistic chance for a trophy had come a year prior.
In January 21, 2004, Okocha ensured he left Bolton in good stead as he departed for Afcon duty by scoring two stunning free-kicks in a 5-2 rout of Aston Villa in Carling Cup semifinal.
Without him, Wanderers lost the return leg 2-0 but reached the final 5-4 on aggregate.

But two weeks after losing Afcon semifinal to Tunisia, Okocha lost the League Cup final 2-1 to Middlesbrough.
Philippe Bergeroo, his coach at PSG, said Okocha’s vision was exceptional, like Michel Platini’s. “In the end, our relationships deteriorated.
But I’m glad I had a player like that,” Bergeroo told planetepsg.com.