Throwback Thursday: "Austin Jay-Jay" Okocha

Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha, a Nigerian former midfield player, was born in Enugu on the 14th of August 1973, although his parents were from Ogwashi-Ukwu in Delta state. 

Austin Jay-Jay Okocha at 3 years old

The name "Jay-Jay" was actually passed down from his older brother James, who started playing football first. Okocha began playing football on the street just like many other football stars in Nigeria, usually with a makeshift ball. In an interview with BBC Sport he said, "as far as I can remember, we used to play with anything, with any round thing we could find, and whenever we managed to get hold of a ball, that was a bonus! I mean it was amazing!"

In 1990, he started his career with Enugu Rangers. In his time at the club he produced many spectacular displays including one where he rounded off and scored a goal, against experienced Nigerian goalkeeper William Okpara in a match against BCC Lions. Later he travelled to Germany to meet a friend, where he was asked to train with his team after impressing in training, and landed a deal with German Third Division side Borussia Neunkirchen.

In 1992, Okocha joined Eintracht Frankfurt where he linked up with many well-known players including Ghanaian international striker Tony Yeboah. He continued to shine for the German side, one particular highlight being a goal he scored against FC Karlsruhe, dribbling in the penalty box and slotting the ball past Oliver Kahn and even going past some players twice. Watch the video of the amazing goal below:

Okocha joined Turkish club Fenerbahçe following Eintracht Frankfurt's relegation to Bundesliga 2. In his two seasons with the team he score thirty goals in sixty appearances(an incredible rate for a midfield player), many of them coming from direct free kicks which had become something of a trademark for him at the club. He defeated Manchester United 1–0 at Old Trafford in the 1996–97 UEFA Champions League group stage. While at Fenerbahçe, he also 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. During his four-year stint with PSG, he played 84 matches and scored 12 goals while playing alongside 2-time Brazilian Ballon D'or winner Ronaldinho.

Okocha while playing for PSG

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. This was voted Bolton's best Premier League goal in a fans vote in 2008. 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.
Following Bolton's relegation from the Premier League in 2012, however, Okocha stated that his time at the club was a waste of time, saying the club had not improved since his time there.

After just one season in Qatar, Football League Championship side Hull City signed Okocha on a free transfer in 2007, after he 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.

Personal life

Okocha and his wife Nkechi

Okocha met his wife Nkechi in 1994 and they have two children Daniella and A-Jay. His older brother Emmanuel was also a former international for the Nigerian team. Okocha is a cousin of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's current Minister of Finance and former Foreign Affairs Minister and World Bank Managing Director. Okocha is also a member of the Anioma, a subgroup of Igboethnic group. His nephew Kamocha plays for Guna F.C. whilst another nephew Alex Iwobi is at Arsenal.

Jay Jay is arguably the best footballer ever from Nigeria and has been described as one of the most underrated players ever in the history of world football.

Okocha was a past winner of the BBC African footballer of the year but was never given the CAF African Footballer of the year award despite his popularity and contributions to the game in Africa and Europe.